Conjunation

German verb conjugation

2,699 German verbs with full conjugation tables — every tense and pronoun.

Browse A–Z

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z

Most common German verbs

  1. sein to be
  2. haben to have
  3. tun to do
  4. werden to become (auxiliary for future, passive)
  5. können to be able to
  6. müssen to must (modal verb)
  7. sagen to say
  8. wollen to want
  9. gehen to go
  10. sollen to should (modal verb)
  11. dürfen to be allowed to
  12. kriegen to get
  13. machen to make/do
  14. mögen to like
  15. wissen to know (facts)
  16. denken to think
  17. kommen to come
  18. nehmen to take
  19. sehen to see
  20. geben to give
  21. gucken to look
  22. anwenden to apply
  23. lassen to let (to allow or permit)
  24. finden to find
  25. stehen to stand
  26. bleiben to stay
  27. arbeiten to work
  28. liegen to lie (down)
  29. heißen to be called
  30. versuchen to try
  31. bitten to ask, to beg, to plead, to bid, to request
  32. benötigen to need
  33. glauben to believe
  34. verspüren to feel
  35. halten to hold
  36. bringen to bring
  37. hinterlassen to leave behind
  38. sprechen to speak
  39. fahren to drive or to go (by vehicle)
  40. sitzen to sit
  41. spielen to play
  42. beginnen to begin; to commence; to be started
  43. laufen to run
  44. lesen to read
  45. wirken to act
  46. helfen to help
  47. schreiben to write
  48. essen to eat
  49. reden to talk
  50. abbiegen to turn (as in a direction).

German tenses explained

Present (Präsens)

Präsens is the default present for facts, habits, and near-future plans. German has no continuous aspect in the same way as English, so a single form often covers both “I work” and “I am working” when you add a time adverb or context.

Ich arbeite heute im Homeoffice.

Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II)

Konjunktiv II is the mood for politeness, contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and reported views. In speech, würde + infinitive often stands in for rarer preterit-based forms.

Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?

Imperative (Imperativ)

The imperative uses the du, ihr, and Sie forms of command; the informal du form drops the -st of the present for many strong verbs, and separable-prefix verbs place the prefix at the end.

Mach bitte schnell, der Zug fährt gleich ab.

Simple past (Präteritum)

Präteritum is a narrative past, common in print and in northern speech, while southern speakers lean on the perfect in conversation. sein and haben keep their Präteritum even when you otherwise avoid the preterite.

Er war müde, aber er hatte keinen Kaffee mehr.

Present perfect (Perfekt)

The Perfekt is the everyday past for finished events: auxiliary haben or sein plus participle, with sein for most motion, coming/going, and some change-of-state verbs.

Wir sind rechtzeitig angekommen und haben gefeiert.

Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)

The Plusquamperfekt is the pluperfect: it marks what had already completed before a later past episode in the same narrative.

Sie war schon gegangen, bevor er ankam.

Future I (Futur I)

Futur I is for predictions, firm promises, and also probability about the present in colloquial German. Everyday speech very often uses Präsens plus a time expression instead.

Morgen schneit es, sagt der Wetterbericht.

Future II (Futur II)

Futur II (werden + participle + haben/sein) names an action that will be completed before a later time, and can also express a guess that something must already have happened.

Bis Freitag werde ich alles gepackt haben.