The 113 most common German verbs

These are the 113 verbs among the 500 most common German words, in the order a corpus of everyday writing says you will meet them.

Meanings are given in English on this page. In the app they appear in your own language, translated on your device.

#WordTypeMeaning
2seinVerbsto be
10habenVerbsto have
12werdenVerbsto become; will (forms the future)
24könnenVerbsto be able (to do or be something)
48müssenVerbsto have to (do something); must
49machenVerbsto make, to produce, to create
58gebenVerbsto give (changing ownership)
59sollenVerbsshould; to be obligated (to do something); ought; shall
60kommenVerbsto come; to arrive
61wollenVerbsto want; to wish; to desire; to demand
63gehenVerbsto go, to walk
71sehenVerbsto see; to have sight
74sagenVerbsto say (to pronounce; communicate verbally)
81findenVerbsto find; to discover
83lassenVerbsto allow; to permit; to let
87stehenVerbsto stand
99lebenVerbsto live, to be alive
112stellenVerbsto pose, to lodge
114tunVerbsto do (to perform or execute an action)
117nehmenVerbsto take
121mögenVerbsto like (something or someone)
126liegenVerbsto lie (to be in a horizontal position)
127bleibenVerbsto remain (to continue to be)
133dürfenVerbsto be allowed (to do something)
138hörenVerbsto hear (to perceive sounds
139wissenVerbsto know; to be aware of (a fact)
143meinenVerbsto opine, to think; to believe; to suppose
145zeigenVerbsto point
153spielenVerbsto play
155denkenVerbsnot to forget; to remember
161bringenVerbsto bring, to fetch, to take, to convey, to bear
162brauchenVerbsto need, to be in need of, to require
164bekommenVerbsto receive; to get
167haltenVerbsto hold (an object in one's hands)
169suchenVerbsto search, to look for
171heißenVerbsto have a name; to be named; to be called
172fragenVerbsto ask
190schreibenVerbsto write
192sprechenVerbsto speak (some language, the truth, etc.)
193führenVerbsto lead
197laufenVerbsto walk; to jog; to run
198versuchenVerbsto try, to attempt (often with an uncertain result)
200fahrenVerbsto go at speed
204arbeitenVerbsto work
206verstehenVerbsto hear and interpret (speech)
216kennenVerbsto know; to be acquainted with; to be familiar with
219lesenVerbsto read
221setzenVerbsto sit down
222treffenVerbsto meet; to encounter
232erhaltenVerbsto receive (something given, sent, won, etc.)
234amtshandelnVerbsto act administratively or otherwise in exercise of
236einigenVerbsto unite or unify (for example a group of people)
239stundenVerbsto defer (due date; performance upon an obligation)
240ziehenVerbsto pull; to drag
242redenVerbsto talk, to speak, to orate
248schaffenVerbsto get done, to accomplish, achieve, to succeed with
261glaubenVerbsto believe something (to consider true)
262bestehenVerbsto succeed, to pass (an exam)
267zahlenVerbsto pay
268folgenVerbsto follow (on the same path or in a sequence)
270helfenVerbsto help (someone); to assist; to aid
272essenVerbsto eat
277nennenVerbsto name (to give a name to)
280kaufenVerbsto buy, to purchase
281geltenVerbsto be valid; to count; to hold true
287fallenVerbsto fall, to drop
288tragenVerbsto carry, to bear (something on one's person)
294schauenVerbsto watch, to view (a movie or other performance)
295scheinenVerbsto shine; to gleam
304erreichenVerbsto reach (to attain by stretching)
306sitzenVerbsto sit; to perch
309handelnVerbsto act; to take action
310stimmenVerbsto be right, to be correct, to be proper, to be true
311unternehmenVerbsto undertake
313verlierenVerbsto lose (something, or a game)
315beginnenVerbsto begin; to commence; to be started
317lernenVerbsto learn, to acquire knowledge
320gewinnenVerbsto win; to be victorious
336legenVerbsto lie down
338bietenVerbsto offer; to present
339nutzenVerbsto make use of; to deploy; to exploit; to harness
343sorgenVerbsto take care of, to care for, to look after
353sterbenVerbsto die
358erklärenVerbsto explain, to make clear
361passenVerbsto fit
364freuenVerbsto gladden, to make glad, to make pleased
369fühlenVerbsto feel (a thing, sensation, emotion - a noun)
372wartenVerbsto wait (for)
395hoffenVerbsto hope
396verkaufenVerbsto sell (something in exchange for money)
405bekennenVerbsto confess, to avow, to profess
408wünschenVerbsto wish for; to make a wish for; to want; to desire
416schlagenVerbsto beat; to hit; to knock; to strike; to punch
417entstehenVerbsto come into being, to arise, to be produced
424verwendenVerbsto use, to employ, to apply
425vergessenVerbsto forget (lose remembrance of)
426fehlenVerbsfor there to be a lack [with dative ‘to
427erzählenVerbsto tell, to narrate, to recount
429erwartenVerbsto expect, to consider likely
441reichenVerbsto reach (extend a certain distance)
442bedeutenVerbsto imply, to mean, to signify, to indicate, to spell
448gehörenVerbsto belong to, be the property of
449ändernVerbsto change, to alter
457herzenVerbsto hug, embrace
458holenVerbsto (go) get
466befindenVerbsto occupy a place; to be located; to be situated
470passiertVerbsit happens
474erkennenVerbsto recognize, perceive
475spaßVerbssingular imperative of spaßen
480erscheinenVerbsto appear
481erinnernVerbsto remind
487entscheidenVerbsto decide, to make a decision
494bauenVerbsto build, to construct

All 500 A1 words are on this page, free, with no sign-up.

The rest of the list

  • A2A2 Beginner: 500 more wordsvöllig · Interesse · Freunde · Kosten · obwohl
  • B1B1 Intermediate: 750 more wordsrechnen · Szene · Anteil · Stein · Energie
  • B2B2 Upper intermediate: 750 more wordsstärken · zunehmen · Übersetzung · leeren · umgehen

A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, in the app, where you can also send any word straight into spaced review and meet it again on the day you are about to forget it.

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Where this comes from

The order is measured: it comes from how often each word appears in a large corpus, counted across all the forms of a word rather than each form separately, so a verb is ranked where you really meet it. The band edges are a convention rather than a measurement. Nothing says word 501 is harder than word 500; the levels are cut where established graded reader series cut theirs.

wordfreq 3.1 (frequency order) + en.wiktionary via kaikki.org (part of speech, gender, gloss). Corpus read on 2026-09-16.

Questions

Where does the order come from?

From how often each word appears in a large corpus of everyday writing. Frequency is counted across all the forms of a word and attributed to the dictionary form, so a verb is ranked where a reader really meets it rather than being spread thinly over a dozen endings.

Why are these lists shorter than the ones with 5,000 or 10,000 words?

Because past about 2,500 a frequency rank stops meaning much. Rank 6,000 in a web corpus is not a harder word, it is a word that happens to be common in journalism. Established graded reader series top out near 2,500 headwords for the same reason.

Is every word in the list a real dictionary word?

Yes. Every headword is checked against the language's own Wiktionary entry, which is where the part of speech, the gender and the meaning come from. That check is what removes the proper nouns, single letters and corpus noise that raw frequency lists are full of.

Do I need the app?

Not for this page. The A1 list is free here and free in the app. A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, and the app is also where a word can go from a list into a review queue, which is the part a page cannot do.

Has a native speaker checked these?

Not yet. The frequency order and the part of speech are mechanical, and the meanings come from a dictionary rather than being written by hand, but nothing here has been through native review. If you spot a meaning that is technically right and practically useless, we would like to hear about it.