A1 · Beginner Vocabulary
Verbs are the engine of every sentence. Master this handful of high-frequency German verbs and you can already say an enormous amount. Each comes with pronunciation and audio.
Tap 🔊 to hear each word spoken in German.
The two you need first
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| sein | zine | to be |
| haben | HAH-ben | to have |
Everyday action verbs
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| machen | MAKH-en | to do / make |
| gehen | GAY-en | to go |
| kommen | KOM-en | to come |
| sehen | ZAY-en | to see |
| essen | ES-en | to eat |
| trinken | TRIN-ken | to drink |
| sprechen | SHPREKH-en | to speak |
| lernen | LER-nen | to learn |
| arbeiten | AR-by-ten | to work |
| wohnen | VOH-nen | to live / reside |
| kaufen | KOW-fen | to buy |
| brauchen | BROW-khen | to need |
Modal verbs (very common)
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| mögen | MUR-gen | to like |
| wollen | VOL-en | to want |
| können | KURN-en | can / to be able to |
| müssen | MUUS-en | must / to have to |
Next step: verbs change their ending depending on who does the action (ich, du, er …). Once you know these words, learn how to conjugate them in our German verb conjugation guide.
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