Top 20 Most-Used German Verbs
Common German Verbs: Part 2
Ranked by Frequency (Häufigkeit)
You are here:
German Verb Guide > Top 20 Part 1 > Top 20 Part 2
In this section of our chart you'll find selected conjugations and examples for each verb in the next ten top. You can see all of the irregular and other German verbs on our German Verbs page and on the 50 Common German Verbs chart of the most common German verbs in the present tense—with examples. For more on word frequency in German, also see the link for Projekt Wortschatz Deutsch below.
Note: Our ranked verb list is related more to spoken German. Many ranked word lists are based on the frequency of words found in newspapers and magazines, which is an easier statistic to generate. We make no claims of scientific accuracy for our "Rangliste."
Also see: Verb-Lexikon - 500+ German verbs
| The Top 20 Most-Used German Verbs (2) Ranked by Usage Frequency |
||
| Infinitiv | Common Forms | Examples |
| 11 Tie heißen to be called, named (my/his) name is |
ich heiße my name is sie heißt her name is du heißt your name is er hieß his name was er hat geheißen he was named wir heißen our name is Heißen Sie…? Is your name…? |
COMMANDS N/A OTHER Wie 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? (child) Ich heiße Karl. My name is Karl. (child) Was soll das heißen? What's that supposed to mean?/What do you mean by that? |
| 11 Tie sagen to say, tell |
ich sage I say du sagst you say er sagte he said er hat gesagt he said/has said wir sagen we say sagen Sie? do you say?/are you saying? |
COMMANDS Sag das nicht! Don't say it! Sagen Sie mir! Tell me! OTHER Er sagt, was er denkt. He says what he means/thinks. Das sagt mir nichts. That doesn't mean anything to me. Du hast nichts zu sagen. You have no say (in the matter). |
| 12 gehen to go |
ich gehe I go, am going du gehst you go er geht he goes sie ist gegangen she went/has gone er ging he went |
COMMANDS gehe! go! geht! go! gehen Sie! go! OTHER Das 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 Fuß She goes on foot./She walks. |
| 13 sehen to see |
ich sehe I see du siehst you see er sieht he sees er hat gesehen he saw/has seen sie sah she saw wir sahen we saw |
COMMANDS sehe! see! sehen Sie! see! OTHER Sie sieht nicht gut. She doesn't see well. Wo hast du ihn gesehen? Where did you see him? |
| 14 geben to give |
ich gebe I give du gibst you give er gab he gave Sie geben you give es gibt there is/are |
COMMANDS gebt! give! gib! give! geben Sie! give! OTHER Geben 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. |
| 15 kommen to come |
ich komme I come, am coming du kommst you come er kam he came sie ist gekommen she came |
COMMANDS komm! come! kommt! come! kommen Sie! come! OTHER Ich 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. |
| 16 lassen to let, allow, leave |
ich lasse I let du lässt you let er lässt he lets Sie haben gelassen You have let er ließ he let |
COMMANDS Lassen Sie das! Stop that! Leave that alone! OTHER Er 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. |
| 17 finden to find |
ich finde I find ich fand I found du findest you find er fand he found Sie haben gefunden you found/have found |
COMMANDS finde! find! findet! find! finden Sie! find! OTHER Er fand die Suppe gut. He liked the soup. Wir finden keinen Platz. We can't find a seat. |
| 18 bleiben to stay, remain |
ich bleibe I stay du bleibst you stay wir bleiben we stay er blieb he stayed ich bin geblieben I stayed, have stayed |
COMMANDS bleib! stay! bleibt! stay! Bitte, bleiben Sie sitzen! Please remain seated! OTHER Er 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. |
| 19 nehmen to take |
ich nehme I take du nimmst you take er nimmt he takes wir nehmen we take er hat genommen he took, has taken ich werde nehmen I will take |
COMMANDS nimm! take! nehmt! take! nehmen Sie! take! Nehmen Sie Platz! Have a seat! OTHER Er 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. |
| 20 bringen to bring |
ich bringe I bring du bringst you bring er brachte he brought sie hat gebracht she brought, has brought |
COMMANDS bring! bring bringt! bring bringen Sie! bring OTHER Ich 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. |
| BACK > First 10 Verbs | ||
BACK > First 10 Most-Used Verbs
MORE > Verb-Lexikon - 500+ verbs
Top 1000 German Words
The 1000 most frequently encountered German words (reading).
Der deutsche Almanach
Back to the complete German almanac.
German Strong Verbs
A look at more irregular verbs in the present, simple past and present perfect.
German Verb Conjugations
Selected German verbs with conjugations and example sentences.
Lektion 4B
How to conjugate most German verbs in the present tense. Part of German for Beginners.
Lektion 16
How to say "know" in German - kennen/wissen. Part of German for Beginners.
German for Beginners - Contents
Related Pages
50 Common German Verbs
A chart of the most common German verbs - with examples.
Häufigste Wörter (Web link)
Eine Rangliste der häufigsten Wörter. Ranglisten (100/1000/10000) für Deutsch, Englisch und Niederländisch. Von dem Projekt Wortschatz Deutsch.
German Strong (Irregular) Verbs
The principal parts and conjugations of German irregular verbs, including "haben" and "sein."
Verb Review 1
Part One of a 3-part look at the ins and outs of German verbs. With self-scoring quiz.
English-German Glossaries
All of the annotated glossaries on this site - from aerospace to travel.
German Grammar
All of the grammar resources on this site, by category.
BACK > First 10 Most-Used Verbs
German Newsletters
Subscribe to a free newsletter!
OUR GERMAN FORUMS