Word lists › German

The most common German words, in frequency order

This is a frequency-based German word list: words ranked by how often they actually occur in everyday text, with translations and pronunciation. Frequency-based learning means studying words in this order, so every hour goes to the words you will meet most. Learn the first 500 and you will recognise about 60% of the words in everyday German. That is Zipf's law, and it is why this list is in this order. The first 250 are below; Zipf teaches all 5,000.

60%of everyday German text is the first 500 words

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The 250 most common German words

#WordIPAPart of speechMeaning
1der/deːr/articleinflection of der:; nominative masculine singular
2sein/zaɪ̯n/verbforms the present perfect and past perfect tenses of certain verbs; As a copulative verb:
3und/ʊnt/conjunctionand; links two nouns, often a person and an activity, in rhetoric questions to express an opposition between them
4in/ʔɪn/preposition[with dative] in, inside, within, at (inside a building); [with dative] in (pertaining to)
5ein/aɪ̯n/numeralone
6zu/t͡suː/prepositionto, towards (indicates directionality); with respect to; regarding
7ich/ɪç/pronounI
8haben/ˈhaːbən/verbforms the perfect aspect (have); to have; to own (to possess, have ownership of; to possess a certain characteristic)
9von/fɔn/prepositionfrom; of, belonging to (often replacing genitive; see usage note below)
10werden/ˈveːʁdən/verbwill, to be going to, forms the future tense; would; forms the subjunctive tense of most verbs
11nicht/nɪçt/adverbnot
12mit/mɪt/prepositionwith (in the company of, alongside); with, by (using as an instrument, by means of)
13es/ɛs/pronounRefers to a neuter noun (person, animal, thing or abstract); it, they
14auf/aʊ̯f/preposition[with dative] on, upon (positioned at the top of); [with accusative] on, onto, up (moving to the top of)
15an/an/prepositionon, upon, at, in, against; by, near, close to, next to
16für/fyːɐ̯/prepositiondescribes an abstract directionality towards a person or matter; for (intended for)
17sie/ziː/pronounshe; it (when the object/article/thing/animal etc., referred to, is feminine [die])
18sich/zɪç/pronounReflexive pronoun of the third person singular or plural: herself, himself, itself, oneself, themselves (in both dative and accusative); Reciprocal pronoun of the third person plural: each other (in both dative and accusative)
19auch/aʊ̯x/adverbalso, too, as well (in addition to whatever or whoever has previously been listed); Used for emphasis.
20bei/baɪ̯/prepositionby, near; at
21können/ˈkœnən/verbto be able (to do or be something), to have the possibility of, can.; to be able to do something implied; can.
22als/als/conjunctionthan, as
23er/eːr/pronounhe; it (when the grammatical gender of the object/article/thing/animal etc., being referred to, is masculine (der))
24dieser/ˈdiːzər/pronounthis one, this; that one, that
25dass/das/conjunctionthat; so that
26so/zoː/adverbso, such, that; as (followed by an adjective or adverb plus wie in a statement of equality)
27wie/viː/conjunctionas, like
28ihr/iːr/articleher (possessive); its (when the owning object/article/thing/animal etc., referred to, is feminine)
29aber/ˈaːbɐ/conjunctionbut
30aus/aʊ̯s/prepositionout of; from (from the inside of something); from (a place; see usage notes below)
31nach/naːx/prepositionafter, past (later in time); after, behind (in sequence)
32noch/nɔx/adverbstill, yet (up to and including a given time); still, eventually, sometime (at an unspecified time in the future)
33wir/viːɐ̯/pronounwe
34du/duː/pronounyou (singular familiar), thou
35nur/nuːɐ̯/adverbonly, just, merely, simply; ever; at all
36wenn/vɛn/conjunctionwhen, whenever; if (on the condition that)
37oder/ˈoːdər/conjunctionor
38gut/ɡuːt/adjectivegood
39was/vas/pronounwhat; which; referring to the entire preceding clause
40um/ʊm/prepositionabout; around
41man/man/pronounone, you, they (indefinite pronoun, referring to people at large; construed as a third-person singular)
42kein/kaɪ̯n/pronounno, none
43machen/ˈmaxən/verbto make, to produce, to create (an object, arrangement, situation, etc.); to make, prepare (food, drinks, etc.)
44über/ˈyːbɐ/preposition[with accusative or dative] above, over (spatially); [with accusative] about, concerning, over, at (in reference to)
45da/daː/adverbthere; then; so; at that moment
46dann/dan/adverbthen, after that; then, in that case
47mein/maɪ̯n/articlemy
48geben[ˈɡeːb(ə)n]verbto give (changing ownership); to hand, to pass, to put within reach
49schon/ʃoːn/adverbalready (happening rather early, continuing rather long); previously, before (at some time in the past; but not: before a certain event)
50ja[jäː]adverbobviously; certainly; of course; as you know; as is generally known (indicates and emphasises that one is expressing an established fact); under any circumstances, for (absolute) certain (often with the implication of pettiness, insecurity or overblown fear regarding the issue one wants certainty on)
51mehr/meːɐ̯/adverbmore
52mir/miːɐ̯/pronoundative of ich: me, to me
53vor/foːr/prepositionin front of, ahead of (relative location in space); before, prior to, ahead of (relative location in time)
54jahr/jaːr/nounyear (solar year, the time it takes the Earth to complete one orbit of the Sun); year (time it takes for any astronomical object to directly orbit its star)
55kommen/ˈkɔmən/verbto come; to arrive; to come to; to come over (go somewhere so as to join someone else)
56sollen/ˈzɔlən/verbshould; to be obligated (to do something); ought; shall; to be recommended (to do something); to be asked (to do something)
57aller/ˈalɐ/pronounall
58gehen/ˈɡeːən/verbto go, to walk; to leave
59wollen/ˈvɔlən/verbto want; to wish; to desire; to demand; to claim something
60mal/maːl/adverbtimes (indicating multiplication of two numbers); alternative form of einmal (“sometime, ever, once”)
61durch/dʊʁç/prepositionby means of; by; through; through; entering, then exiting
62hier/hiːr/adverbhere; in this place; refers to an environment one is currently in, or to something within reach; there; right there; in that place; refers to something that is considered nearby, or can be seen and pointed at
63mich/mɪç/pronounaccusative of ich: me; reflexive pronoun of ich: myself
64bis/bɪs/prepositionuntil, to, (US) through; by
65doch/dɔx/adverbafter all
66anderer/ˈandərər/adjectiveother
67immer/ˈɪmɐ/adverbalways; at all times without exception
68jetzt/jɛtst/adverbnow (at this moment, right now); now, then (expressing a logical or temporal consequence)
69neu/nɔʏ̯/adjectivenew; modern, recent, latest
70ganz/ɡan(t)s/adjectivewhole
71sehen/ˈzeː.ən/verbto see; to have sight; to see (something); to perceive by vision
72sagen/zaːɡən/verbto say (to pronounce; communicate verbally); to tell (to inform (someone) verbally)
73wieder/ˈviːdɐ/adverbagain; indicates that the action taking place has happened before; back; indicates that the action will return something to its original state or position
74alle/ˈalə/pronouninflection of all (“all”); inflection of all (“all”):
75sehr/zeːr/adverbvery; a lot, much
76muss/mʊs/verbfirst/third-person singular present of müssen
77uns/ʊns/pronounaccusative/dative of wir: us; reflexive pronoun of wir
78unter/ˈʊntɐ/prepositionunder; below
79finden[ˈfɪndn̩]verbto find; to discover; to think, to consider, to find
80jeder/ˈjeːdɐ/pronouneach, every
81deutsch/dɔʏ̯t͡ʃ/adjectiveGerman (of or pertaining to the German people); German (of or pertaining to Germany)
82stehen/ˈʃteː.ən/verbto stand (to be upright, support oneself in an erect position); to be, to stand (to be placed or located somewhere in an upright position)
83erster[ˈʔɛɐ̯stɐ]numeralfirst
84zeit[t͡saɪ̯t]nountime (as a concept); time of day (clipping of Uhrzeit)
85gegen/ˈɡe.ɡən/prepositionagainst; toward (i.e. directed to someone/something)
86unser/ˈʔʊnzɐ/pronounour
87vieleradjectivemany
88einfach/ˈʔaɪ̯nfax/adjectivesimple
89also/ˈʔalzoː/particleso, well
90viel/fiːl/pronounmuch, a lot
91ab/ap/prepositionfrom, off
92mensch/mɛnʃ/pronounone (impersonal)
93denn/dɛn/particlethen, indeed
94damit/daˈmɪt/adverbpronominal adverb of mit; therefore, as a result
95dir/diːɐ̯/pronoundative of du; you, to you.; dative of du; yourself, to yourself.
96zwei/t͡svaɪ̯/numeraltwo
97ohne/ˈoːnə/prepositionwithout
98weil/vaɪ̯l/conjunctionbecause, given that; while, during
99leben/ˈleːbən/noun · neuterlife
100etwas/ˈɛtvas/adverbsomewhat
101weit/vaɪ̯t/adjectivewide; large
102klein/klaɪ̯n/adjectivesmall, little, wee (in physical size or extent); small, little, young (not grown up)
103lassen[ˈlasn̩]verbto allow; to permit; to let; to have someone (do something); to have (something done); to make (something happen); to cause (something to be done)
104seit/zaɪ̯t/prepositionsince; for (some past period of time)
105müssen/ˈmʏsən/verbto have to (do something); must; to be obliged (to do something); to need (to do something).; to have to do something implied; must; to be obliged.
106frau/fʁaʊ̯/nounwoman (adult female human); wife (married woman, especially in relation to her spouse)
107selbst/zɛlpst/particlemyself, itself
108wo/voː/adverbwhere
109dein/daɪ̯n/pronounyour
110dich/dɪç/pronounaccusative of du; you, thee (direct object).; accusative of du; yourself, thyself (direct object).
111stellen/ˈʃtɛlən/verbcausative of stehen: to put, place, position (someone or something) such that it stands upright; to pose, to lodge
112mann/man/nounman, male human being; husband
113hab/haːp/verbsingular imperative of haben; first-person singular present of haben
114heute/ˈhɔʏ̯tə/adverbtoday
115nichts[nɪçt͡s]pronounnothing
116nun/nuːn/adverbnow, at this moment; now, then; expressing a logical or temporal consequence
117tun/tuːn/verbto do (to perform or execute an action); to do (harm or good, but negative by default)
118nehmen/ˈneːmən/verbto take (something into one's possession or on one's body); to take from
119tag/taːk/nounday (a 24-hour period); day (the period from midnight to the following midnight)
120wer/veːr/pronounwho (what person or people); what, which (one) (see usage notes)
121welcher/ˈvɛlçər/pronounwhich
122groß/ɡʁoːs/adjectivebig, large, large-scale; great, grand
123denken/ˈdɛŋkən/verbto think; not to forget; to remember
124ihm/iːm/pronoundative of er; him, to him (indirect object); for him (in some cases).; dative of es; to it (indirect object); for it (in some cases).
125ob/ɔp/conjunctionwhether
126liegen/ˈliːɡən/verbto lie (to be in a horizontal position); to lie down
127alt/alt/adjectiveold; ancient
128spielen/ˈʃpiːlən/verbto play (engage in some activity for fun or entertainment); to play, to engage in (a game, a sport, etc.)
129ihn/iːn/pronounaccusative of er; him, it (masculine, direct object).; (obsolete) dative of sie; them (indirect object).
130zwischen/ˈtsvɪʃən/prepositionbetween; among, amongst
131bleiben/ˈblaɪ̯bən/verbto remain (to continue to be); to keep (on); to continue [with infinitive ‘doing something’] (see usage notes below)
132beide/ˈbaɪ̯də/pronounboth
133hoch/hoːx/adjectivehigh, tall; high, great, immense
134dürfen/ˈdʏrfən/verbto be allowed (to do something); to be permitted (to do something); may; to be allowed or permitted to do something implied or previously stated; may
135schön/ʃøːn/adjectivebeautiful
136dabei/daˑˈbaɪ̯/adverbpronominal adverb of bei (replaces bei + demonstrative or personal pronoun, unless referring to people); with one, on one
137letzteradjectiveinflection of letzte:; strong/mixed nominative masculine singular
138gleich/ɡlaɪ̯ç/adverbalike; in a moment
139dort/dɔʁt/adverbthere, yonder
140gerade/ɡəˈraːdə/adverbnow (at the moment); just (a short while ago, typically less than an hour)
141sondern[ˈzɔndɐn]conjunctionrather, but (instead).
142wirklich/ˈvɪʁklɪç/adjectivereal
143richtig/ˈʁɪçtɪç/adjectivecorrect
144weiter[ˈvaɪ̯tɐ]adverbcomparative degree of weit; further, farther, more
145erst/eːrst/adverbfirst, at first; only (with progress, accomplishments or the present time)
146bringen/ˈbrɪŋən/verbto bring, to fetch, to take, to convey, to bear; to bring, to lead, to guide, to accompany
147zeigen/ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡən/verbto show, make see; to point
148halten/ˈhaltn̩/verbto hold (an object in one's hands); to stop, to halt, to hold back
149einigeradjectivesome
150warum/vaˈʁʊm/adverbwhy; for what reason
151ihnen[ˈʔiːnən]pronoundative of sie; them, to them.
152land/lant/nouncountry (territory of a nation); state, province (political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy)
153drei/dʁaɪ̯/numeralthree (numerical value represented by the Arabic numeral 3; or describing a set with three elements)
154wohl/voːl/adverbpossibly, probably; as I was told (modal particle expressing an assumption, often like English must + infinitive, or (US) guess + clause); of course, indeed (modal particle adding stress to the statement to contradict a preceding one, often like English do + infinitive)
155meinen/ˈmaɪ̯nən/verbto opine, to think; to believe; to suppose; to say; to utter; not used with nouns; not used in the imperative and rarely in the infinitive
156weg/vɛk/noun · masculinepath
157vielleicht/fiˈlaɪ̯çt/adverbperhaps, maybe; frequently replaces bitte (“please”) in polite questions
158genau/ɡəˈnaʊ̯/adjectiveexact
159eigen/ˈaɪ̯ɡən/adjectiveown
160dazu/daˈtsuː/adverbin addition to it, in addition, besides; for that purpose
161euch/ɔɪ̯ç/pronounaccusative and dative of ihr; you, yourselves
162jung/jʊŋ(k)/adjectiveyoung
163stadt/ʃtat/nouncity (a large settlement); town (a settlement larger than a village)
164lang/laŋ(k)/adjectivelong
165leute/ˈlɔɪ.tə/ [ˈlɔe̠.t(ʰ)ə]nounpeople (several individual persons, a group of people in general, esp. of one kind or another), folk (folks), peeps (slang), guys (boys and/or girls)
166bitte/ˈbɪtə/interjectionplease
167kind/kɪnt/nounkid; child (young person); child; offspring (person with regard to his or her parents; also a baby animal or young animal, especially as the second component in numerous compound nouns)
168bekommen/bəˈkɔmən/verbto receive; to get; to catch
169sowie[zoˈviː]conjunctionas well as; as soon as
170während/ˈvɛːʁənt/conjunctionwhile (at the same time as); whereas, while (in contrast to)
171dafür/daˈfyːʁ/adverbfor that, for it; instead, at least, as a compensation
172wichtig/ˈvɪçtɪç/adjectiveimportant
173suchen/ˈzuːxən/verbto search, to look for; to seek, to strive, to intend, to try
174teil/taɪ̯l/nounpart, piece (a physical object which is used in a greater one, often in relation to inanimate objects); thing (any object, not limited to those which are part of a greater object)
175glauben/ˈɡlaʊ̯bən/verbto believe something (to consider true); to believe in (to think something exists, or have confidence in someone’s ability)
176bereits[bəˈʁaɪ̯ts]adverbalready
177ende/ˈɛndə/noun · neuterend
178nie/niː/adverbnever, never at all (referring to an indefinite period of time); never, not once (referring to a defined period of time; see usage notes below)
179uhr/uːr/nounhours, o'clock (indicates the time within a twelve- or twenty-four-hour period); clock, watch (instrument used to measure or keep track of time)
180wegen/ˈveːɡən/prepositionfor, because of; concerning, regarding
181natürlich/naˈtyːʁlɪç/adverbnaturally; of course, obviously
182kurz/kʊʁt͡s/adjectiveshort
183führen/ˈfyːʁən/verbto lead; to carry, to sell
184schnell/ʃnɛl/adverbquickly; again; quick; used after a question to imply that one ought to know the answer
185einmal/ˈaɪ̯nmaːl/adverbonce, one time (one and only one time); once (formerly; during some period in the past)
186welt/vɛlt/nounworld
187fragen/ˈfʁaːɡən/verbto ask; to ask for, to ask after
188spät/ʃpɛːt/adjectivelate
189gehören/ɡəˈhøːʁən/verbto belong to, be the property of; to be a prerequisite for; to be a characteristic of
190seite/ˈzaɪ̯tə/nounside (a bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape); face, side, surface of any three-dimensional object
191brauchen/ˈbʁaʊ̯xən/verbto need, to be in need of, to require; to need to, to have to
192sprechen/ˈʃprɛçən/verbto speak (some language, the truth, etc.); to speak, to talk, to give a speech
193danke[ˈdaŋkə]interjectionthanks
194gar/ɡaːr/adverbat all; even; even; expressing a climax
195schreiben/ˈʃraɪ̯bən/verbto write, to write out (use letters to make words and texts); to spell (use a particular combination of letters to make a word)
196klar[kläː(ɐ̯)]interjectionsure
197arbeiten/ˈaʁbaɪ̯tən/verbto work (to do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers); to work, function, run, operate (to be operative, in action)
198eigentlich/ˈaɪ̯ɡəntlɪç/adverbUsed to frame a statement as being a more (formally) truthful description of the situation in comparison to another claim or assumption; really, actually, in truth (with that description being the more pertinent one)
199fallen/ˈfalən/verbto fall; to drop; to die; to fall in battle; to die in battle; to be killed in action
200weniger[ˈveːniɡɐ]adverbless; minus
201woche/ˈvɔxə/nounweek (period of seven days counting from Monday to Sunday, or from Sunday to Saturday); week (any period of seven consecutive days)
202bild/bɪlt/noundepiction, image, picture; digital image
203etwa/ˈɛtva/adverbapproximately; for instance
204stark/ʃtark/adjectivestrong
205problem/pʁoˈbleːm/nounproblem
206jemand/ˈjeːmant/pronounsomeone, somebody
207recht/ʁɛçt/adjectiveright
208kennen/ˈkɛnən/verbto know; to be acquainted with; to be familiar with
209geld/ɡɛlt/nounmoney
210sicher/ˈzɪçər/adjectivesafe, certain
211zweiter[ˈtsvaɪ̯tɐ]numeralsecond
212fall/fal/nounfall, drop (the act of falling or an instance thereof); fall, capture (the act of being seized by enemy forces)
213laufen/ˈlaʊ̯fən/verbto walk; to jog; to run (to move on foot; either at a normal or an increased speed); to flow; to leak; to run
214verstehen/fərˈʃteːən/verbto understand; to hear and interpret (speech)
215lange[ˈlaŋə]adverbfor a long time
216gross/ɡroːs/adjectivebig
217fast/fast/adverbalmost
218wissen/ˈvɪsn̩/verbto know; to be aware of (a fact); to be assured that something or someone is in a certain state
219paar/paːr/noun · neutercouple, pair
220davon/daˈfɔn/adverbfrom it, from that, therefrom, off it, off that
221setzen/ˈzɛtsən/verbcausative of sitzen: to set; to put; to sit down
222nächster/ˈnɛːstɐ/adjectivenext
223früh/fʁyː/adverbearly; in the morning (general in morgen früh, otherwise regional, especially Eastern Germany, Southern Germany, Austria)
224treffen/ˈtʁɛfən/verbto meet; to encounter; to hit; to strike
225möchten/ˈmœçtn̩/verbfirst/third-person plural subjunctive II of mögen
226solcherpronounsuch
227arbeit/ˈaʁbaɪ̯t/nountoil, regularly performed work, regularly pursued economic activity, labor, job, employment, occupation; job, task, assignment
228frage/ˈfʁaːɡə/noun · femininequestion
229zurück/t͡suˈʁʏk/interjectionget back
230name/ˈnaːmə/nounname (forename, Christian name, given name); name (surname, family name)
231person/pɛrˈzoːn/nounperson, individual; someone (often female) who is not proper company, mostly because they are of lower class or doubtful morals
232versuchen/fɛɐ̯ˈzuːxən/verbto try, to attempt (often with an uncertain result); to try, to taste
233jedoch/jeːˈdɔx/adverbhowever, yet, nevertheless
234fahren[ˈfaːʁən]verbto go at speed; to go; to run; to drive; to sail
235zusammen/tsuˈzamən/adverbtogether
236stunde/ˈʃtʊndə/noun · femininehour
237erhalten/ɛʁˈhaltən/verbto receive (something given, sent, won, etc.); to receive (a rebuke, punishment, fine, prison sentence, etc.)
238frei/fʁaɪ̯/adjectivefree
239haus[haʊ̯s]nounhouse; home (in various phrases)
240echt/ɛçt/adjectivegenuine
241möglich/ˈmøːklɪç/adjectivepossible
242ziehen/ˈt͡siːən/verbto pull; to drag; to draw (e.g. a weapon); to extract; to puff
243lesen/ˈleːzn̩/verbto read (to look at and understand symbols, words, or data); to read (to give off a certain impression while being read; of a text)
244darauf/daˈʁaʊ̯f/adverbafter (behind; later in time; following); on top of that
245nein/naɪ̯n/interjectionno
246sogar/zoˈɡaːɐ̯/adverbeven, actually, in fact
247zwar/tsvaːr/adverbSignals a following contrary clause, which is usually introduced with aber (“but”), stressing that the speaker is aware of the contradiction, but that it does not invalidate the statement.; namely
248geschichte/ɡəˈʃɪçtə/nounhistory; story
249allerdings/ˈʔalɐdɪŋs/adverbbut, however; indeed!
250schwer/ʃveːɐ̯/adjectiveheavy

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