When learning German vocabulary, common verbs are among the most important words as you simply cannot form a complete sentence without a word. In the following guide, we’ll teach you the most common German verbs and their past forms, the simple past and participle. We’ll also show you sample sentences in which we use the ten most common verbs in variations.
- Why it’s helpful to learn German verbs
- The top 111 most common German verbs
- Sample sentences with the 10 most common German verbs
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Why it’s helpful to learn German verbs
Whether you’re messaging a friend or talking to them in person, many casual conversations happen in short expressions and half sentences. However, if you want to express yourself fully and form complete sentences in any language, you’ll need to use verbs.
The more verbs you know in German, the more things you can describe, express and convey. Verbs are action words; you’ll have learned that early on. But they not only describe physical activity, they also allow you to express a state of being or feeling and mental activity.
Furthermore, auxiliary and modal verbs enable you to express conditional clauses and construct more complex sentences. Our list below is primarily for vocabulary learning purposes, but we’ll also show you how to conjugate verbs in German.
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List of the top 111 most common German verbs
To get your vocabulary learning started or to build a basic set of flashcards, here are the most common and most used German verbs in alphabetical order.
German verb | English verb | Simple Past | Past Participle |
---|---|---|---|
anbieten | (to) offer | bot an | angeboten |
ändern | (to) change | änderte | geändert |
anfangen | (to) begin | fing an | angefangen |
ansehen | (to) look at | sah ah | angesehen |
antworten | (to) answer, reply | antwortete | geantwortet |
arbeiten | (to) work | arbeitete | gearbeitet |
aussehen | (to) look, appear | sah aus | ausgesehen |
bedeuten | (to) mean | bedeutete | bedeutet |
beginnen | (to) begin, start | begann | begonnen |
bekommen | (to) get | bekam | bekommen |
bestellen | (to) order | bestellte | bestellt |
besuchen | (to) visit | besuchte | besucht |
betreffen | (to) concern, affect | betraf | betroffen |
bieten | (to) offer | bot | geboten |
bilden | (to) form, shape | bildete | gebildet |
bleiben | (to) stay | blieb | geblieben |
brauchen | (to) need | brauchte | gebraucht |
bringen | (to) bring | brachte | gebracht |
danken | (to) thank | dankte | gedankt |
denken | (to) think | dachte | gedacht |
dürfen | (to) be allowed to | durfte | gedurft |
entwickeln | (to) develop | entwickelte | entwickelt |
ergeben | (to) yield, result in | ergab | ergeben |
erinnern | (to) recall, remember | erinnerte | erinnert |
erkennen | (to) recognise, detect | erkannte | erkannt |
erklären | (to) explain | erklärte | erklärt |
erreichen | (to) reach | erreichte | erreicht |
erscheinen | (to) appear | erschien | erschienen |
erwarten | (to) expect, await | erwartete | erwartet |
essen | (to) eat | aß | gegessen |
fahren | (to) drive | fuhr | gefahren |
finden | (to) find | fand | gefunden |
folgen | (to) follow | folgte | gefolgt |
fragen | (to) ask, question | fragte | gefragt |
fühlen | (to) feel | fühlte | gefühlt |
führen | (to) lead | führte | geführt |
geben | (to) give | gab | gegeben |
gehen | (to) go | ging | gegangen |
gehören | (to) belong | hörte | gehört |
gewinnen | (to) win | gewann | gewonnen |
glauben | (to) believe | glaubte | geglaubt |
haben | (to) have | hatte | gehabt |
halten | (to) hold | hielt | gehalten |
handeln | (to) act, trade | handelete | gehandelt |
heißen | (to) be called | hieß | geheißen |
helfen | (to) help | half | geholfen |
hören | (to) hear, listen | hörte | gehört |
interessieren | (to) interest | interessierte | interessiert |
kaufen | (to) buy | kaufte | gekauft |
kennen | (to) know | kannte | gekannt |
kommen | (to) come | kam | gekommen |
können | (to) be able to | konnte | gekonnt |
lachen | (to) laugh | lachte | gelacht |
lassen | (to) let | ließ | gelassen |
laufen | (to) run | lief | gelaufen |
leben | (to) live | lebte | gelebt |
legen | (to) lay, put down | legte | gelegt |
lernen | (to) learn | lernte | gelernt |
lesen | (to) read | las | gelesen |
lieben | (to) love | liebte | geliebt |
liegen | (to) lie (down) | lag | gelegen |
machen | (to) make, do | machte | gemacht |
meinen | (to) mean | meinte | gemeint |
mögen | (to) live | mochte | gemocht |
müssen | (to) have to | musste | gemusst |
nehmen | (to) take | nahm | genommen |
nennen | (to) call, name, mention | nannte | genannt |
öffnen | (to) open | öffnete | geöffnet |
reden | (to) talk | redete | geredet |
reisen | (to) travel | reiste | gereist |
rennen | (to) run | rannte | gerannt |
riechen | (to) smell | roch | gerochen |
sagen | (to) say | sagte | gesagt |
schaffen | (to) create, achieve | schuf | geschaffen |
scheinen | (to) seem, shine | schien | geschienen |
schlafen | (to) sleep | schlief | geschlafen |
schließen | (to) close | schloss | geschlossen |
schmecken | (to) taste | schmecke | geschmeckt |
schreiben | (to) write | schrieb | geschrieben |
sehen | (to) see | sah | gesehen |
sein | (to) be | war | gewesen |
senden | (to) send | sandtesendete | gesandtgesendet |
setzen | (to) sit down, put down | setzte | gesetzt |
singen | (to) sing | sang | gesungen |
sitzen | (to) sit | saß | gesessen |
sollen | (to) be supposed to, ought | sollte | gesollt |
spielen | (to) play | spielte | gespielt |
sprechen | (to) speak | sprach | gesprochen |
stehen | (to) stand | stand | gestanden |
stellen | (to) put | stellte | gestellt |
studieren | (to) study | studierte | studiert |
suchen | (to) search, look for | suchte | gesucht |
teilen | (to) divide, share | teilte | geteilt |
tragen | (to) carry, wear | trug | getragen |
treffen | (to) meet, encounter | traf | getroffen |
trinken | (to) drink | trank | getrunken |
tun | (to) do | tat | getan |
verbinden | (to) connect | verband | verbunden |
verlassen | (to) leave | verließ | verlassen |
verlieren | (to) lose | verlor | verloren |
verstehen | (to) understand | verstand | verstanden |
versuchen | (to) try, attempt | versuchte | versucht |
verwenden | (to) use | verwandteverwendete | verwandtverwendet |
warten | (to) wait | wartete | gewartet |
werden | (to) become, will | wurde | geworden |
wissen | (to) know | wusste | gewusst |
wohnen | (to) live, reside | wohnte | gewohnt |
wollen | (to) want | wollte | gewollt |
zählen | (to) count | zählte | gezählt |
zeigen | (to) show, demonstrate | zeigte | gezeigt |
ziehen | (to) pull | zog | gezogen |
Sample sentences with the 10 most common German verbs
The following are examples sentences of how to use the ten most common verbs: sein, haben, werden, können, sollen, tun, machen, gehen, sagen, geben.
1. Sein
- “Ich bin dreiundzwanzig Jahre alt.” = I’m twenty three years old.
- “Wir müssen um drei Uhr dort sein.” = We have to be there at three o’clock.
- “Das kann doch nicht wahr sein!” = It can’t be true!
2. Haben
- “Haben Sie das gesehen?” = Did you see that?
- “Hast du heute Zeit?” = Do you have time today?
- “Ich habe viele Bücher.” = I have many books.
3. Werden
- “Ich werde immer besser!” = I’m getting better and better at it!
- “Er ist dreißig geworden.” = He turned thirty.
- “Wurdet ihr nicht fertig?” = Did you not finish with it?
4. Können
- “Können Sie mir bitte helfen?” = Can you please help me?
- “Ich kann dich nicht verstehen.” = I cannot understand you.
- “Wir können zusammen essen gehen.” = We can go eat together.
5. Sollen
- “Ich soll Ihnen das geben.” = I’m supposed to give you this.
- “Sie sollen warten.” = They should wait.
- “Was sollt ihr tun?” = What are you expected to do?
6. Tun
- “Warum hast du das getan?” = Why did you do that?
- “Es gibt viel zu tun!” = There is a lot to do!
- “Was werdet ihr deswegen tun?” = What are you going to do about it?
7. Machen
- “Ich mache das Mittagessen.” = I’m making lunch.
- “Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht?” = What did you do on the weekend?
- “Das haben sie gut gemacht.” = They did / made it well.
8. Gehen
- “Das geht so nicht!” = It doesn’t work like this.
- “Wir gehen spazieren.” = We’re taking a walk.
- “Sie gehen zusammen aus.” They’re going out together.
9. Sagen
- “Entschuldigung, was haben Sie gesagt?” = Excuse me, what did you say?
- “Er will etwas sagen.” = He wants to say something.
- “Ich sage, wir machen das so.” = I say we do it like this.
10. Geben
- “Ich gebe dir einen Rat.” = I give you some advice.
- “Kannst du mir das bitte geben?” = Can you please give me that?
- “Ihr habt uns nichts gegeben.” = You have given us nothing.
Are you curious about more common words in German? Check out the list of the most common spoken words in German!
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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 website, Twitter or on Goodreads.