German verb · CEFR A2

erklären

Meaning in English: to explain, to declare

Rank 1,336 of 5,000verbLevel A23 forms in the list
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Example

Kannst du mir das bitte noch einmal erklären?

Can you explain that to me again, please?

Forms of erklären 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 erklären are also in the top 5,000:

erklärt#425
explains; explainedA2

Die Lehrerin erklärt die Grammatik sehr gut.
The teacher explains the grammar very well.

erklärte#740
explained, declaredA2

Der Lehrer erklärte die Aufgabe noch einmal.
The teacher explained the exercise again.

How common is erklären?

erklären is number 1,336 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 68 times per million words — about once every 15,000 words. Its most frequent form is erklärt (#425).

Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 67% of the words in an ordinary German text. A2 means an elementary word, usually learned in the first year.

Next to it in the frequency list

  1. 1,332bezeichnetcalled, described
  2. 1,333Änderungenchanges
  3. 1,334die Demokratiedemocracy
  4. 1,335offenenopen
  5. 1,336erklärento explain, to declare
  6. 1,337begonnenbegun, started
  7. 1,338bauento build
  8. 1,339Parteienparties (political)
  9. 1,340Kompetenzenskills, competences

In these word lists

Translations, levels and examples were written with AI help and are awaiting review by a native speaker — how the list was made.