German Helping & Supporting Vocabulary
This set covers the language of help and care, from the basic helfen and die Hilfe to more specific verbs like betreuen, versorgen, and beistehen. English speakers often flatten all of these to just "help," but German splits the concept: betreuen is supervising or caring for someone professionally, versorgen is providing for someone's needs, and beistehen is standing by someone emotionally. Also worth noting: kümmern is almost always reflexive, sich kümmern um, which has no direct English equivalent shape.
Learn these 16 words
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All 16 words
- helfenA1
to help
Können Sie mir helfen, bitte? — Can you help me, please?
plural: die Hilfen
help
Hilfe! Bitte helfen Sie mir! — Help! Please help me!
- kümmernA1
care for, look after
Jede Mutter kümmert sich um ihre kleinen Kinder. — Every mother looks after her small children.
plural: die Helfer
helper
Die Helfer bringen den Flüchtlingen Essen. — The helpers bring food to the refugees.
- lassenA2
let/allow
Lass mich in Ruhe! — Leave me alone!
- störenA2
disturb
Störe ich? — Am I disturbing you?
to provide for, take care of
Die Mutter versorgt ihr krankes Kind. — The mother takes care of her sick child.
arrange, organize
Mein Mann ist nicht da. Soll ich ihm etwas ausrichten? — My husband is not here. Should I tell him something?
to stand by, assist
Freunde sollten sich in Not beistehen. — Friends should stand by each other in need.
to protect
Eltern wollen ihre Kinder immer beschützen. — Parents always want to protect their children.
- betreuenB1
care for, supervise
Wer betreut bei Ihnen die Kinder? — Who cares for your children?
plural: die Betreuungen
care, supervision
Haben Sie eine Betreuung für Ihre Kinder? — Do you have supervision for your children?
- dienenB1
serve
Solche Kontakte dienen der Verbesserung der internationalen Beziehungen. — Such contacts serve the improvement of international relations.
deploy, use
Ich glaube, wir müssen jemanden einsetzen, der sich um die Organisation kümmert. — I think we need to deploy someone who takes care of organization.
plural: die Mühen
effort, trouble
Vielen Dank für Ihre Mühe. — Thank you very much for your effort.
plural: die Unterstützungen
support, assistance
Ich nehme Ihre Unterstützung gern an. — I gladly accept your support.
How to learn this set
Several words here share the -treu- root idea of trustworthy oversight: betreuen and die Betreuung both point to structured, often professional care, like a Kinderbetreuung (childcare). Notice too that helfen, dienen, and beistehen all take the dative case for the person receiving the action, so drill them with dative pronouns: hilf mir, ich diene ihm, steh ihr bei. For the nouns, learn die Hilfe, die Betreuung, and die Unterstützung together as a trio, since all three are feminine and all three can follow brauchen (Hilfe brauchen, Unterstützung brauchen) in the same sentence pattern.
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Frequently asked questions
Is helfen followed by accusative or dative?
Dative. You say ich helfe dir, not ich helfe dich. This trips up English speakers because 'to help someone' looks like a direct object, but German treats the person you're helping as the receiver of the help, hence dative.
What is the difference between kümmern and betreuen?
Sich kümmern um is broader, general concern or looking after someone or something, like kümmern Sie sich um die Blumen. Betreuen is more formal and often professional or structured, like a Betreuer who supervises children or patients.
What does jemandem beistehen mean?
It means to stand by someone, usually in a hard moment, more emotional than practical. Ich stehe dir bei means I'm here for you, not I'll do your chores.
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