Learning German, it’s useful to quickly add vocabulary to your language skills so you express yourself and communicate. But if you’re asking yourself where to begin, why not start with the most used words of the language? Not only we’ve compiled the top 100 German words you need to know but also broken them down based on their function. Let’s dive in!
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The 100 most used words in German
The following is an overview of the top one hundred German words ranked by frequency of use. The list is based on text analysis done by the Projekt Deutscher Wortschatz at the University of Leipzig, which is part of the Natural Language Processing Group at the university’s Institute of Computer Science.
- der (den, dem, des) – the (masculine article)
- die (der, den) – the (feminine article)
- und – and
- in (im) – in, into (in the)
- von (vom) – of, from
- zu (zum, zur) – to; at; too
- das (dem, des) – the (neuter article)
- mit – with
- sich – himself, itself, yourself
- auf – on
- für – for
- ist (sein, sind, war, sei, etc.) – is
- nicht – not
- ein (eine, einen, einer, einem, eines) – a, an
- als – as, than, when
- auch – also, too
- es – it
- an (am/ans) – to, at, by
- werden (wurde, wird) – become, get
- aus – from, out of
- er – he
- hat (haben, hatte, habe) – has/have
- dass – that
- sie – she, it; they
- nach – to, after
- bei – at, by
- um – around, at
- noch – still, yet
- wie – as, how
- über – about, over, via
- so – so, such, thus
- Sie – you (formal)
- nur – only
- oder – or
- aber – but
- vor (vorm, vors) – before, in front of; of
- bis – by, until
- mehr – more
- durch – by, through
- man – one, they
- Prozent (das) – percent
- kann (können, konnte, etc.) – be able, can
- gegen – against; around
- schon – already
- wenn – if, when
- sein (seine, seinen, etc.) – his
- Mark (Euro) – Mark (Euro) currency
- ihre/ihr – her, their
- dann – then
- unter – under, among
- wir – we
- soll (sollen, sollte, etc.) – should, ought to
- ich – I (personal pronoun)
- das Jahr – the year
- zwei – two
- diese (dieser, dieses, etc.) – this, these
- wieder – again
- Uhr – clock (often used as “o’clock” in telling time)
- will (wollen, willst, etc.) – wants
- zwischen – between
- immer – always
- Millionen (eine Million) – million(s)
- was – what
- sagte (sagen, sagt) – said (say, says)
- gibt (es gibt; geben) – gives
- alle – all, everyone
- seit – since
- muss (müssen) – must
- doch – but, nevertheless, after all
- jetzt – now
- drei – three
- neue (neu, neuer, neuen, etc.) – new
- damit – with it/that; by that; because of that; so that
- bereits – already
- da – since, because
- ab – off, away; exit
- ohne – without
- sondern – but rather
- selbst – myself, himself
- ersten (erste, erstes, etc.) – first
- nun – now; then
- etwa – about, approximately; for instance
- heute – today, nowadays
- weil – because
- ihm – to/for him
- Menschen (der Mensch) – people (the human)
- Deutschland – Germany
- anderen (andere, anderes, etc.) – other(s)
- rund – approximately, about
- ihn – him
- das Ende – end
- jedoch – nevertheless
- die Zeit – time
- uns – us
- die Stadt – the city, town
- geht (gehen, ging, etc.) – goes
- sehr – very
- hier – here
- ganz – entire(ly), complete(ly), whole(ly)
- Berlin – Berlin
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Observations about the most common words in German
As you might have noted, the most used German words contain hardly any nouns. But look at the top nouns below and you’ll see many have to do with time. The most important words also contain many adverbs, pronouns and prepositions. Small-function words play a crucial part in the German language. Compound verbs tenses also feature frequently in German, which is why modal and auxiliary verbs are part of the most common words.
The 100 German words by parts of speech
The following is a compilation of the one hundred most used German words, but sorted by parts of speech. This will give you an overview of the top 25 German nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. These top lists are based on a scientific study conducted by Randall Jones and Erwin Tschirner and published in A Frequency Dictionary of German.
Top 25 German nouns
- das Jahr – the year
- das Mal – time (as in number of times)
- das Beispiel – the example
- die Zeit – the time
- die Frau – the woman, wife, Mrs.
- der Mensch – the human being, man
- das Kind – the child
- der Tag – the day
- der Mann – the man
- das Land – the country, land
- die Frage – the question
- das Haus – the house
- der Fall – the fall, case
- die Leute – the people (plural)
- die Arbeit – the work, job
- das Prozent – the percent
- die Hand – the hand
- die Stadt – the city
- der Herr – the man, gentleman, Mr.
- der/das Teil – the part, piece
- das Problem – the problem
- die Welt – the world
- das Recht – the right, law
- das Ende – the end
- die Million – the million
Top 25 German verbs
- sein (ist), war, ist gewesen – to be
- haben, hatte, hat gehabt – to have
- werden (wird), wurde, ist geworden – to become
- können (kann), konnte, hat gekonnt – can, to be able to
- müssen (muss), musste, hat gemusst – must, to have to
- sagen, sagte, hat gesagt – to say
- machen, machte, hat gemacht – to do, make
- geben (gibt), gab, hat gegeben – to give
- kommen, kam, ist gekommen – to come
- sollen (soll), sollte, hat gesollt – should, ought to
- wollen (will), wollte, hat gewollt – to want
- gehen, ging, ist gegangen – to go
- wissen (weiß), wusste, hat gewusst – to know
- sehen (sieht), sah, hat gesehen – to see
- lassen (lässt), ließ, hat gelassen – to let, allow, have done
- stehen, stand, hat gestanden – to stand
- finden, fand, hat gefunden – to find
- bleiben, blieb, ist geblieben – to stay, remain
- liegen, lag, hat gelegen – to lie, be lying
- heißen, hieß, hat geheißen – to be called
- denken, dachte, hat gedacht – to think
- nehmen (nimmt), nahm, hat genommen – to take
- tun, tat, hat getan – to do
- dürfen (darf), durfte, hat gedurft – may, to be allowed
- glauben, glaubte, hat geglaubt – to believe
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Top 25 German adjectives
- ganz – whole, all the
- groß – big, large, great
- gut – good
- neu – new
- erste, -r, -s – first
- lang – long
- deutsch – German
- klein – small, little
- alt – old
- hoch – high, tall
- einfach – simple, easy
- letzte, -r, -s – last
- gleich – same
- möglich – possible
- eigen – own
- schön – beautiful, pleasant, good
- spät – late
- wichtig – important
- weitere, -r, -s – additional
- genau – exact
- jung – young
- kurz – short
- stark – strong
- richtig – right, correct
- verschieden – different, diverse
Top 25 German adverbs
- auch – also, too
- so – so, thus, this way, such
- dann – then
- da – there
- noch – still, yet
- also – so, therefore
- nur – only
- schon – already
- mehr – more
- jetzt – now
- immer – always
- sehr – very
- hier – here
- doch – but, still
- wieder – again
- eigentlich – actually
- oben – above, up there
- nun – now
- heute – today
- weit – widely, far
- eben – just now
- erst – first, only, not until
- natürlich – naturally, of course
- vielleicht – perhaps, maybe
- dort – there
Practice makes perfect
Learning vocabulary in your sleep would be a dream, wouldn’t it? However, for the most satisfying results and to achieve the most fluency, practice makes perfect. Now that you have at hand the 100 most used German words, it is time for your to put them to good use!
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Jakob Straub
Jakob is a freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain, and his favorite books have pages all empty. As an expert storyteller, he publishes creative fiction in English and German and helps other authors shape their manuscripts into compelling stories. Thanks to an expertise in a wide range of topics such as writing, literature and productivity to marketing, travel, and technology, he produces engaging content for his clients. Apart from the escape that books offer, Jakob enjoys traveling digital nomad style and stays active with climbing and hiking. Find out more about him on his website or on Goodreads.