75 Most Common German Verbs [That You Need to

Know!]
emmalovesgerman.com/useful-german-verbs/

By Emma

In this post I’m going to give you a list of the 75 most common German verbs. Aiming to
learn as many of the most common German verbs will enable you to manage many
everyday situations, while not having to worry about less common verbs that you are less
likely to use.

You will also learn about what verbs are and how to use them correctly in a sentence.

What Are Verbs?

Verbs are seriously important words, we use them in every sentence. Often more than
one verb in a sentence is used. They are used to describe everything; actions, physical
states, thoughts and experiences. Without verbs, sentences would make no sense. In the
following sentences the verbs are highlighted:

We are flying to Germany soon.

The children are going back to school.
I fell asleep early last night.

Imagine these sentences with the verbs removed. You wouldn’t get the whole picture if
someone said ‘we to Germany soon’.

Top tip: As a general rule, if you can put ‘I’, ‘he/she/it’ or ‘we’ in front of a word, that
word is a verb.

Sentence Structure Rules

German sentence structure is a complex topic that I will cover in another article. However
there are a few simple rules to remember for verb placement in sentences that will
make learning German much easier! In German, if there is one verb in a sentence, that
verb usually goes in position 2.

Position 1 Position 2
(Subject) (Verb) The Rest

Das Hund spielt mit dem Ball

Das Haus ist sehr groß

Ich esse gern Schokolade

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If there is more than one verb in a sentence, the conjugated verb goes in position 2. The
other, unconjugated verb goes to the end.

Position 1 Position 2 End

(Subject) (Conj. Verb) (Unconj. Verb)

Ich möchte nach Deutschland fahren

Die Katze will nach draußen gehen

For asking questions, the structure is almost the same as English, the verb moves to
position 1. If there is a second, unconjugated verb, that goes to the end.

Position 1 Position 2 End

(Conj. Verb) (Subject) (Unconj. Verb)

Hast du etwas für mich?

Könnte ich noch einen Tee haben?

What are the German Modal Verbs?

The German modal verbs are a little different to other verbs, but they are among the most
common German verbs. They are used along with another verb, and are used to express
desire, possibility, obligation, or permission.

The modal verb changes the meaning of the sentence depending on which modal verb is
used. In German there are 6 modal verbs:

dürfen = may / be allowed

können = can
mögen = like
müssen = must / have to
sollen = should
wollen = want / wish

The modal verb is conjugated and in position 2, and the other infinitive verb goes to the
end.

Wir müssen morgen nach Berlin fahren.

Ich will Schokolade essen.
Er kann die Kinder abholen.

The modal verb changes the intention of the other verb. Let’s use the verb gehen as an
example:

Ich gehe in den Park.

(I am going to the park)

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 Ich möchte in den Park gehen
(I would like to go to the park)
Ich kann in den Park gehen
(I can go to the park)
Darf ich in den Park gehen?
(May I go to the park?)
Soll ich in den Park gehen?
(Should I got to the park?)
Ich will in den Park gehen
(I want to go to the park)
Ich muss in den Park gehen
(I must go to the park)

You can see that we use the same verb gehen, but in changing the modal verb, the whole
meaning of the sentence changes.

Everyday German Verbs

As I’ve gone along my German journey, I’ve learned the most common German verbs
first. Most of the verbs listed below are useful for most people. Some are essential and
you will use them in every conversation. Others you may not use much, and will be
harder to remember. But listed below are the verbs I’ve have found extremely useful for
everyday conversations.

The list may seem intimidating, but don’t feel that you need to learn them all at once.
Think about the conversations you like to have and what your interests are. Some verbs
you will use all the time, others you will struggle to recall when you need them. But the
important thing is that you start to realise which verbs you need for your own situation.

With all that said, here is my list of the most common German verbs:

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Verb (infinitive) Meaning

können can / be able

mögen like

müssen have to / must

dürfen may / be allowed

wollen want / wish

sollen should

brauchen to need

finden to find

suchen to search / look for

denken to think

glauben to believe

wissen to know

haben to have

sein to be

essen to eat

trinken to drink

gehen to go (on foot)

fahren to go (by vehicle)

helfen to help

kommen to come

mitkommen to come with

fliegen to fly

lesen to read

gucken to watch (TV etc.)

schauen to look

schlafen to sleep

bleiben to stay

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Verb (infinitive) Meaning

übernachten to stay overnight

hoffen to hope

reisen to travel

arbeiten to work

spielen to play

bringen to bring

bekommen to get

treffen to meet

besuchen to visit (people)

besichtigen to visit (sightseeing)

machen to do / make

laufen to run

joggen to jog

sitzen to sit

legen to lie down

stehen to stand

beginnen to begin

starten to start

anfangen to commence

aufhören to stop

wohnen to live / reside

leben to live

ankommen to arrive

abfahren to depart

nehmen to take

geben to give

sprechen to speak

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 Verb (infinitive) Meaning

sagen to say

reden to talk

chatten to chat

fragen to ask

lernen to learn

studieren to study (at uni / college)

verstehen to understand

erklären to explain

erzählen to tell

versuchen to try

bezahlen to pay

schreiben to write

aufschreiben to write down

kaufen to buy

verkaufen to sell

schicken to send

gewinnen to win

verlieren to lose

verspechen to promise

lügen to lie

So now you know the most common German verbs that you can use in everyday
situations and how to correctly use them in a sentence.

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