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German verb · CEFR A1

wollen

Meaning in English: to want (to)

Rank 186 of 5,000verbLevel A16 forms in the list
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Example

Wollen wir heute Pizza bestellen?

Shall we order pizza today?

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

will#164
want(s) toA1

Mein Sohn will Tierarzt werden.
My son wants to become a vet.

wollte#574
wantedA2

Ich wollte dich gerade anrufen.
I was just about to call you.

wolle#1,406
wants (reported speech)B2

Sie sagt, sie wolle später anrufen.
She says she wants to call later.

wollten#1,439
wantedA2

Wir wollten eigentlich an den See fahren.
We actually wanted to go to the lake.

willst#4,685
want (du form)A1

Was willst du zum Geburtstag haben?
What do you want for your birthday?

How common is wollen?

wollen is number 186 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 466 times per million words — about once every 2,100 words. Its most frequent form is will (#164).

Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 50% 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

  1. 182erstonly (not until); first
  2. 183alsoso, therefore; well
  3. 184allerdingshowever; certainly
  4. 185unsererour (dat./gen. fem.)
  5. 186wollento want (to)
  6. 187besondersespecially, particularly
  7. 188diesenthis (acc. masc.); these (dat.)
  8. 189alleseverything, all
  9. 190stattinstead of

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.