This verb list comes from Randall Jones & Erwin Tschirner’s A Frequency Dictionary of German. Core Vocabulary for Learners, which lists the 4034 (!) most commonly used words in German. We’ll be doing lots of fun things with this list with posts in the coming weeks.
See also: Lessons from the Top German verbs list & Top 500 German words
1. sein to be
2. haben to have
3. werden to become
4. können can, to be able to
5. müssen must, to have to
6. sagen to say
7. machen to do, make
8. geben to give
9. kommen to come
10. sollen should, ought to
11. wollen to want
12. gehen to go
13. wissen to know
14. sehen to see
15. lassen to let, allow, have done
16. stehen to stand
17. finden to find
18. bleiben to stay, remain
19. liegen to lie, be lying
20. heißen to be called
21. denken to think
22. nehmen to take
23. tun to do
24. dürfen may, to be allowed
25. glauben to believe
26. halten to stop, hold
27. nennen to name, to call (a name)
28. mögen to like
29. zeigen to show
30. führen to lead
31. sprechen to speak
32. bringen to bring, take
33. leben to live
34. fahren to drive, ride, go
35. meinen to think, have an opinion
36. fragen to ask
37. kennen to know
38. gelten to be valid
39. stellen to place, set
40. spielen to play
41. arbeiten to work
42. brauchen to need
43. folgen to follow
44. lernen to learn
45. bestehen to exist, insist, pass (an exam)
46. verstehen to understand
47. setzen to set, put, place
48. bekommen to get, receive
49. beginnen to begin
50. erzählen to narrate, tell
51. versuchen to try, attempt
52. schreiben to write
53. laufen, to run
54. erklären to explain
55. entsprechen to correspond
56. sitzen to sit
57. ziehen to pull, move
58. scheinen to shine, seem, appear
59. fallen to fall
60. gehören to belong
61. entstehen to originate, develop
62. erhalten to receive
63. treffen to meet
64. suchen to search, look for
65. legen to lay, put
66. vor·stellen to introduce, imagine
67. handeln to deal, trade
68. erreichen to achieve, reach
69. tragen to carry, wear
70. schaffen to manage, create
71. lesen to read
72. verlieren to lose
73. dar·stellen to depict, portray
74. erkennen to recognize, admit
75. entwickeln to develop
76. reden to talk
77. aus·sehen to appear, look (a certain way)
78. erscheinen to appear
79. bilden to form, educate
80. an·fangen to begin
81. erwarten to expect
82. wohnen to live
83. betreffen to affect, concern
84. warten to wait
85. vergehen to elapse; to decay
86. helfen to help
87. gewinnen to win
88. schließen to close
89. fühlen to feel
90. bieten to offer
91. interessierento interest
92. erinnern to remember
93. ergeben to result in
94. an·bieten to offer
95. studieren to study
96. verbinden to connect, link
97. an·sehen to look at, watch
98. fehlen to lack, be missing, be absent
99. bedeuten to mean
100. vergleichen to compare