The 100 most used German words you need to know

The 100 most used German words you need to know

by Jakob Straub

Updated April 21, 2023

Learning German, it’s useful to quickly add vocabulary to your language skills so you express yourself and communicate. But if you’re asking yourself where to begin, why not start with the most used words of the language? Not only we’ve compiled the top 100 German words you need to know but also broken them down based on their function. Let’s dive in!

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The 100 most used words in German

The following is an overview of the top one hundred German words ranked by frequency of use. The list is based on text analysis done by the Projekt Deutscher Wortschatz at the University of Leipzig, which is part of the Natural Language Processing Group at the university’s Institute of Computer Science.

  1. der (den, dem, des) – the (masculine article)
  2. die (der, den) –  the (feminine article)
  3. und – and
  4. in (im) – in, into (in the)
  5. von (vom) – of, from
  6. zu (zum, zur) – to; at; too
  7. das (dem, des) – the (neuter article)
  8. mit – with
  9. sich – himself, itself, yourself
  10. auf – on
  11. für – for
  12. ist (sein, sind, war, sei, etc.) – is
  13. nicht – not
  14. ein (eine, einen, einer, einem, eines) – a, an
  15. als – as, than, when
  16. auch – also, too
  17. es – it
  18. an (am/ans) – to, at, by
  19. werden (wurde, wird) – become, get
  20. aus – from, out of
  21. er – he
  22. hat (haben, hatte, habe) – has/have
  23. dass – that
  24. sie – she, it; they
  25. nach – to, after
  26. bei – at, by
  27. um – around, at
  28. noch – still, yet
  29. wie – as, how
  30. über – about, over, via
  31. so – so, such, thus
  32. Sie – you (formal)
  33. nur – only
  34. oder – or
  35. aber – but
  36. vor (vorm, vors) – before, in front of; of
  37. bis – by, until
  38. mehr – more
  39. durch – by, through
  40. man – one, they
  41. Prozent (das) – percent
  42. kann (können, konnte, etc.) – be able, can
  43. gegen – against; around
  44. schon – already
  45. wenn – if, when
  46. sein (seine, seinen, etc.) – his
  47. Mark (Euro) – Mark (Euro) currency
  48. ihre/ihr – her, their
  49. dann – then
  50. unter – under, among
  51. wir – we
  52. soll (sollen, sollte, etc.) – should, ought to
  53. ich – I (personal pronoun)
  54. das Jahr – the year
  55. zwei – two
  56. diese (dieser, dieses, etc.) – this, these
  57. wieder – again
  58. Uhr – clock (often used as “o’clock” in telling time)
  59. will (wollen, willst, etc.) – wants
  60. zwischen – between
  61. immer – always
  62. Millionen (eine Million) – million(s)
  63. was – what
  64. sagte (sagen, sagt) – said (say, says)
  65. gibt (es gibt; geben) – gives
  66. alle – all, everyone
  67. seit – since
  68. muss (müssen) – must
  69. doch – but, nevertheless, after all
  70. jetzt – now
  71. drei – three
  72. neue (neu, neuer, neuen, etc.) – new
  73. damit – with it/that; by that; because of that; so that
  74. bereits – already
  75. da – since, because
  76. ab – off, away; exit
  77. ohne – without
  78. sondern – but rather
  79. selbst – myself, himself
  80. ersten (erste, erstes, etc.) – first
  81. nun – now; then
  82. etwa – about, approximately; for instance
  83. heute – today, nowadays
  84. weil – because
  85. ihm – to/for him
  86. Menschen (der Mensch) – people (the human)
  87. Deutschland – Germany
  88. anderen (andere, anderes, etc.) – other(s)
  89. rund – approximately, about
  90. ihn – him
  91. das Ende – end
  92. jedoch – nevertheless
  93. die Zeit – time
  94. uns – us
  95. die Stadt – the city, town
  96. geht (gehen, ging, etc.) – goes
  97. sehr – very
  98. hier – here
  99. ganz – entire(ly), complete(ly), whole(ly)
  100. Berlin – Berlin

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Observations about the most common words in German

As you might have noted, the most used German words contain hardly any nouns. But look at the top nouns below and you’ll see many have to do with time. The most important words also contain many adverbs, pronouns and prepositions. Small-function words play a crucial part in the German language. Compound verbs tenses also feature frequently in German, which is why modal and auxiliary verbs are part of the most common words.

The 100 German words by parts of speech

The following is a compilation of the one hundred most used German words, but sorted by parts of speech. This will give you an overview of the top 25 German nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. These top lists are based on a scientific study conducted by Randall Jones and Erwin Tschirner and published in A Frequency Dictionary of German.

Top 25 German nouns

  1. das Jahr – the year
  2. das Mal –  time (as in number of times)
  3. das Beispiel – the example 
  4. die Zeit – the time
  5. die Frau – the woman, wife, Mrs. 
  6. der Mensch – the human being, man
  7. das Kind – the child 
  8. der Tag – the day
  9. der Mann – the man 
  10. das Land – the country, land
  11. die Frage – the question
  12. das Haus – the house
  13. der Fall – the fall, case  
  14. die Leute – the people (plural)
  15. die Arbeit – the work, job
  16. das Prozent – the percent
  17. die Hand – the hand
  18. die Stadt – the city
  19. der Herr – the man, gentleman, Mr.
  20. der/das Teil – the part, piece
  21. das Problem – the problem
  22. die Welt – the world
  23. das Recht – the right, law
  24. das Ende – the end
  25. die Million – the million

Top 25 German verbs

  1. sein (ist), war, ist gewesen – to be
  2. haben, hatte, hat gehabt –  to have
  3. werden (wird), wurde, ist geworden – to become
  4. können (kann), konnte, hat gekonnt – can, to be able to
  5. müssen (muss), musste, hat gemusst – must, to have to
  6. sagen, sagte, hat gesagt – to say 
  7. machen, machte, hat gemacht – to do, make
  8. geben (gibt), gab, hat gegeben – to give
  9. kommen, kam, ist gekommen – to come
  10. sollen (soll), sollte, hat gesollt – should, ought to
  11. wollen (will), wollte, hat gewollt – to want
  12. gehen, ging, ist gegangen – to go
  13. wissen (weiß), wusste, hat gewusst – to know  
  14. sehen (sieht), sah, hat gesehen – to see
  15. lassen (lässt), ließ, hat gelassen – to let, allow, have done
  16. stehen, stand, hat gestanden – to stand
  17. finden, fand, hat gefunden – to find
  18. bleiben, blieb, ist geblieben – to stay, remain
  19. liegen, lag, hat gelegen – to lie, be lying
  20. heißen, hieß, hat geheißen – to be called
  21. denken, dachte, hat gedacht – to think
  22. nehmen (nimmt), nahm, hat genommen – to take
  23. tun, tat, hat getan – to do
  24. dürfen (darf), durfte, hat gedurft – may, to be allowed
  25. glauben, glaubte, hat geglaubt – to believe

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Top 25 German adjectives

  1. ganz – whole, all the
  2. groß – big, large, great
  3. gut – good
  4. neu – new
  5. erste, -r, -s – first
  6. lang – long
  7. deutsch – German
  8. klein – small, little
  9. alt – old
  10. hoch – high, tall
  11. einfach – simple, easy
  12. letzte, -r, -s – last 
  13. gleich – same  
  14. möglich – possible
  15. eigen – own
  16. schön – beautiful, pleasant, good
  17. spät – late
  18. wichtig – important
  19. weitere, -r, -s – additional
  20. genau – exact
  21. jung – young
  22. kurz – short
  23. stark – strong
  24. richtig – right, correct
  25. verschieden – different, diverse

Top 25 German adverbs

  1. auch – also, too
  2. so – so, thus, this way, such
  3. dann – then
  4. da – there
  5. noch – still, yet
  6. also – so, therefore
  7. nur – only
  8. schon – already 
  9. mehr – more 
  10. jetzt – now
  11. immer – always
  12. sehr – very
  13. hier – here  
  14. doch – but, still
  15. wieder – again
  16. eigentlich – actually
  17.  oben – above, up there
  18. nun – now
  19. heute – today
  20. weit – widely, far
  21. eben – just now
  22. erst – first, only, not until
  23. natürlich – naturally, of course
  24. vielleicht – perhaps, maybe
  25. dort – there

Practice makes perfect

Learning vocabulary in your sleep would be a dream, wouldn’t it? However, for the most satisfying results and to achieve the most fluency, practice makes perfect. Now that you have at hand the 100 most used German words, it is time for your to put them to good use!

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Jakob Straub

Jakob is a freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain, and his favorite books have pages all empty. As an expert storyteller, he publishes creative fiction in English and German and helps other authors shape their manuscripts into compelling stories. Thanks to an expertise in a wide range of topics such as writing, literature and productivity to marketing, travel, and technology, he produces engaging content for his clients. Apart from the escape that books offer, Jakob enjoys traveling digital nomad style and stays active with climbing and hiking. Find out more about him on his websiteTwitter or on Goodreads.

Jakob Straub

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