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German vocabulary

4,469 words from real stories, organized by topic and frequency. Hear the pronunciation, read examples and find pictures for concrete words. Practice any list for free, without an account.

4,469words to discover
6,809meanings in context
194stories to explore

German vocabulary lists by topic

Choose a topic to see its words and their meanings. Listen to any word, then practice the whole list.

Family & relationships

FlashcardsMeaning quiz
  • Mutter/ˈmʊtɐ/mother
  • Vater/ˈfaːtɐ/father
  • Familie/faˈmiːli̯ə/family
  • Tochter/ˈtɔxtɐ/daughter
  • Bruder/ˈbʁuːdɐ/brother
  • Sohn/zoːn/son

The 100 most common German words

Ranked by how often each word appears across 194 German stories. Start here: these words make up a large share of everything you read.

  1. 1der/deːɐ̯/the
  2. 2und/ʊnt/and
  3. 3ich/ɪç/I
  4. 4sein/zaɪ̯n/be
  5. 5ein/aɪ̯n/a/an
  6. 6in/ɪn/
  7. 7das/das/that
  8. 8zu/tsuː/infinitive marker “to”
  9. 9nicht/nɪçt/not
  10. 10haben/ˈhaːbən/have, as a perfect-tense auxiliary
  11. 11von/fɔn/from
  12. 12mit/mɪt/with
  13. 13es/ɛs/it
  14. 14du/duː/you
  15. 15den/deːn/which/that
  16. 16an/an/look at
  17. 17so/zoː/
  18. 18aber/ˈaːbɐ/but
  19. 19auf/aʊ̯f/on
  20. 20was/vas/what
  21. 21für/fyːɐ̯/for
  22. 22werden/ˈveːɐ̯dən/become
  23. 23Sie/ziː/she
  24. 24sie/ziː/she
  25. 25ja/jaː/yes
  26. 26können/ˈkœnən/be able to
  27. 27auch/aʊ̯x/too
  28. 28wir/viːɐ̯/we
  29. 29da/daː/there
  30. 30er/eːɐ̯/he
  31. 31als/als/as
  32. 32nur/nuːɐ̯/only
  33. 33dass/das/that
  34. 34bei/baɪ̯/at/during
  35. 35wie/viː/how
  36. 36aus/aʊ̯s/from
  37. 37nach/naːx/after
  38. 38all/al/everything
  39. 39noch/nɔx/still
  40. 40ihr/iːɐ̯/her
  41. 41dann/dan/then
  42. 42wenn/vɛn/if
  43. 43sich/zɪç/oneself
  44. 44mein/maɪ̯n/my
  45. 45um/ʊm/at
  46. 46man/man/one
  47. 47Er/eːɐ̯/he
  48. 48über/ˈyːbɐ/about
  49. 49jetzt/jɛtst/now
  50. 50immer/ˈɪmɐ/always
  51. 51Jahr/jaːɐ̯/year
  52. 52Wie/viː/how
  53. 53schon/ʃoːn/already
  54. 54mehr/meːɐ̯/any longer
  55. 55sehr/zeːɐ̯/very
  56. 56gehen/ˈɡeːən/go
  57. 57vor/foːɐ̯/in front of
  58. 58viel/fiːl/many
  59. 59gut/ɡuːt/good
  60. 60Mal/maːl/time
  61. 61müssen/ˈmʏsn̩/must
  62. 62erste/ˈɛɐ̯stə/first
  63. 63hier/hiːɐ̯/here
  64. 64durch/dʊʁç/through
  65. 65bis/bɪs/until
  66. 66doch/dɔx/however
  67. 67geben/ˈɡeːbən/there is/are
  68. 68oder/ˈoːdɐ/or
  69. 69Oder/ˈoːdɐ/or
  70. 70wollen/ˈvɔlən/want
  71. 71wieder/ˈviːdɐ/again
  72. 72am/am/at/on the
  73. 73ab/ap/from
  74. 74sollen/ˈzɔlən/should
  75. 75wirklich/ˈvɪʁklɪç/really
  76. 76ganz/ɡants/whole
  77. 77machen/ˈmaxən/do/make
  78. 78kommen/ˈkɔmən/come
  79. 79zwei/t͡svaɪ̯/two
  80. 80unter/ˈʊntɐ/under
  81. 81seit/zaɪ̯t/for
  82. 82dein/daɪ̯n/your
  83. 83jeder/ˈjeːdɐ/every
  84. 84wer/veːɐ̯/who
  85. 85heute/ˈhɔʏtə/today
  86. 86nichts/nɪçts/nothing
  87. 87Ihr/iːɐ̯/her/your/their
  88. 88S/ɛs/prefix s- for suburban rail
  89. 89sagen/ˈzaːɡən/say
  90. 90finden/ˈfɪndən/find
  91. 91gegen/ˈɡeːɡən/against
  92. 92unser/ˈʊnzɐ/our
  93. 93Zeit/tsaɪ̯t/time
  94. 94sehen/ˈzeːən/see
  95. 95also/ˈalzoː/well
  96. 96mal/maːl/just
  97. 97MAL/maːl/even
  98. 98denn/dɛn/then
  99. 99einfach/ˈaɪ̯nfax/simply
  100. 100gerade/ɡəˈʁaːdə/currently
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4,469 words · Illustrated discoveries

Illustration for sagen

/ˈzaːɡən/

say · tell · frankly · mean something to

160 stories
Illustration for Sie

/ziː/

she · (formal) · they · it

119 stories
Illustration for sehen

/ˈzeːən/

see · look at · understand · find out

118 stories
Illustration for dann

/dan/

then

108 stories
Illustration for wissen

/ˈvɪsən/

know

103 stories
Illustration for jetzt

/jɛtst/

now · right now · anyway

102 stories
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From a word to a whole world

You’ve met the words.
Now follow the story.

Every example in this library comes from an Inklingo story. Read at your level, listen to the narration, and tap a word whenever you need its meaning.

  1. Pick a story that interests you.
  2. Tap unfamiliar words as you read.
  3. Save the ones you want to remember.

A little guidance before you start

What are the most common German words?

The most common German words are short, everyday words such as der, und, ich, sein, ein, in, das, zu. The list above ranks them by how often they appear in our stories. Learn the first 100 and you will recognize a large share of the words in any text. The 100 most common German words

How many German words do I need to know?

A few hundred frequent words are enough to follow simple texts and conversations. Around 1,000 to 2,000 cover most everyday reading, and the rest comes naturally as you read. Learn frequent words first, then the topic words for the situations you care about.

What’s the best way to learn German vocabulary?

Start with a small set of useful words. Recall their meanings in an exercise, then read their story examples. Save words you want to revisit and return to them over several short sessions.

Can I practice without an account?

Yes. Browse the library and use all five exercises freely. Create a free account when you want to keep a word in your Word Bank and review it later on the web or in the app.

Why does a word have several meanings?

The right translation depends on the sentence. Open any word to compare its meanings, pictures, and original examples instead of memorizing a single translation.

Are these words for beginners?

You can filter by the reading level of the stories where each word appears, starting at A0 or A1. That tells you about the story’s difficulty; it is not a certified level for the word itself.

Learn the meaning, not just the translation.
A word can express different ideas in different stories. This library brings its meanings, images, and examples together. The level filter refers to the source story’s reading level, not a certified level for the word. Translations are available in 26 languages. Free practice progress stays in this browser. Save words to your account to keep them in your Word Bank.

Connect vocabulary with German grammar

Learn nouns with their gender and plural, then notice their case forms in the source sentence. Verb meanings can change with a separable prefix, so compare the complete expression.