A method is provided for starting an internal combustion engine for a motor vehicle, and an internal combustion engine is provided which employs such method. The internal combustion engine includes a piston which can move in a cylinder and can execute an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a power stroke and an exhaust stroke. In addition, a control unit is provided with which fuel can be injected directly into a combustion chamber, which is delimited by the cylinder and the piston either during a compression stroke in a first operating mode or during an intake stroke in a second operating mode. The control unit is designed so that for starting, fuel can be injected in a first injection directly into the combustion chamber whose respective piston is in the power stroke.