50 Common German Verbs
Deutsche Verben
With sample sentences and irregular
forms in the present tense
Part of our German for Beginners online course.
German Verbs - Present Tense (Lesson 4B) > 50 Verbs
Verb-Lexikon > Lesson 4B > 50 Verbs > Verb Quiz
This chart is an alphabetical list of 50 commonly used German verbs. Example sentences in the present tense illustrate the use of each verb. Stem-changing verbs are shown with their du (2nd person sing.) and er (3rd person sing.) forms. Only some irregular verbs (but no separable-prefix or modal verbs) have been included in this chart. All of these verbs, including the stem-changing ones, are conjugated normally in the PRESENT TENSE.
Many commonly used German verbs are NOT regular verbs. For a ranked list of the Top 20 German Verbs, including irregular verbs, click on the link. For over 500 German verbs, see our Verb-Lexikon.
Also see:
German Verb Conjugator (selected verbs)
| 50 Common German Verbs Click on any linked verb for a full conjugation |
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| Deutsch | English | 2nd/3rd Per. Sing. Sample Sentence |
| antworten | to answer | Er antwortet nicht. |
| arbeiten | to work | Er arbeitet heute. |
| bedeuten | to mean, signify | Was bedeutet dieses Wort? |
| beginnen | to begin | Wann beginnt der Film? |
| bekommen | to get, receive | Was bekommen Sie? What can I get for you? |
| bestellen | to order | Er bestellt es online. |
| besuchen | to visit | Wir besuchen meine Tante in Berlin. |
| bezahlen | to pay | Bezahlen wir jetzt? |
| bleiben | to stay, remain | Wir bleiben hier. |
| bringen | to bring, take | Ich bringe Sie zum Flughafen. I'll take you to the airport. |
| danken | to thank | Ich danke Ihnen. (dative verb) |
| Danke! > 10 Ways to Say 'Thank You' in German | ||
| denken | to think | Was denken Sie darüber? What do you think about that? |
| essen | to eat | du/er isst Wann isst du zu Mittag? When do you eat lunch? |
| fahren | to travel, drive, go |
du fährst/er fährt Ich fahre morgen nach Dresden. I'm going/traveling to Dresden tomorrow. |
| finden | to find | Wie finden Sie den Film? What do you think of the movie? |
| fliegen | to fly | Er fliegt nach Boston. |
| fragen | to ask | Fragst du mich? |
| geben | to give | du gibst/er gibt Wann gibst du ihm das Buch? es gibt = there is/there are |
| gehen | to go | Wir gehen ins Kino. |
| helfen | to help | du hilfst/er hilft Helfen Sie mir! (dative verb) |
| hören | to hear, listen | Hörst du die Musik? |
| kaufen | to buy | Ich kaufe die Postkarte. |
| Also see: Present Tense Quiz 1 A self-scoring quiz on the German regular verbs. |
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| kommen | to come | Wann kommt er nach Hause? |
| kosten | to cost | Was kostet das Buch? |
| lesen | to read | du/er liest Ich lese die Zeitung. |
| lieben | to love | Ich liebe dich. |
| machen | to make, do | Was macht er? |
| nehmen | to take | du nimmst/er nimmt Nehmt ihr das Geld? |
| öffnen | to open | Sie öffnet die Tür. |
| MORE > Verb-Lexikon - 500+ German verbs | ||
| probieren | to try (out) | Probieren geht über Studieren. (saying)The proof's in the pudding. |
| regnen | to rain | Es regnet heute. |
| reisen | to travel | Er reist nach Teneriffa. |
| sagen | to say, tell | Er sagt nein. |
| schlafen | to sleep | du schläfst/er schläft Wir schlafen gut. |
| schmecken | to taste, be tasty | Das schmeckt! That tastes good! |
| schreiben | to write | Er schreibt eine Mail. |
| schwimmen | to swim | Er schwimmt gern. He likes to swim. |
| sehen | to see | du siehst/er sieht Ich sehe ihn nicht. |
| senden | to send, transmit | Er sendet eine E-Mail. |
| setzen | to put, set | Er setzt sich. He sits down. |
| singen | to sing | Sie singt sehr schön. |
| spielen | to play, act | Hans spielt Fußball. |
| sprechen | to speak | du sprichst/er spricht Ich spreche Deutsch. |
| suchen | to seek, search look for |
Was suchst du? What are you looking for? |
| trinken | to drink | Ich trinke lieber Kaffee. I'd rather drink coffee. |
| vergessen | to forget | du vergisst/er vergisst Ich vergesse den Namen. |
| verstehen | to understand | Er versteht Deutsch. |
| warten | to wait | Sie wartet auf den Bus. She's waiting for the bus. |
| wohnen | to reside, live (in) | Mein Vater wohnt in Hamburg. |
| zeigen | to show, indicate | Ich zeige Ihnen, wo das ist. |
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See more about conjugating regular verbs in Lektion 4B - German Verbs: Present Tense MORE > Verb-Lexikon - 500+ German verbs |
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QUIZ > German Present Tense Quiz 1 - A self-scoring quiz
VERBS > Verb-Lexikon - 500+ German verbs
VERBS > German Verb Conjugator - selected verbs
Past Tenses: To learn the past tense forms (conjugations) of these and other German verbs see The Two German Past Tenses. Also see verbs in the simple past and present perfect tenses on our German Strong (Irregular) Verbs page.
German Verbs: Present Tense
Back to Lektion 4B of German for Beginners.
German Present Tense Quiz 1
A self-scoring quiz on the German present tense verb conjugations.
German Strong (Irregular) Verbs
The principal parts and conjugations of German irregular verbs, including "haben" and "sein."
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German for Beginners - Contents
Verb Review 1
Part One of a 3-part look at the ins and outs of German verbs. With self-scoring quiz.
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