If you are learning German and want to speak like a pro, you must learn the most common German verbs. Here’s your guide!
Learn the most common German verbs
There are over 40 different verbs in the German language. This can be a bit overwhelming for first-time language learners.
However, this is exactly what you need to overcome if you plan on becoming fluent and effective in your new language. Fortunately, mastering the German verb isn’t as difficult as it seems.
You need to know where to start and what resources to consult along the way. This article will break down everything you need to know about German verbs, including their conjugation patterns, types of verbs, and useful tips for learning them.
Read on to learn more about 10 of the most common German verbs with tips for mastering them.
What is a verb?
A verb is a word that expresses an action. In German, the majority of verbs are inflected.
This means that they follow certain patterns that determine each verb’s person, number, and voice (in the case of verbs). For example, the German word “schreiben” can be conjugated as follows:
she/he/it is written – sie, er, es is written – ich, du, wir, ihr – wir, du, ihr – wir – ich, du – ich – wir, du – wir – ihr – es.
Conjugation patterns
When you learn a new verb in German, you’ll want to memorize its conjugation pattern. This is important because it will help you understand how the verb changes in different tenses and contexts.
To memorize conjugation patterns, you’ll want to break them down into smaller chunks, memorizing each of the following:
1 – The first letter of the verb’s first syllable (e.g. schreiben becomes schrei-ben, ich bin becom-bine, etc.)
2 – The first letter of the verb’s second syllable (e.g. mit becom-bine, du bist becom-bine,)
3 – The ending of the verb (e.g. -n becomes -n, -n, -n, etc.)
4 – A connecting word (e.g. -e becomes -e, -e, -e, etc.)
You can use these four pieces of information to memorize a large number of verbs very quickly. Once you memorize the pattern, you can apply it to any other new verbs in German.
German verbs: Which ones are most common?
To master a language like German, you must be familiar with its most common verbs. It is important to note that several thousand different German verbs (not including irregular verbs) exist.
However, there are only around 350 commonly used verbs in daily conversation. Why are these verbs so common? The two most commonly used German verbs are to have and to be.
Have – Mach
What does mache mean? mache means to make or to do. Examples mache dem Studenten ein Examen, mach einem Freund einen Gefallen, mach ein Gespräch spannend
Be – Sein
What does sein mean? – sein means to be or to exist. It’s the most commonly used German verb and it’s used in many contexts. Examples sein bei der Arbeit, sein Kind nicht gesund, sein Handy klingelt
Other common German verbs
There are many more German verbs you can learn and use in your everyday conversations. Some of the most commonly used German verbs are below.
– haben – to have – sein – to be – werden – to become – kommen – to come – fahren – to drive – gehen – to go – verstehen – to understand – helfen – to help – essen – to eat – schlafen – to sleep – sprechen – to speak – studieren – to study – warten – to wait
Word order matters when it comes to verbs
One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of learning German verbs is word order’s importance when conjugating verbs. When you memorize a verb’s conjugation pattern, you must make sure the verb comes last.
So in the sentence below, you need to place der Friseur before der Haarfarbe.
Final note
There are many more German verbs out there that you can learn and use in your conversations. There are over 6,000 German verbs, so you will never be able to learn them all.
That being said, knowing the most commonly used German verbs is a great place to start. You can learn and master most German verbs quickly for a few minutes daily.