German verb · CEFR B1

greifen

Meaning in English: to grab, to reach for

Rank 2,155 of 5,000verbLevel B13 forms in the list
Learn this word

Add greifen and its 2 forms to your reviews. Progress stays in this browser.

Test my vocabulary

Example

Das Baby versucht, nach der Tasse zu greifen.

The baby is trying to grab the cup.

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

greift#2,692
grabs, reaches; takes effectB2

Das Baby greift nach dem Spielzeug.
The baby reaches for the toy.

griff#3,022
grabbed, reached forB2

Sie griff nach ihrer Tasche und ging.
She grabbed her bag and left.

How common is greifen?

greifen is number 2,155 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 42 times per million words — about once every 24,000 words.

Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 71% of the words in an ordinary German text. B1 means an intermediate word, typical of the B1 exam.

Next to it in the frequency list

  1. 2,151einfachesimple, easy (inflected)
  2. 2,152Situationensituations
  3. 2,153testento test, to try out
  4. 2,154müsstewould have to, should
  5. 2,155greifento grab, to reach for
  6. 2,156die BundesligaBundesliga (German top league)
  7. 2,157Flächenareas, surfaces
  8. 2,158erscheinento appear, to be published
  9. 2,159behaltento keep; to remember

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.