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The 50 most common German verbs

By Gareth Leave a Comment

Learning the most frequent German words is makes tactical sense when you’re starting to learn the language. The most common German verbs – words expressing an action like “to eat” or a state like “to be” – should be at the top of your list. After all, beyond pointing at objects and naming them, you won’t get far in German without some “action”! 🙂  

There’s good news as you start learning (or revising) the most useful German verbs: many are very similar to the English equivalent.

The dictionary form of the verbs is the “infinitive”. In English that’s the “to” form: to be, to go, to say.  In German, infinitives usually end in –en and sometimes just -n: gehen (to go), sagen (to say), können (to be able/can), sein (to be), klingeln (to ring). 

Just like in English, German verb endings sometimes change (“conjugation”) to show who is doing the action (I live, he lives; ich lebe, er lebt), when (I lived; ich lebte).

Just like in English, some German verbs are “strong verbs” (including some in our list) and they show the past by a changing a vowel in the “stem” (the part that’s left when you take off the -(e)n at the end): I give > I gave; ich gebe > ich gab. 

How should you learn the most important German verbs?  

Don’t learn the list below in a set order: mix it up, for example by making flashcards with the German on one side and the English on the other. 

Besides the infinitive, you need to get the right endings. The German verb “endings” are generally regular. Even strong verbs and the small number of other irregularities also follow patterns that are quickly explained and that you can master with practice.

Learn the infinitives by all means but it also helps to learn the verb in an example phrases. Context helps you remember and makes sure you’ve got the ending right and you’re using the verb in a natural-sounding way. As you read, listen and speak, collect sentences that contain examples of the verbs.  Test yourself with your flashcards, try to make sentences of your own (modelled on your examples) and get feedback.

Keep coming back to the verbs and your illustrative sentences – you’ll forget them many times… ….until you don’t.  

Practice leads to learning. Conscious vocab building is powerful but it won’t work if you don’t get lot of exposure to German too.

Discover how YOU can use Dr P's free Weekly Workout Routine to get ready for more confident German conversations in a matter of weeks. Click here to get the training !

The 50 most common German verbs: a list

Here’s the basic German verb list, to get you started.

1seinbe
2habenhave
3könnenbe able/can
4werdenbecome
5sagensay/tell
6müssenhave to/must
7gebengive
8wollen want
9machenmake
10kommencome
11sollenought/should
12gehengo
13wissenknow (a fact)
14sehensee
15lassenleave/let
16stehenstand
17lebenlive
18findenfind
19liegenlay (something down)
20bleibenstay
21heißenbe called
22denkenthink
23stellenstand (something somewhere)
24zeigenshow
25nehmentake
26dürfenmay/be allowed to
27hörenhear
28fragenask
29haltenstop
30glaubenbelieve
31fühlenfeel
32folgenfollow
33sprechenspeak
34führenlead
35bringenbring
36mögenlike
37brauchenneed
38nennenname
39schreibenwrite
40ziehenpull
41spielenplay
42verstehenunderstand
43bekommenget/receive
44meinenmean
45fahrendrive
46kennenknow (person/place)
47vergessenforget
48arbeitenwork
49versuchentry
50setzenbe seated
Discover how YOU can use Dr P's free Weekly Workout Routine to get ready for more confident German conversations in a matter of weeks. Click here to get the training !

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