Languages › German Conjugations of the Most-Used German Verbs Share Flipboard Email Print Maskot/Getty Images German Grammar History & Culture Pronunciation & Conversation Vocabulary By Hyde Flippo Hyde Flippo German Expert Hyde Flippo taught the German language for 28 years at high school and college levels and published several books on the German language and culture. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on February 28, 2020 Some estimates indicate that an educated person has an active vocabulary of 10,000 to 20,000 words. Our passive vocabulary — words we understand — is much larger. To be reasonably fluent in a foreign language, be it German or any other tongue, most experts say you need to understand around 8,000 words and be able to use about 2,000. Since larger German dictionaries list more than 300,000 terms, no one can be expected to know all of them. Our goal here is much more modest: to master the most frequently used verbs. Listing by "Worthäufigkeit" (Word Frequency) Although this is a non-scientific listing of word frequency (Worthäufigkeit), the 21 verbs listed here (there was a tie for 11th place) are among the most commonly used in daily spoken and written (email, letters) German. They are ranked by approximate frequency, from most used to least. But by any measure, the verbs below are among the most useful in German, and it is a good idea to know all of them. Note that the English meaning shown here for each verb may be only one of several possible meanings. Common Conversational Verbs Note that this ranked verb list relates to conversational German. Many ranked word lists are based on the frequency of words found in newspapers and magazines, which is an easier statistic to generate but may yield different results. The Most-Used German Verbs Infinitive Common Forms Examples 1sein to be ich bin I amdu bist you areer war he waser ist gewesen he was/has beenes wäre it would be COMMANDSSei still! Be quiet!Seien Sie bitte so freundlich!Would you be so kind!OTHERIch bin's. It's me.Wie wär's mit einem Bier? How about a beer? 2haben to have ich habe I havedu hast you haveer hat he hasSie haben gehabt You had/have hadwir hätten we would have COMMANDSHab dich nicht so! Don't make such a fuss!OTHEREr hat keine Zeit. He has no time.Wenn ich nur das Geld hätte. If I only had the money. 3werden to become Also used toform thefuture tenseand thepassive voice. ich werde I becomedu wirst you becomeer ist geworden he becamees wurde it becamees würde ... it would ... COMMANDSWerde! Become!Werden Sie! Become!OTHEREs wird dunkel. It's getting dark.Sie wird uns schreiben. She will write us. (future)Der Brief wurde geschrieben. The letter was written. (passive) 4können to be able, can ich kann I candu kannst you caner konnte he couldSie können you can COMMANDSNo imperativeOTHEREr kann Deutsch. He knows German.Ich habe es nicht sagen können. I couldn't say it. 5müssen to have to, must ich muss I must/have todu musst you muster muss he mustsie musste she had towir müssen we have to COMMANDSNo imperativeOTHERIch muss nicht. I don't have to.Er muss nach Berlin. He has to go to Berlin. 6wollen to want (to) ich will I want (to)du willst you want (to)er will he wants (to)er wollte he wanted tosie hat gewollt she wanted to COMMANDSImperative rareOTHEREr will nichts trinken. He doesn't want to drink anything.Das habe ich nicht gewollt. I didn't mean to (do that).Wir wolKen morgen abfahren. We want tW leave tomorrow. 7mögen to like (to) ich mag I likeich möchte I would likedu magst you likeer mochte he likedSie mögen you likeWK COMMANDSNo imperativeOTHEREr mag die Suppe. He likes the soup.Was möchten Sie? What would you like? 8wissen to know ich weiß I knowdu weißt you knowwir wissen we knower wusste he knewich habe gewusst I knew, have known COMMANDSWisse! Know!Wisset! Know!OTHEREr weiß es nicht. He doesn't know.Sie wusste weder ein noch aus. She didn't know which way was up.Wissen Sie, wann sie ankommen? Do you know when they arrive? 9machen to make, do ich mache I do, makedu machst you makeer macht he doeswir machten we did, madeer hat gemacht he did, has doneich werde machen I will do, make COMMANDSMachen Sie sich keine Gedanken! Don't worry about it!OTHERDas macht nichts. It doesn't matter.Was macht das? What does it come to? (How much?)Was machen wir jetzt? Now what do we do? 10sollen should, ought to, supposed to ich soll I shoulddu sollst you shoulder soll he shouldsie sollte she was supposed towir sollen we ought to COMMANDSNo imperativeOTHERIch sollte dort bleiben. I ought to stay there.Es soll schön sein. It's said to be/supposed to be nice.Was soll das? What's that supposed to mean? 11 Tie heißen to be called, named (my/his) name is ich heiße my name issie heißt her name isdu heißt your name iser hieß his name waser hat geheißen he was namedwir heißen our name isHeißen Sie …? Is your name …? COMMANDS No imperativeOTHERWie heißen Sie? What's your name? (last name)Ich heiße Jones. My name is Jones.Er heißt Braun. His name is Braun.Wie heißt du? What's your name?Ich heiße Karl. My name is Karl.Was soll das heißen? What's that supposed to mean?/What do you mean by that? 11 Tiesagento say, tell ich sage I saydu sagst you sayer sagte he saider hat gesagt he said/has saidwir sagen we saysagen Sie? do you say?/are you saying? COMMANDSSag das nicht! Don't say it!Sagen Sie mir! Tell me!OTHEREr sagt, was er denkt. He says what he means/thinks.Das sagt mir nichts. That doesn't mean anything to me.Du hastBnichts zu sagen. You have no say (in the matter). 12gehen to go ich gehe I go, am goingdu gehst you goer geht he goessie ist gegangen she went/has goneer ging he went COMMANDSGehe! Go! Geht! Go!Wehen Sie! Go!OTHERDas geht nicht. That won't do/work.Wie geht es Ihnen? How are you?Meine Uhr geht nach.My watch is slow.Sie geht zu FußShe goes on foot./She walks. 13sehen to see ich sehe I seedu siehst you seeer sieht he seeser hat gesehen he saw/has seensie sah she sawwir sahen we saw COMMANDSSehe! See!Sehen Sie! See!OTHERSie sieht nicht gut. She doesn't see well.Wo hast du ihn gesehen? Where did you see him? 14geben to give ich gebe I givedu gibst you giveer gab he gaveSie geben you givees gibt there is/are COMMANDSGebt! Give! Gib! Give!Geben Sie! Give!OTHERGeben Sie mir den Bleistift! Give me the pencil.Es gibt kein Geld. There is no money.Ich gab ihr das Buch. I gave her the book.Er hat mir das Geld gegeben. He gave me the money. 15kommen to come ich komme I come, am comingdu kommst you comeer kam he camesie ist gekommen she came COMMANDSKomm! Come!Kommt! Come!Kommen Sie! Come!OTHERIch komme nicht nach Hause. I'm not coming home.Er ist nach Berlin gekommen. He came to Berlin.Woher kommt sie? Where does she come from?Es kam ganz anders, als erwartet. It turned out very differently than we expected. 16lassen to let, allow, leave ich lasse I letdu lässt you leter lässt he letsSie haben gelassen You have leter ließ he let COMMANDSLassen Sie das! Stop that! Leave that alone!OTHEREr ließ sich keine Zeit. He didn't allow himself any time.Das lasse ich mir nicht gefallen. I won't put up with that.Er lässt sich die Haare schneiden. He's getting a haircut. 17finden to find ich finde I findich fand I founddu findest you finder fand he foundSie haben gefunden you found/have found COMMANDSFinde! Find! Findet! Find!Finden Sie! Find!OTHEREr fand die Suppe gut. He liked the soup.Wir finden keinen Platz. We can't find a seat. 18bleiben to stay, remain ich bleibe I staydu bleibst you staywir bleiben we stayer blieb he stayedich bin geblieben I stayed, have stayed COMMANDSBleib! Stay!Bleibt! Stay!Bitte, bleiben Sie sitzen! Please remain seated!OTHEREr bleibt in Köln. He's staying in Cologne.Alles blieb beim Alten. Everything stayed the same./Nothing changed.Es bleibt dabei. Agreed. It's a deal. 19nehmen to take ich nehme I takedu nimmst you takeer nimmt he takeswir nehmen we takeer hat genommen he took, has takenich werde nehmen I will take COMMANDSNimm! Take! Nehmt! Take!Nehmen Sie! Take!Nehmen Sie Platz! Have a seat!OTHEREr nahm das Geld. He took the money.Sie nahm es auf sich, das zu machen. She took it upon herself to do that.Wir haben den Tag freigenommen. We took the day off. 20bringento bring ich bringe I bringdu bringst you bringer brachte he broughtsie hat gebracht she brought, has brought COMMANDSBring! Bring! Bringt! BringBringen Sie! Bring!OTHERIch bringe Sie dorthin. I'll take you there.Er hat es weit gebracht. He has been very successful./He has come far.Was bringt das? What will that accomplish?Das hat mich zum Lachen gebracht. That made me laugh. The words are ranked by frequency of use. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Flippo, Hyde. "Conjugations of the Most-Used German Verbs." ThoughtCo, May. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/conjugations-of-most-used-german-verbs-4067426. Flippo, Hyde. (2021, May 16). Conjugations of the Most-Used German Verbs. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugations-of-most-used-german-verbs-4067426 Flippo, Hyde. "Conjugations of the Most-Used German Verbs." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/conjugations-of-most-used-german-verbs-4067426 (accessed March 30, 2023). copy citation Featured Video By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies