German Permission & Prohibition Vocabulary
This set covers how German talks about what you're allowed to do and what you're not: dürfen for the modal sense of "may," erlauben and verbieten as the everyday verbs for allowing and forbidding, and verboten for the flat statement that something is off-limits. One trap for English speakers: dürfen means "to be allowed to," not "to have to" or "must," so "Ich darf nicht rauchen" means "I'm not allowed to smoke," not "I don't need to smoke."
Learn these 16 words
Spaced-repetition flashcards, straight in your browser. No sign-up, no install — the same review ladder Anki uses, on the words above.
All 16 words
- dürfenA1
may; to be allowed
Sie dürfen hier nicht rauchen. — You are not allowed to smoke here.
- erlaubenA1
to allow; permit
Rauchen ist hier nicht erlaubt. — Smoking is not permitted here.
- verbotenA1
forbidden, prohibited
Hier ist Rauchen verboten. — Smoking is forbidden here.
be allowed
Parken ist hier nicht erlaubt. — Parking is not allowed here.
has allowed
Das Gesetz hat es erlaubt. — The law has allowed it.
had been allowed
Es ist erlaubt gewesen, hier zu parken. — It had been allowed to park here.
forbid, be forbidden
Hier ist Rauchen verboten. — Smoking is forbidden here.
was allowed
Das war erlaubt. — That was allowed.
plural: die Bescheinigungen
certificate, permit
Bitte bringen Sie eine ärztliche Bescheinigung mit. — Please bring a medical certificate with you.
plural: die Erlaubnisse
permission, consent
Sie hätten ihn vorher um Erlaubnis bitten müssen. — You should have asked him for permission beforehand.
plural: die Genehmigungen
permission, licence
Für den Umbau brauchen wir eine Genehmigung. — We need a permit for the renovation.
to permit
Rauchen ist hier nicht gestattet. — Smoking is not permitted here.
to refuse, deny
Die Behörde verweigert ihm die Einreise. — The authority refuses him entry.
plural: die Zustimmungen
approval, consent
Wir brauchen Ihre Zustimmung, um Ihnen Werbung zu schicken. — We need your consent to send you advertising.
- duldenB2
to condone / tolerate / permit
Die Regierung duldet kein Fehlverhalten. — The government will not tolerate misconduct.
permissible / allowed (wenig benutzt)
Diese Handlung ist nicht statthaft nach dem Gesetz. — This action is not permissible under the law.
How to learn this set
Three of the nouns here, die Bescheinigung, die Erlaubnis, and die Genehmigung, are all feminine, which isn't a coincidence: most German nouns ending in -ung are feminine, so you can guess the gender before you even learn the word. For the verbs, drill dürfen alongside its opposite verbieten first, since they form the backbone of this whole topic; then layer in erlauben and gestatten as near-synonyms of dürfen's positive side, and verweigern and dulden as the sharper edges (refusing outright vs. reluctantly tolerating). Don't bother memorizing statthaft hard, it's rare and mostly shows up in legal or bureaucratic German.
More Society & Abstract word packs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between erlauben and gestatten?
Both mean to permit, but gestatten is more formal and often used in official or written notices ("Rauchen ist nicht gestattet"). Erlauben is the everyday word you'd use for a parent letting a kid stay out late or a friend allowing you to borrow something.
What's the difference between Erlaubnis and Genehmigung?
Erlaubnis is general permission, often informal or spoken, like a parent's okay. Genehmigung usually means an official, often written authorization from an authority, like a building permit (Baugenehmigung) or a work permit.
Is verboten the same as forbidden in English?
Yes, and it's actually one of the few German words English speakers already know, since "verboten" gets used as a loanword in English too. Just remember it's an adjective/past participle here, not a verb; the verb is verbieten.
Other popular word packs
Free to start · no credit card
Words fade fast — spaced reviews make them stick.
Based on Dr. Hermann Ebbinghaus · memory science, proven since 1885