bekommen
Meaning in English: to get, to receive
False friend: bekommen is not “become”. To become is werden. Ich bekomme ein Paket = I’m getting a parcel. More false friends.
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Was bekommen Sie?
What can I get you?
Forms of bekommen in the top 5,000
German verbs change their ending with the person and tense, and each form is counted on its own. These forms of bekommen are also in the top 5,000:
Jedes Kind bekommt ein kleines Geschenk.
Every child gets a small present.
Zum Geburtstag bekam er ein neues Fahrrad.
He got a new bike for his birthday.
Ich bekomme einen Kaffee und ein Croissant, bitte.
I'll have a coffee and a croissant, please.
Zum Abschied bekamen alle ein kleines Geschenk.
Everyone got a little present as a farewell.
How common is bekommen?
bekommen is number 386 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 227 times per million words — about once every 4,400 words.
Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 56% of the words in an ordinary German text. A1 means a beginner word, usually met in the first weeks of learning.
Next to it in the frequency list
In these word lists
- The 500 most common German words#386
- The 1,000 most common German words#386
- The 5,000 most common German words#386
- The most common German verbs#84
- German A1 vocabulary#223
Translations, levels and examples were written with AI help and are awaiting review by a native speaker — how the list was made.