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German verb · CEFR B1

handeln

Meaning in English: act; trade; (sich um) be about

Rank 958 of 5,000verbLevel B14 forms in the list
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Example

Wir müssen jetzt schnell handeln.

We have to act quickly now.

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

handelt#518
acts, trades; (sich um) isB1

Bei dem Fund handelt es sich um eine alte Münze.
The find is an old coin.

gehandelt#3,653
acted; tradedB2

Die Feuerwehr hat schnell gehandelt.
The fire brigade acted quickly.

handelte#4,418
acted, traded; was aboutB1

Es handelte sich um ein Missverständnis.
It was a misunderstanding.

How common is handeln?

handeln is number 958 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 93 times per million words — about once every 11,000 words. Its most frequent form is handelt (#518).

Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 64% 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. 954technischentechnical
  2. 955verstehenunderstand
  3. 956die Behandlungtreatment
  4. 957die Kommunikationcommunication
  5. 958handelnact; trade; (sich um) be about
  6. 959das Gesetzlaw
  7. 960die Organisationorganization
  8. 961befinden(sich) be located
  9. 962erhältreceives, gets

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.