Top 50 Essential German Verbs for Beginners with Audio Pronunciations

This lesson highlights the 50 most frequently used German verbs that beginners often encounter in daily conversations. These verbs have been carefully selected for their simplicity and ease of retention.

Below, you’ll find a list of the top 50 German verbs. To help with your learning, you can also listen to the correct pronunciation of each word by clicking the pronunciation buttons.

🔊 arbeiten	to work, labor; function
🔊 bekommen	to get, receive, obtain
🔊 bleiben	to remain, stay; keep
🔊 brauchen	to need, require
🔊 bringen	to bring; take; yield; present; put
🔊 denken	to think, conceive; believe; bear in mind
🔊 essen	to eat, take a meal
🔊 fahren	to drive, go, travel, ride; move hurriedly; convey, carry
🔊 finden	to find, discover, come across; think, consider
🔊 fragen	to ask, inquire, question
🔊 geben	to give, confer; grant; emit; yield; provide
🔊 gehen	to go, walk, move; go away, leave; work, function
🔊 gehören	to belong, be owned; pertain
🔊 glauben	to believe, think, imagine; trust
🔊 haben	to have, possess, bear
🔊 heißen	to be called/named; command, order; mean, signify
🔊 helfen	to help, assist; support; remedy
🔊 hören	to hear, listen; attend
🔊 kaufen	to buy, purchase
🔊 kennen	to know, be familiar with, be acquainted with
🔊 kommen	to come; go; get; happen
🔊 können	can, to be able to, know (how to); be allowed to
🔊 lassen	to let, allow, permit; leave; stop, put aside; relinquish, let go
🔊 laufen	to run, walk; work, function; extend
🔊 legen	to lay, put, place
🔊 liegen	to lie, be lying, rest; be located/situated
🔊 machen	to make, do; construct; cause; constitute; come to
🔊 mögen	to like (to)
🔊 müssen	must, to have to, be obliged to
🔊 nehmen	to take
🔊 sagen	to say, mean, tell
🔊 schlafen	to sleep, be asleep
🔊 schlagen	to hit, beat, strike, punch, slap
🔊 sehen	to see, look; watch
🔊 sein	to be, exist
🔊 setzen	to set, place, put; sit (someone) (down); plant; wager; compose
🔊 sitzen	to be sitting/seated, be situated; be in session
🔊 spielen	to play, act, perform
🔊 sprechen	to speak, talk; recite; pronounce
🔊 stehen	to stand, be situated; be
🔊 stellen	to put, place; stand; set
🔊 sterben	to die, perish
🔊 tragen	to carry, hold; wear; bear, endure
🔊 treffen	to hit, strike; hurt, affect; meet
🔊 tun	to do; work, perform
🔊 werden	to become, get, turn, grow; come into existence
🔊 wissen	to know
🔊 wohnen	to live, stay, dwell
🔊 wollen	to want (to); intend to
🔊 ziehen	to draw, pull; extract; attract