Learn German: Basic Verbs

This lesson introduces thirty essential German verbs that form the foundation of everyday communication. Verbs are the core of every sentence, allowing you to describe actions, states of being, and intentions. By mastering these high-frequency words, you will be able to express basic needs, talk about your daily routine, and interact with others. This list includes fundamental verbs of existence like sein [zayn] (to be) and haben [hah-ben] (to have), alongside common activities like essen [es-en] (to eat) and schlafen [shlah-fen] (to sleep).

One helpful pattern to notice is that almost all German verbs in their dictionary form end in the letters -en, such as gehen [gay-en] (to go) and lernen [lair-nen] (to learn). Recognizing this common ending makes it much easier to identify verbs when reading or listening. Additionally, German distinguishes between different types of "knowing." You use wissen [viss-en] when referring to facts and information, while kennen [ken-en] is reserved for knowing people or being familiar with things. Learning these nuances early will help you speak more accurately. You will also encounter related pairs like kaufen [kow-fen] (to buy) and verkaufen [fer-kow-fen] (to sell), where a simple prefix shifts the meaning. Building a strong base with these core verbs is the most important step toward constructing your own sentences in German.

Vocabulary list

English	German
to be	sein [zayn]
to have	haben [hah-ben]
to go	gehen [gay-en]
to see	sehen [zay-en]
to speak	sprechen [shprekh-en]
to hear	hören [her-en]
to come	kommen [kom-en]
to eat	essen [es-en]
to drink	trinken [trink-en]
to sleep	schlafen [shlah-fen]
to work	arbeiten [ar-bye-ten]
to play	spielen [shpeel-en]
to learn	lernen [lair-nen]
to write	schreiben [shrye-ben]
to read	lesen [lay-zen]
to do	machen [makh-en]
to say	sagen [zah-gen]
to give	geben [gay-ben]
to take	nehmen [nay-men]
to know facts	wissen [viss-en]
to know someone	kennen [ken-en]
to want	wollen [voll-en]
to be able	können [kern-en]
to sit	sitzen [zits-en]
to stand	stehen [shtay-en]
to run	laufen [low-fen]
to buy	kaufen [kow-fen]
to sell	verkaufen [fer-kow-fen]
to search	suchen [zook-hen]
to find	finden [fin-den]

Practice this lesson with spaced repetition, multiple study modes, and daily streaks.

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