Verb conjugator

German verb conjugation tables

Type any German verb, or pick one of 16 common ones, and see it fully conjugated in the present, past and future, for every person. The built-in verbs are the ones you meet first and use most, regular and irregular.

Quick answer

German verb conjugation is how a verb changes its ending, and sometimes its stem, to match the subject and the tense. This free tool lays out full tables for 16 of the most common German verbs across 3 core tenses. Pick a verb like machen (to do, to make) or sein (to be), or type any German verb of your own to conjugate it on the spot.

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Or conjugate any German verb

Showing machen (to do, to make) · regular (weak)

machen

to do, to make regular (weak)
Präsens
ich mache
du machst
er/sie/es macht
wir machen
ihr macht
sie/Sie machen
Präteritum
ich machte
du machtest
er/sie/es machte
wir machten
ihr machtet
sie/Sie machten
Futur I
ich werde machen
du wirst machen
er/sie/es wird machen
wir werden machen
ihr werdet machen
sie/Sie werden machen

How German conjugation works

To conjugate a verb is to change its form to show who is doing the action (the subject) and when (the tense). In each table above, the subject runs down the left and the matching form sits beside it, across 3 core tenses: Präsens, Präteritum, Futur I.

Verbs split into regular and irregular. Regular verbs follow a fixed pattern you can apply to thousands of others once you learn it; the badge on each verb names its type (regular (weak) for machen, for example). Irregular verbs like sein (to be) change in ways you memorize one by one, which is exactly why the most common verbs are so often the most irregular.

You do not learn these by staring at the grid. You learn them by meeting them, over and over, in real sentences until the pattern feels obvious. That is what reading does, and it is what reading in Lingo7 is built for: open a real book in German, tap any verb form to see its meaning, and the conjugations start to stick on their own.

151 most common German verbs

Each verb has a page of its own with every tense as a table, the irregular forms marked and example sentences. Irregular verbs are marked with an orange dot.

  1. sein to be irregular
  2. haben to have irregular
  3. werden to become irregular
  4. können to be able to irregular
  5. wollen to want irregular
  6. essen to eat irregular
  7. müssen to have to irregular
  8. sehen to see irregular
  9. lesen to read irregular
  10. gehen to go irregular
  11. wissen to know (a fact) irregular
  12. fahren to drive irregular
  13. sprechen to speak irregular
  14. mögen to like irregular
  15. nehmen to take irregular
  16. machen to do
  17. kommen to come irregular
  18. geben to give irregular
  19. leben to live
  20. lassen to let irregular
  21. sagen to say
  22. finden to find irregular
  23. sollen to be supposed to irregular
  24. stehen to stand irregular
  25. fragen to ask
  26. spielen to play
  27. bekommen to get irregular
  28. arbeiten to work
  29. bleiben to stay irregular
  30. halten to hold irregular
  31. bringen to bring irregular
  32. zeigen to show
  33. schreiben to write irregular
  34. treffen to meet irregular
  35. denken to think irregular
  36. dürfen to be allowed to irregular
  37. liegen to lie irregular
  38. helfen to help irregular
  39. suchen to search
  40. kosten to cost
  41. folgen to follow
  42. verstehen to understand irregular
  43. brauchen to need
  44. vergessen to forget irregular
  45. lernen to learn
  46. kaufen to buy
  47. reden to talk
  48. führen to lead
  49. glauben to believe
  50. schaffen to manage
  51. hören to hear
  52. kennen to know (a person, place) irregular
  53. laufen to run irregular
  54. ziehen to pull irregular
  55. versuchen to try
  56. tragen to carry irregular
  57. gehören to belong
  58. warten to wait
  59. erreichen to reach
  60. gewinnen to win irregular
  61. gefallen to please irregular
  62. erklären to explain
  63. stimmen to be correct
  64. wählen to choose
  65. fallen to fall irregular
  66. teilen to share
  67. ändern to change
  68. entscheiden to decide irregular
  69. erkennen to recognize irregular
  70. nennen to name irregular
  71. sitzen to sit irregular
  72. lieben to love
  73. baden to bathe
  74. regeln to regulate
  75. verkaufen to sell
  76. laden to load irregular
  77. heißen to be called irregular
  78. legen to lay
  79. fühlen to feel
  80. schlafen to sleep irregular
  81. antworten to answer
  82. holen to fetch
  83. bauen to build
  84. sterben to die irregular
  85. verlieren to lose irregular
  86. passieren to happen
  87. fehlen to be missing
  88. wünschen to wish
  89. trinken to drink irregular
  90. bezahlen to pay
  91. feiern to celebrate
  92. lachen to laugh
  93. geschehen to happen irregular
  94. erinnern to remember
  95. schützen to protect
  96. wohnen to live (reside)
  97. schließen to close irregular
  98. erzählen to tell
  99. schicken to send
  100. beginnen to begin irregular
  101. verdienen to earn
  102. reisen to travel
  103. hoffen to hope
  104. besuchen to visit
  105. benutzen to use
  106. empfehlen to recommend irregular
  107. anfangen to start irregular
  108. fliegen to fly irregular
  109. sparen to save
  110. passen to fit
  111. öffnen to open
  112. verwenden to use
  113. behalten to keep irregular
  114. werfen to throw irregular
  115. genießen to enjoy irregular
  116. steigen to climb irregular
  117. retten to save
  118. singen to sing irregular
  119. scheinen to seem irregular
  120. drehen to turn
  121. aufhören to stop
  122. kochen to cook
  123. wechseln to change
  124. bedeuten to mean
  125. bitten to ask for irregular
  126. funktionieren to function
  127. verbessern to improve
  128. prüfen to check
  129. wachsen to grow irregular
  130. drücken to press
  131. bestellen to order
  132. merken to notice
  133. enden to end
  134. tanzen to dance
  135. versprechen to promise irregular
  136. planen to plan
  137. erlauben to allow
  138. üben to practice
  139. beschreiben to describe irregular
  140. trennen to separate
  141. weinen to cry
  142. schneiden to cut irregular
  143. fangen to catch irregular
  144. heiraten to marry
  145. schenken to give as gift
  146. mieten to rent
  147. wiederholen to repeat
  148. untersuchen to examine
  149. aufstehen to get up irregular
  150. kennenlernen to get to know
  151. hassen to hate

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Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate German verbs?

To conjugate a German verb, you change its form to match the subject and the tense. Take machen (to do, to make): in the ich form it is mache now, machte in the past, and werde machen in the future. Regular verbs follow a fixed pattern by ending; irregular ones you learn one at a time. This tool shows the full table for each.

What are the most common German verbs?

The most common German verbs include machen (to do, to make), sagen (to say), spielen (to play), sein (to be), haben (to have), werden (to become), gehen (to go), kommen (to come). These high-frequency verbs are also the most irregular in most languages, which is why they are worth drilling first. This tool has full present, past and future tables for all 16.

Is German verb conjugation hard?

German conjugation takes practice but follows clear rules. Regular verbs are predictable once you learn the endings; the real work is the handful of very common irregular verbs and knowing which tense to use. German is FSI Category II, about 900 hours to professional proficiency. The fastest way to make the forms automatic is to meet them again and again in real sentences, which is what reading does.

How many tenses does German have?

These three, Präsens, Präteritum, Futur I, are the core of everyday German and the right place to start. Real German also uses other moods and aspects (and, in most languages, extra compound tenses), but they build on the same stems and personal endings you see in these tables.