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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I am a native German speaker and am teaching English and German as foreign languages. I have got a teaching degree and have been teaching English and German for more than two years to all levels and age groups.
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After training as a pastry chef and studying business administration, I traveled a lot and discovered my interest in languages. To find out more about teaching languages, I decided on further training at the Goethe Institute and completed it. During the Goethe Institute "Learn to teach German" course I was able to give individual language lessons and actively support the examination preparation for the Goethe certificate.
My lessons are needs-oriented. That means that learning goals are discussed with you and based on your level of knowledge. Whether grammar, sentence structure, pronunciation, expression or the practice of communication situations: German as a foreign and second language classes are flexible and take place in a group or one-to-one lessons with individual support and are based on your wishes and requirements. The teaching of content and topics takes place according to the respective language level. Building vocabulary, grammar and means of speaking are structured and conveyed logically building on each other. Let's get to know each other in a free trial class. I am looking forward to meeting you!
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Hi, I am Christin!
After training as a pastry chef and studying business administration, I traveled a lot and discovered my interest in languages. To find out more about teaching languages, I decided on further training at the Goethe Institute and completed it. During the Goethe Institute "Learn to teach German" course I was able to give individual language lessons and actively support the examination preparation for the Goethe certificate.
My lessons are needs-oriented. That means that learning goals are discussed with you and based on your level of knowledge. Whether grammar, sentence structure, pronunciation, expression or the practice of communication situations: German as a foreign and second language classes are flexible and take place in a group or one-to-one lessons with individual support and are based on your wishes and requirements. The teaching of content and topics takes place according to the respective language level. Building vocabulary, grammar and means of speaking are structured and conveyed logically building on each other. Let's get to know each other in a free trial class. I am looking forward to meeting you!
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Hello German learner! I am a dedicated teacher for DaF (German as a foreign language) studying and working in Germany. I have already gained teaching experience with different age groups and nationalities while teaching German in various language schools.
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