Conjugations of the Most-Used German Verbs

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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
1
sein

to be
ich bin I am
du bist you are
er war he was
er ist gewesen he was/has been
es wäre it would be
COMMANDS
Sei still! Be quiet!
Seien Sie bitte so freundlich!Would you be so kind!
OTHER
Ich bin's. It's me.
Wie wär's mit einem Bier? How about a beer?
2
haben

to have
ich habe I have
du hast you have
er hat he has
Sie haben gehabt You had/have had
wir hätten we would have
COMMANDS
Hab dich nicht so! Don't make such a fuss!
OTHER
Er hat keine Zeit. He has no time.
Wenn ich nur das Geld hätte. If I only had the money.
3
werden

to become

Also used to
form the
future tense
and the
passive voice.
ich werde I become
du wirst you become
er ist geworden he became
es wurde it became
es würde ... it would ...
COMMANDS
Werde! Become!
Werden Sie! Become!
OTHER
Es wird dunkel. It's getting dark.
Sie wird uns schreiben. She will write us. (future)
Der Brief wurde geschrieben. The letter was written. (passive)
4
können

to be able, can
ich kann I can
du kannst you can
er konnte he could
Sie können you can
COMMANDS
No imperative
OTHER
Er kann Deutsch. He knows German.
Ich habe es nicht sagen können. I couldn't say it.
5
müssen

to have to, must
ich muss I must/have to
du musst you must
er muss he must
sie musste she had to
wir müssen we have to
COMMANDS
No imperative
OTHER
Ich muss nicht. I don't have to.
Er muss nach Berlin. He has to go to Berlin.
6
wollen

to want (to)
ich will I want (to)
du willst you want (to)
er will he wants (to)
er wollte he wanted to
sie hat gewollt she wanted to
COMMANDS
Imperative rare
OTHER
Er 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.
7
mögen

to like (to)
ich mag I like
ich möchte I would like
du magst you like
er mochte he liked
Sie mögen you likeWK
COMMANDS
No imperative
OTHER
Er mag die Suppe. He likes the soup.
Was möchten Sie? What would you like?
8
wissen

to know
ich weiß I know
du weißt you know
wir wissen we know
er wusste he knew
ich habe gewusst I knew, have known
COMMANDS
Wisse! Know!
Wisset! Know!
OTHER
Er 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?
9
machen

to make, do
ich mache I do, make
du machst you make
er macht he does
wir machten we did, made
er hat gemacht he did, has done
ich werde machen I will do, make
COMMANDS
Machen Sie sich keine Gedanken! Don't worry about it!
OTHER
Das 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?
10
sollen

should,
ought to,
supposed to
ich soll I should
du sollst you should
er soll he should
sie sollte she was supposed to
wir sollen we ought to

COMMANDS
No imperative
OTHER
Ich 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 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 ​
No imperative
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?
Ich heiße Karl. My name is Karl.
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 hastBnichts 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!
Wehen 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.
The words are ranked by frequency of use.
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Your Citation
Flippo, Hyde. "Conjugations of the Most-Used German Verbs." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/conjugations-of-most-used-german-verbs-4067426. Flippo, Hyde. (2023, April 5). 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 19, 2024).