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German 300 most common word vocabulary: 300 words

The 300 most common everyday words, ranked by real-world usage — the fastest route to understanding most of what you hear (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese). This page lists 40 of them with their German translations, then lets you practise the full set in either direction with spaced repetition.

English to German: the first 40 words

EnglishGermanNotes
likemögenTo find something pleasant or attractive, not to be similar.
timeZeitThe ongoing passage of moments, measured in hours, days and years.
newneuRecently made or just come into existence, not old.
peopleLeuteHuman beings in general, thought of as a group of individuals.
goodgutOf high quality or morally right; the opposite of bad.
firstersteComing before all others in order or sequence.
knowwissenTo have knowledge or be acquainted with; not to learn for the first time.
seesehenTo perceive something with your eyes.
makemachenTo bring something into existence by shaping or assembling it.
thinkdenkenTo form ideas in your mind or hold an opinion.
wantwollenTo wish for something or desire to have it.
wayArtA method or manner of doing something. Not a road or path.
needbrauchenTo require something because you cannot manage without it.
rightrichtigCorrect or accurate, not a direction or legal entitlement.
workArbeitEffort done as a job or task, often to earn money.
yearJahrA period of twelve months.
dayTagA period of twenty-four hours, or the hours when it is light.
takenehmenTo get hold of something with your hands and carry it away.
manyvieleA large number of things or persons.
lifeLebenThe state of being alive, or the span between birth and death.
saysagenTo express something in words aloud.
worldWeltThe earth and everyone living on it.
greatgroßVery large in size or importance; remarkable.
lastletzteMost recent or final in a series, not to continue or endure.
bestbesteOf the highest quality, surpassing all others.
loveliebenDeep affection or attachment, not mild preference.
manMannAn adult male human.
homeZuhauseWhere you live and feel belonging; not just a building.
longlangMeasuring a lot from one end to the other, or lasting many hours.
lookschauenTo direct your gaze, not appearance or expression.
usebenutzenTo employ an object or means for some purpose.
partTeilA piece or section of a larger whole.
stateZustandA condition or situation, not a region or to say aloud.
threedreiThe count that follows two.
betterbesserOf higher quality or more desirable than something else.
findfindenTo come upon or locate something you were looking for.
helphelfenTo do something that makes another person's task or trouble easier.
highhochReaching far up from the ground or set well above it.
littlekleinOf small size or amount.
oldaltHaving existed or lived for a long time. Not new.

260 more words in the full “300 Most Common Words” library, each aligned across seven languages and scheduled for you by spaced repetition. Add it to your account and start drilling English to German in one click.

What to watch out for in German

  • 44 of these 300 words are near-identical in English and German (15%) — Team, Name, System. Those are free; the value of drilling is in the rest.
  • Accents count. Answers are graded accent-sensitively, so you need ä ö ü ß Ä Ö Ü — LinguaSwap shows a one-tap keypad for them while you type.
  • Capitalisation counts. German nouns are capitalised, and answers in German are graded that way — haus is not Haus.
  • 300 words carry a usage note in the full library, for the cases where a direct translation would mislead you.

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