German Vocabulary Lists by Level (A1–C1) — Deutsch Wortschatz

Free German word lists for every CEFR level, from your first A1 words to advanced C1 vocabulary. Every word comes with its English meaning, the article (der, die or das) for nouns, the plural and an example sentence. Search a list, filter it by topic, print it as a PDF, or download it as a CSV or an Anki deck for spaced repetition.

German A1 vocabulary listA1 — Beginner578German A2 vocabulary listA2 — Elementary563German B1 vocabulary listB1 — Intermediate1,713German B2 vocabulary listB2 — Upper-Intermediate2,844German C1 vocabulary listC1 — Advanced4,934

The 100 most common German words

These 100 words make up about half of everything you read or hear in German — most of them small words like und, nicht and mit that hold every sentence together. Ranked by how often they appear in real German (film and TV subtitles, news, the web, books).

  1. 1derthe — der, die, das
  2. 2seinto be
  3. 3undand
  4. 4inin
  5. 5eina, an
  6. 6zuto, too
  7. 7ichI
  8. 8habenhave
  9. 9vonfrom, of
  10. 10werdenbecome, will
  11. 11nichtnot
  12. 12mitwith
  13. 13esit
  14. 14aufon, upon, up
  15. 15anat, on, to
  16. 16fürfor
  17. 17sieshe; they; you (polite: Sie)
  18. 18sichoneself, himself, herself, itself
  19. 19auchalso, too
  20. 20beiat/near/by
  21. 21könnencan, be able to
  22. 22erhe
  23. 23alsas, when
  24. 24dassthat
  25. 25soso, thus
  26. 26wiehow, as
  27. 27ihryou (plural); her; their
  28. 28aberbut, however
  29. 29ausout/from
  30. 30nachafter, to
Show all 100
  1. 31nochstill, yet
  2. 32wirwe
  3. 33nuronly, just
  4. 34wennif, when
  5. 35oderor
  6. 36gutgood
  7. 37waswhat
  8. 38umat, around
  9. 39manone, people
  10. 40überover, across
  11. 41machenmake, do
  12. 42dathere, here
  13. 43keinno, not a
  14. 44dannthen
  15. 45schonalready
  16. 46gebengive
  17. 47mehrmore
  18. 48jayes
  19. 49vorbefore, in front of
  20. 50sollenshall, should
  21. 51kommencome, arrive
  22. 52das Maltime; occasion
  23. 53gehengo, walk
  24. 54wollento want
  25. 55durchthrough
  26. 56hierhere
  27. 57bisuntil, to
  28. 58dochbut, yet, however
  29. 59immeralways
  30. 60jetztnow
  31. 61meinmy
  32. 62neunew
  33. 63sehento see
  34. 64sagento say
  35. 65wiederagain, re-
  36. 66meinenmean/think
  37. 67sehrvery
  38. 68ganzwhole/entire
  39. 69unterunder, below
  40. 70findenfind
  41. 71jedereach, every
  42. 72stehenstand
  43. 73die Zeittime
  44. 74gegenagainst, towards
  45. 75unserour
  46. 76einfachsimple; simply
  47. 77alsoso, therefore
  48. 78vielmuch, many
  49. 79lebenlive, exist
  50. 80abfrom, off
  51. 81der Menschhuman, person
  52. 82dennbecause; then
  53. 83diryou (informal dative)
  54. 84damitwith that; so that
  55. 85deinyour (informal)
  56. 86ohnewithout
  57. 87weilbecause
  58. 88etwassomething
  59. 89altold
  60. 90weitfar, wide
  61. 91seitsince, for
  62. 92kleinsmall, little
  63. 93die Frauwoman; Mrs.
  64. 94selbstself; oneself
  65. 95wowhere
  66. 96dichyou (informal object)
  67. 97lassenlet/allow
  68. 98der Mannman
  69. 99heutetoday
  70. 100nichtsnothing

The 50 most common German verbs

The German verbs list to learn first, in order of how often they are used. The top ones are irregular — learn their forms early: sein, haben and the modal verbs können, müssen, wollen.

  1. 1seinto be
  2. 2habenhave
  3. 3werdenbecome, will
  4. 4könnencan, be able to
  5. 5machenmake, do
  6. 6gebengive
  7. 7sollenshall, should
  8. 8kommencome, arrive
  9. 9gehengo, walk
  10. 10wollento want
  11. 11sehento see
  12. 12sagento say
  13. 13meinenmean/think
  14. 14findenfind
  15. 15stehenstand
  16. 16lebenlive, exist
  17. 17lassenlet/allow
  18. 18tundo, make
  19. 19nehmentake
  20. 20liegenlie, be located
  21. 21spielenplay
  22. 22bleibento stay, remain
  23. 23denkenthink
  24. 24dürfenmay; to be allowed
  25. 25müssenmust, have to
  26. 26stellenput, place
  27. 27bringento bring, take
  28. 28zeigento show
  29. 29haltenhold, stop
  30. 30bekommenget/receive
Show all 50
  1. 31glaubenbelieve, think
  2. 32führenlead
  3. 33fragenask
  4. 34gehörenbelong to
  5. 35brauchento need
  6. 36sprechenspeak
  7. 37schreibento write
  8. 38arbeitenwork
  9. 39fallenfall, drop
  10. 40laufenrun, walk
  11. 41verstehenunderstand
  12. 42setzensit, place
  13. 43fahrendrive, go
  14. 44treffenmeet
  15. 45möchtenwould like
  16. 46versuchentry, attempt
  17. 47wissento know
  18. 48kennento know
  19. 49suchensearch, look for
  20. 50erhaltenreceive, get

More ways to learn German words

Which list should I start with?

If you are new to German, start with the A1 list and learn nouns together with their article — “der Tisch”, not just “Tisch” — so the gender sticks from day one. Once most A1 words feel familiar, move on to A2 and B1. Short daily sessions work better than long weekly ones: review a small set of flashcards every day, then meet the same words again in German videos so you remember them in context.

Free Chrome extension

Learn German with any YouTube video — the 3minGerman plugin

The 3minGerman Chrome extension adds German and English subtitles to every YouTube video. Click any word to see its translation and etymology; it is saved to your 3minGerman account, and the daily quiz repeats it with spaced repetition until you remember it.

  1. STEP 1
    Install the plugin
    Add it to desktop Chrome — free.
  2. STEP 2
    Watch any video
    German + English subtitles appear automatically.
  3. STEP 3
    Click any word
    Translation, etymology, audio — saved to your words.
  4. STEP 4
    Take the daily quiz
    Spaced repetition beats the forgetting curve.
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