WordNest

Irregular German verbs: 25 strong verbs with Perfekt examples

🇩🇪 GermanA2–B125 words

Many of the most useful German verbs are strong verbs: their vowel changes in the past, as in schreiben – schrieb – geschrieben. Each verb here comes with an example in the Perfekt, the past tense used most in spoken German, so you learn the participle and whether it takes haben or sein.

Where you will use it: Mastering the irregular past forms you use every day.

Irregular German verbs — The word list

Meanings and translations are in English.

GermanMeaning and example
helfento help (half, hat geholfen)“Mein Nachbar hat mir beim Umzug geholfen.”My neighbour helped me with the move.
lesento read (las, hat gelesen)“Hast du das Buch schon gelesen?”Have you read the book yet?
schreibento write (schrieb, hat geschrieben)“Ich habe ihr gestern eine E-Mail geschrieben.”I wrote her an email yesterday.
treffento meet (traf, hat getroffen)“Wir haben uns im Café getroffen.”We met at the café.
vergessento forget (vergaß, hat vergessen)“Ich habe meinen Schlüssel vergessen.”I've forgotten my key.
verlierento lose (verlor, hat verloren)“Er hat sein Handy im Zug verloren.”He lost his phone on the train.
verstehento understand (verstand, hat verstanden)“Hast du die Frage verstanden?”Did you understand the question?
beginnento begin (begann, hat begonnen)“Der Film hat schon begonnen.”The film has already started.
bringento bring (brachte, hat gebracht)“Der Postbote hat ein Paket gebracht.”The postman brought a parcel.
denkento think (dachte, hat gedacht)“Ich habe die ganze Zeit an dich gedacht.”I was thinking of you the whole time.
laufento run; to walk (lief, ist gelaufen)“Wir sind zum Bahnhof gelaufen.”We walked to the station.
fliegento fly (flog, ist geflogen)“Letztes Jahr sind wir nach Mallorca geflogen.”Last year we flew to Mallorca.
fallento fall (fiel, ist gefallen)“Das Glas ist auf den Boden gefallen.”The glass fell on the floor.
ziehento pull; to move house (zog, hat/ist gezogen)“Wir sind letztes Jahr nach Berlin gezogen.”We moved to Berlin last year.
liegento lie; to be located (lag, hat gelegen)“Das Handy hat die ganze Zeit auf dem Tisch gelegen.”The phone was lying on the table the whole time.
sitzento sit (saß, hat gesessen)“Wir haben stundenlang im Zug gesessen.”We sat on the train for hours.
stehento stand (stand, hat gestanden)“Ich habe eine halbe Stunde an der Kasse gestanden.”I stood at the checkout for half an hour.
tragento carry; to wear (trug, hat getragen)“Sie hat heute ein rotes Kleid getragen.”She wore a red dress today.
waschento wash (wusch, hat gewaschen)“Hast du die Wäsche schon gewaschen?”Have you done the washing yet?
gewinnento win (gewann, hat gewonnen)“Unsere Mannschaft hat gewonnen!”Our team has won!
schließento close (schloss, hat geschlossen)“Die Bäckerei hat heute früher geschlossen.”The bakery closed earlier today.
rufento call; to shout (rief, hat gerufen)“Ich habe dich gerufen, aber du hast nichts gehört.”I called you, but you didn't hear anything.
bekommento get; to receive (bekam, hat bekommen)“Ich habe deine Nachricht bekommen.”I got your message.
werfento throw (warf, hat geworfen)“Er hat den Brief in den Briefkasten geworfen.”He put the letter in the postbox.
aussteigento get off (stieg aus, ist ausgestiegen)“Wir sind am Hauptbahnhof ausgestiegen.”We got off at the main station.

Tips for learning German words

  • Learn der, die or das with every nounThe article is part of the word: der Zug, die Fahrkarte, das Gleis. It decides the case endings and adjectives, so learn it from day one.
  • Type the umlauts and ßWrite ä, ö, ü and ß, not a, o, u or ss: schon means "already" but schön means "beautiful". Getting them right in WordNest trains your spelling.
  • Watch the verb positionIn a German main clause the verb comes second, and separable verbs split: "Ich rufe dich morgen an." Read each example aloud to feel the word order.

Standard German as used in Germany

German is spoken in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and a few everyday words differ between them: a tomato is a Tomate in Germany and a Paradeiser in Austria, a bicycle is a Fahrrad rather than a Velo. These lists follow Standard German (Hochdeutsch) as used in Germany, and WordNest's examples, audio and AI corrections use the same standard. You will be understood in every German-speaking country.

Add five or six of these words a day rather than the whole list at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.

German word lists →

Questions about this list

Is this German from Germany, Austria or Switzerland?

Standard German (Hochdeutsch) as used in Germany. Where Austria or Switzerland usually use a different word, the list gives the one used in Germany, but every word is understood across the German-speaking world.

How do I practise Irregular German verbs?

Start with five words, listen and say each example aloud. Then recall the German word, with its article, from its English meaning and review it over several days.

How many words are in this list?

This list contains 25 words and phrases with English meanings and example sentences. It is a starting set, not a complete course.

Study these words with spaced repetition

Create a free account, choose German as a study language and add these words to your own deck.

More German word lists