List of common verbs in German
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This page contains the most common verbs in the German language. Additionally to each verb you will find example sentences of a possible usage of the verb.
| German | German example sentence | English | English example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| etw. anfangen | Ich fange um 10 Uhr an zu arbeiten. | to start | I will start my work at 10 am. |
| arbeiten | Sie arbeitet als Lehrerin. | to work | I work as a teacher. |
| etw. bauen | Die Familie baut ein Haus. | to build | The family is building a house. |
| etw. beginnen | Sie beginnt ihrer Tochter zu vergeben. | to begin to do sth. | She even begin to forgive her daughter. |
| etw. bekommen, erhalten | Ich habe einen Brief bekommen. | to receive sth. | I have received a letter. |
| etw. bemerken | Ich habe den neuen Haarschnitt bemerkt. | to notice so./ sth | I have noticed your new haircut. |
| etw. bringen | Sie bringt Salat zum Grillen. | to bring sth. | She brings salad to the barbecue. |
| etw. denken | Sie denken an Essen. | to think (of sth.) | They think of food. |
| etw. dürfen | Das Kind darf Fernsehen. | to be allowed to do sth. | The child is allowed to watch TV. |
| etw. entwickeln | Sie entwickeln ein neues Auto. | to create | They are creating a new car. |
| etw. erklären | Der Lehrer/ Die Lehrerin erklärt Mathematik. | to explain sth. | The teacher is explaining maths. |
| etw. erzählen | Ich möchte dir eine Geschichte erzählen. | to tell so. sth. | I want to tell you a story. |
| etw. essen | Ich werde heute abend Pizza essen. | to eat (sth.) | I am going to eat pizza tonight. |
| etw. fahren | Sie fährt das Auto. | to drive (sth.) | She drives the car. |
| etw. fragen | Er fragt eine Frage. | to ask sth. | He asks a question. |
| jdn. füttern | Sie füttert die Tiere. | to feed so. | She is feeding the animals. |
| etw. haben | Sie haben drei Autos. | to have sth. | They have three cars. |
| etw. halten | Der Sohn hält die Tüten. | to hold sth. | The son is holding the bags. |
| etw. holen | Die Mutter holt Brot im Laden. | to get sth. | The mother gets bread at the grocery store. |
| etw. hören | Sie hört Musik. | to listen to sth. | She is listening to music. |
| etw. kaufen | Der Vater geht ein Fernseher kaufen. | to buy | The father is going to buy a TV. |
| etw. lesen | Die Klasse liest ein Buch. | to read (sth.) | The class is reading a book. |
| etw. nehmen | Nimm die Flasche vom Tisch. | to take sth. | Take the bottle on the table. |
| etw. öffnen | Sie öffnen das Geschäft. | to open | They open the store. |
| etw. packen | Sie sollte ihre Sachen packen. | to pack (sth.) | She should pack her things. |
| etw. rechnen | Sie rechnen irgendetwas. | to calculate | They are calculating something. |
| etw. sagen | Er sagt, dass du hübsch bist. | to say sth. | He says that you are beautiful. |
| etw. sammeln | Er sammelt Briefmarken. | to collect sth. | He is collecting stamps. |
| etw. schenken | Er schenkt ein Geschenk. | to make a gift | He is making a gift. |
| etw. schicken | Sie schickt eine Postkarte. | to send so./sth. | She sent a postcard. |
| etw. schließen | Schließ die Tür! | to close (sth.) | Close the door! |
| etw. schreiben | Sie schreibt einen Aufsatz. | to write (sth.) | She is writing an essay. |
| etw. studieren | Sie studiert Wirtschaft. | to study | They are studying economics. |
| etw. tragen | Der Vater trägt die Tüten. | to carry sth. | The father is carrying the bags. |
| etw. vergessen | Ich vergaß meine Hose. | to forget sth. | I forgot my pants. |
| etw. waschen | Ich wasche das Auto. | to wash (sth.) | I wash the car. |
| etw. wollen | Ich will Eis. | to want sth. | I want ice-cream. |
| etw. wünschen | Ich wünsche Frieden und Ruhe. | to wish sth. | I wish peace and quietness. |
| etw./ jmd. brauchen | Wir brauchen Hilfe. | to need sth. | We need help. |
| etw./ jmdm beißen | Der Hund hat mich gebissen. | to bite | A dog has bitten me. |
| etw./ jmdn anschauen | Wir schauen die Berge an. | to look at sth. | We are looking at the mountains. |
| etw./ jmdn. finden | Sie fand ein Armband auf der Straße. | to find sth. | She found a bracelet on the street. |
| fallen | Er fällt vom Baum. | to fall | He fell of the tree. |
| fehlen | Sara fehlt heute. | to be missing | Sara is missing today. |
| fliegen | Vögel fliegen am Himmel. | to fly | Birds are flying in the sky. |
| fotografieren | Er fotografiert. | to take photos | He is taking photos. |
| führen | Der Kapitän führt sein Team. | to guide | The captain is guiding his team. |
| gehen | Er geht nach Hause. | to go | He is going home. |
| gewinnen | Sie gewinnt den Wettbewerb. | to win (at sth.) | She is winning at the contest. |
| glauben | Die Familie glaubt an Gott. | to believe in (sth.) | The family is believing in God. |
| hängen | Das Gemälde hängt an der Wand. | to hang | The painting is hanging on the wall. |
| heißen | Die Katze heißt Bounty. | to be called | The cat is called Bounty. |
| jmdm. antworten | Sie atwortet ihrem Freund. | to answer (so.) | She answers her boyfriend. |
| jmdm. etw. geben | Die Tochter gibt das Geschenk der Mutter. | to give (so. sth.) | The daughter is giving her mother the present. |
| jmdm. etw. zeigen | Ich zeige dir das Buch. | to show so. sth. | I show you the book. |
| jmdm. gehören | Der Hund gehört dem Nachbar. | to belong to so. | The dog belongs to the neighbor. |
| jmdm. helfen | Der Lehrer/ Die Lehrerin hilft ihren Studenten. | to help so. | The teacher is helping the students. |
| jmdn. anschreien | Sie schreien ihre Kinder an. | to yell at so. | They are yelling at their children. |
| jmdn. erschrecken | Der Bruder erschreckt seine Schwester. | to terrify so. | The bother is terrifying his sister. |
| jmdn. kennen | Die Familie kennt den Bürgermeister. | to know so./sth. | The family knows the mayor. |
| jmdn./ etw. fangen | Die Polizei fängt den Mann. | to catch so./sth. | The police is catching a man. |
| jmdn./ etw. schlagen | Sie schlägt ihn im Laufen. | to beat so./sth. | She beats him at running. |
| jmdn./ etw. suchen | Wir suchen nach unserer Schwester. | to look for so./ sth. | We are looking for our sister. |
| jmdn. nennen | In seinem Buch nennt der Autor seine Mutter. | to refer | The author is referring his mother in his book. |
| klettern | Die Katze klettert auf den Baum. | to climb | The cat is climbed in the tree. |
| kochen | Er liebt es zu kochen. | to do the cooking | He loves to do the cooking. |
| kommen | Wir werden heute abend nicht kommen. | to come | We won't come tonight. |
| können | Sie können Deutsch sprechen. | can | They can speak German. |
| lassen | Die Eltern lassen ihre Tochter zur Feier gehen. | to let | The parents let their daughter go to the party. |
| laufen | Sie läuft im Park. | to walk | She is walking in a park. |
| leben | Er lebt sein Leben. | to live | He is living his life. |
| legen, stellen | Sie stellt den Tea auf den Tisch. | to put | She puts the tea on the table. |
| liegen | Die Mutter liegt auf dem Sofa. | to lie | The mother is lying on the couch. |
| machen | Der Manager macht ein ernstzunehmendes Angebot. | to make sth. | The manager is making a serious offer. |
| mögen | Ich mag Essen. | to like so./sth. | I like food. |
| müssen | Ich muss mein Zimmer sauber machen. | to have to | I have to clean my room. |
| reden | Sie reden mit ihren Eltern. | to talk | They are talking with their parents. |
| reiten | Sie reitet auf dem Pferd. | to ride | She is riding a horse. |
| rennen | Sie rennen im Park. | to run | They are running in the park. |
| rufen | Sie ruft um Hilfe. | to shout for sth. | She is shouting for help. |
| scheinen | Die Sonne scheint. | to shine | The sun is shinning. |
| schlafen | Der Bär schläft. | to sleep | The bear is sleeping. |
| schwimmen | Sie schwimmen im See. | to swim | We are swimming in the lake. |
| sehen | Ich sehe dich. | to see | I see you. |
| sich aufhalten | Ich halte mich in Frankreich auf. | to stay | I stay in France. |
| sich drehen | Ein Rad dreht sich. | to turn sth. | A wheel is turning. |
| sich duschen | Der Vater duscht sich. | to take a shower | The father is taking a shower. |
| singen | Der Chor singt. | to sing | The choir is singing. |
| sitzen | Die Studenten sitzen auf ihren Stühlen. | to sit | The students are sitting on their chairs. |
| sollen | Du solltest vorbereitet sein. | should | You should be prepared. |
| spielen | Sie spielen im Garten. | to play | They are playing in the garden. |
| sprechen | Du sprichst Englisch. | to speak | You speak English. |
| springen | Bist du so weit, um ins Wasser zu springen? | to jump | Are you ready to jump in the water? |
| stehen | Sie stehen auf. | to stand | They are standing up. |
| steigen | Der Profit stieg. | to increase | The profit increased. |
| über etw. lachen | Sie lachen über den Witz. | to laugh about sth. | They are laughing about a joke. |
| von etw. wissen | Sie weiß von der Geschichte. | to be aware of sth. | She is aware of the history. |
| warten | Wir warten auf den Bus. | to wait for so./ sth | We are waiting for the bus. |
| werden | Ich werde Lehrer werden. | to become | I will become a teacher. |
| wohnen | Sie wohnen in Spanien. | to live | They live in Spain. |
| ziehen | Sie zieht ihr Kind. | to pull sth. | She is pulling her child. |
Exercises
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Dear Silvia, thank you very much!
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