100 Most Common German Verbs (With Examples and Translations)

The most common German verbs are sein (to be), haben (to have) and werden (to become), followed by modal verbs like können (can) and müssen (must) and everyday verbs like machen, gehen and kommen. Below are the 100 most common German verbs for beginners in four easy tables, each with a simple example sentence and an English translation.

Learn them and you can talk about your day, your plans, your work and your feelings: the core of A1 and A2 German.

How to Use This List

Start at the top. The verbs come in four groups of 25, roughly from most to least useful. Verbs 1–25 are the ones you'll hear every single day.
Learn the sentence, not just the verb. Say each example out loud, then write your own version with a different word.
Take 5–10 verbs a day and review them every week. Our simple daily routine for learning German shows how to fit that into your day.
Watch the labels. (modal) marks the modal verbs, and (separable) marks verbs whose prefix splits off.
Know the pattern. Most verbs here are regular: take off -en and add -e, -st, -t, -en, -t, -en (ich mache, du machst, er macht…). Our guide to the German present tense covers the full pattern and its exceptions.

Small steps, daily exposure, clear patterns: that's how German becomes natural.

Verbs 1–25: The Core Verbs

These are the verbs you'll use every day, including all six modal verbs.

Infinitive	Meaning	Example	Translation
1. sein	to be	Ich bin müde.	I'm tired.
2. haben	to have	Ich habe Zeit.	I have time.
3. machen	to do, to make	Ich mache Kaffee.	I'm making coffee.
4. gehen	to go	Ich gehe zur Arbeit.	I'm going to work.
5. kommen	to come	Ich komme später.	I'll come later.
6. sehen	to see	Ich sehe den Bus.	I see the bus.
7. geben	to give	Kannst du mir das geben?	Can you give me that?
8. wissen	to know (a fact)	Ich weiß es nicht.	I don't know.
9. sagen	to say	Ich sage die Wahrheit.	I'm telling the truth.
10. mögen (modal)	to like	Ich mag Schokolade.	I like chocolate.
11. brauchen	to need	Ich brauche Hilfe.	I need help.
12. finden	to find; to think (opinion)	Ich finde meine Schlüssel nicht.	I can't find my keys.
13. nehmen	to take	Ich nehme den Zug.	I'm taking the train.
14. sprechen	to speak	Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch.	I speak a little German.
15. arbeiten	to work	Ich arbeite in Berlin.	I work in Berlin.
16. essen	to eat	Ich esse ein Brötchen zum Frühstück.	I'm having a roll for breakfast.
17. trinken	to drink	Ich trinke Wasser.	I drink water.
18. lernen	to learn, to study	Ich lerne Deutsch.	I'm learning German.
19. bleiben	to stay	Ich bleibe zu Hause.	I'm staying home.
20. fahren	to drive, to go (by vehicle)	Ich fahre nach München.	I'm going to Munich.
21. können (modal)	can, to be able to	Ich kann Deutsch sprechen.	I can speak German.
22. müssen (modal)	must, to have to	Ich muss lernen.	I have to study.
23. wollen (modal)	to want (to)	Ich will essen.	I want to eat.
24. sollen (modal)	to be supposed to	Ich soll mehr schlafen.	I'm supposed to sleep more.
25. dürfen (modal)	may, to be allowed to	Ich darf hier parken.	I'm allowed to park here.

Verbs 26–50: Everyday Actions

Asking, buying, reading, sleeping: these verbs get you through a normal day.

Infinitive	Meaning	Example	Translation
26. fragen	to ask	Ich frage den Lehrer.	I'm asking the teacher.
27. antworten	to answer	Ich antworte sofort.	I'll answer right away.
28. wohnen	to live (reside)	Ich wohne in Hamburg.	I live in Hamburg.
29. leben	to live, to be alive	Ich lebe gesund.	I live a healthy life.
30. beginnen	to begin	Der Film beginnt jetzt.	The movie is starting now.
31. kennen	to know (a person, a place)	Ich kenne ihn gut.	I know him well.
32. helfen	to help	Kannst du mir helfen?	Can you help me?
33. laufen	to run; to walk	Ich laufe jeden Morgen.	I run every morning.
34. spielen	to play	Ich spiele Fußball.	I play soccer.
35. schreiben	to write	Ich schreibe eine E-Mail.	I'm writing an email.
36. lesen	to read	Ich lese ein Buch.	I'm reading a book.
37. schlafen	to sleep	Ich schlafe gut.	I sleep well.
38. öffnen	to open	Ich öffne die Tür.	I'm opening the door.
39. schließen	to close	Ich schließe das Fenster.	I'm closing the window.
40. warten	to wait	Ich warte auf dich.	I'm waiting for you.
41. verstehen	to understand	Ich verstehe dich.	I understand you.
42. kaufen	to buy	Ich kaufe Brot.	I'm buying bread.
43. verkaufen	to sell	Er verkauft sein Auto.	He's selling his car.
44. bezahlen	to pay	Ich bezahle die Rechnung.	I'm paying the bill.
45. bringen	to bring	Ich bringe dir einen Kaffee.	I'll bring you a coffee.
46. rufen	to call, to shout	Ich rufe ein Taxi.	I'll call a taxi.
47. telefonieren	to talk on the phone	Ich telefoniere mit meiner Mutter.	I'm on the phone with my mother.
48. zeigen	to show	Zeig mir das bitte.	Please show me that.
49. tragen	to carry; to wear	Ich trage eine Jacke.	I'm wearing a jacket.
50. reisen	to travel	Ich reise gern.	I like to travel.

Good to know: helfen takes the dative, so it's Kannst du mir helfen? and never mich. Glauben (with people) and folgen in the next group work the same way, as our guide to the dative case explains.

Verbs 51–75: Thinking, Feeling and Daily Tasks

Use these to share opinions and feelings and to talk about life at home.

Infinitive	Meaning	Example	Translation
51. schicken	to send	Ich schicke dir die Datei.	I'll send you the file.
52. denken	to think	Ich denke oft an dich.	I often think of you.
53. glauben	to believe	Ich glaube dir.	I believe you.
54. fühlen	to feel	Ich fühle mich müde.	I feel tired.
55. lieben	to love	Ich liebe Deutschland.	I love Germany.
56. tun	to do	Was kann ich für dich tun?	What can I do for you?
57. versuchen	to try	Ich versuche es.	I'll give it a try.
58. erklären	to explain	Kannst du das erklären?	Can you explain that?
59. folgen	to follow	Folge mir bitte.	Please follow me.
60. reden	to talk	Wir reden später.	We'll talk later.
61. passieren	to happen	Was ist passiert?	What happened?
62. suchen	to look for, to search	Ich suche meine Tasche.	I'm looking for my bag.
63. verlieren	to lose	Ich verliere oft meine Schlüssel.	I often lose my keys.
64. gewinnen	to win	Ich gewinne das Spiel.	I'm winning the game.
65. ändern	to change	Ich ändere meinen Plan.	I'm changing my plan.
66. benutzen	to use	Ich benutze mein Handy.	I use my phone.
67. putzen	to clean	Ich putze die Küche.	I'm cleaning the kitchen.
68. kochen	to cook	Ich koche Pasta.	I'm cooking pasta.
69. waschen	to wash	Ich wasche mir die Hände.	I'm washing my hands.
70. bedeuten	to mean	Was bedeutet das?	What does that mean?
71. scheinen	to seem; to shine	Es scheint schwierig.	It seems difficult.
72. vergessen	to forget	Ich vergesse das immer.	I always forget that.
73. erinnern	to remind; sich erinnern: to remember	Ich erinnere mich.	I remember.
74. kosten	to cost	Wie viel kostet das?	How much does that cost?
75. reichen	to be enough; to pass	Das reicht.	That's enough.

Good to know: fühlen and erinnern often come with a reflexive pronoun: sich fühlen (to feel) and sich erinnern (to remember). The mich in their examples, like the mir in Ich wasche mir die Hände, is a reflexive pronoun. Our guide to reflexive verbs explains how they work.

Verbs 76–100: Plans, Work and Bigger Topics

These verbs help you talk about plans, decisions and changes, at work and beyond.

Infinitive	Meaning	Example	Translation
76. steigen	to rise; to climb	Die Preise steigen.	Prices are rising.
77. fallen	to fall	Die Temperatur fällt.	The temperature is dropping.
78. wachsen	to grow	Die Stadt wächst schnell.	The city is growing quickly.
79. lassen	to let; to leave (behind)	Ich lasse mein Handy zu Hause.	I'm leaving my phone at home.
80. wechseln	to change, to switch	Ich wechsle das Thema.	I'm changing the subject.
81. planen	to plan	Ich plane meine Woche.	I'm planning my week.
82. organisieren	to organize	Ich organisiere das Treffen.	I'm organizing the meeting.
83. besuchen	to visit	Ich besuche meine Freunde.	I'm visiting my friends.
84. feiern	to celebrate	Wir feiern heute.	We're celebrating today.
85. hoffen	to hope	Ich hoffe es.	I hope so.
86. bieten	to offer	Die Stadt bietet viel.	The city has a lot to offer.
87. akzeptieren	to accept	Ich akzeptiere das.	I accept that.
88. ablehnen (separable)	to turn down, to reject	Ich lehne das Angebot ab.	I'm turning down the offer.
89. entscheiden	to decide	Ich entscheide später.	I'll decide later.
90. erlauben	to allow	Ich erlaube das.	I'll allow it.
91. verbieten	to forbid	Das ist verboten.	That is forbidden.
92. stehen	to stand	Ich stehe an der Haltestelle.	I'm standing at the bus stop.
93. erreichen	to reach, to achieve	Ich erreiche mein Ziel.	I'm reaching my goal.
94. erleben	to experience	Ich erlebe etwas Neues.	I'm experiencing something new.
95. besprechen	to discuss	Wir besprechen das morgen.	We'll discuss that tomorrow.
96. verbessern	to improve	Ich verbessere mein Deutsch.	I'm improving my German.
97. erhöhen	to increase, to raise	Sie erhöhen die Preise.	They're raising the prices.
98. benötigen	to need (formal)	Ich benötige mehr Informationen.	I need more information.
99. vorbereiten (separable)	to prepare	Ich bereite das Essen vor.	I'm preparing the food.
100. probieren	to try, to taste	Ich probiere das neue Gericht.	I'm trying the new dish.

The Big Three: sein, haben and werden

These three irregular verbs are the most frequent in German, because they work on their own and as helper verbs for other tenses. If you learn only one thing by heart, make it the present tense of sein, haben and werden.

sein (to be)

Pronoun	sein	English
ich	bin	I am
du	bist	you are (informal)
er/sie/es	ist	he/she/it is
wir	sind	we are
ihr	seid	you are (plural, informal)
sie/Sie	sind	they are / you are (formal)

Das ist mein Bruder. — That's my brother. Sein also forms the perfect tense of many verbs of movement: Ich bin nach Hause gegangen. — I went home.

haben (to have)

Pronoun	haben	English
ich	habe	I have
du	hast	you have (informal)
er/sie/es	hat	he/she/it has
wir	haben	we have
ihr	habt	you have (plural, informal)
sie/Sie	haben	they have / you have (formal)

Hast du Hunger? — Are you hungry? (Germans "have" hunger.) Haben is also the helper for most verbs in the perfect tense: Ich habe Kaffee gemacht. — I made coffee.

werden (to become)

Pronoun	werden	English
ich	werde	I become
du	wirst	you become (informal)
er/sie/es	wird	he/she/it becomes
wir	werden	we become
ihr	werdet	you become (plural, informal)
sie/Sie	werden	they become / you become (formal)

Es wird kalt. — It's getting cold. Werden also builds the future tense: Ich werde dich morgen anrufen. — I'll call you tomorrow. Because you'll mostly use it as a helper verb, we cover it here rather than in the numbered list.

Verbs 21–25 and mögen (no. 10) are modal verbs. They add an idea like "can", "must" or "want to" to another verb, and that second verb goes to the end of the sentence in its infinitive form:

Ich kann heute nicht kommen. — I can't come today.
Du musst das probieren! — You have to try this!
Ich möchte Deutsch lernen. — I'd like to learn German. (Möchte is the polite "would like" form of mögen.)

Modal verbs are irregular in the singular (ich kann, du kannst, er kann), so learn them as a group. Our guide German modal verbs explained goes deeper.

Separable Verbs Like anfangen and aufstehen

Some verbs have a prefix that splits off in a normal sentence and jumps to the end. In this list, ablehnen (no. 88) and vorbereiten (no. 99) are separable, and many everyday verbs are built the same way, often from verbs you already know:

Verb	Example	Translation
anfangen (to start)	Der Kurs fängt um neun an.	The course starts at nine.
aufstehen (to get up)	Ich stehe um sieben auf.	I get up at seven.
anrufen (to call, to phone)	Ich rufe dich später an.	I'll call you later.
mitbringen (to bring along)	Ich bringe Kaffee mit.	I'll bring coffee.
nachdenken (to think about)	Ich denke darüber nach.	I'm thinking about it.
anbieten (to offer)	Er bietet Hilfe an.	He's offering help.

Separable prefixes such as an-, auf-, mit-, nach-, ab- and vor- carry the stress: ANfangen, AUFstehen. Prefixes like be-, ver-, er- and ent- never split off, so verstehen and bezahlen always stay in one piece. Our guide to separable verbs shows exactly where the prefix goes.

Verbs That Come With a Preposition

Several verbs from the list team up with a fixed preposition that doesn't always match English. Learn them as pairs:

warten auf + accusative: Ich warte auf den Bus. — I'm waiting for the bus.
denken an + accusative: Denk an deinen Schlüssel! — Remember your key!
sich erinnern an + accusative: Erinnerst du dich an mich? — Do you remember me?
antworten auf + accusative: Bitte antworte auf meine E-Mail. — Please answer my email.
sprechen über + accusative: Wir sprechen über das Wetter. — We're talking about the weather.

You'll find many more in our guide to German verbs with prepositions.

Common Mistakes With German Verbs

Instead of…	Say…	Why
Ich rufe dich später.	Ich rufe dich später an.	Calling someone on the phone is anrufen, a separable verb.
Ich weiß Berlin.	Ich kenne Berlin.	Wissen is for facts; kennen is for people and places.
Er fahrt nach Hause.	Er fährt nach Hause.	Some verbs change their vowel with du and er/sie/es.
Ich bin kalt.	Mir ist kalt.	Ich bin kalt means you're a cold person.
Ich esse Frühstück.	Ich frühstücke.	German has its own verb for "to have breakfast".
Ich soll mehr schlafen. (as advice)	Ich sollte mehr schlafen.	Soll means "am supposed to"; sollte means "should".

Practice

Fill in the correct present-tense form, then check the answers:

Ich ___ heute sehr müde. (sein)
___ du Englisch? (sprechen)
Wir ___ heute nicht kommen. (können)
Der Film ___ um acht ___. (anfangen)
Ich ___ auf den Bus. (warten)

Answers: 1. bin 2. Sprichst 3. können 4. fängt … an 5. warte

Ready for more? Test yourself with the A1 German quiz and the A2 German quiz, explore more verbs in our German verbs hub, and put your new verbs into full sentences with these German sentence patterns for beginners.

Keep learning:

FAQ

What are the most common German verbs?

Frequency lists consistently put sein, haben and werden at the top, followed by modal verbs like können and müssen and everyday verbs like sagen, machen, geben, kommen and gehen.

How many German verbs do I need to know?

Around 100 verbs will get you through most A1 and A2 situations. Later, many new verbs turn out to be old friends with a prefix: kommen gives you ankommen (to arrive), mitkommen (to come along) and bekommen (to get).

Which German verbs are irregular?

Sein, haben, werden, wissen and the modal verbs are irregular in the present tense. Many others, like fahren (du fährst), sprechen (du sprichst) and sehen (du siehst), only change their vowel in the du and er/sie/es forms.

What's the difference between wohnen and leben?

Wohnen means to live somewhere, like your address: Ich wohne in Hamburg. — I live in Hamburg. Leben means to be alive or to live in a certain way: Ich lebe gesund. — I live a healthy life. For a city or country, Ich lebe in Deutschland is fine too.