# sein

**Part of speech:** VERB  
**Frequency rank:** #2 most common German word  
**Language:** German

The most important and most irregular German verb, "to be". You need it constantly — for identity, states, and location — and it is also the auxiliary that forms the Perfekt of motion and change-of-state verbs (ich bin gegangen).

## Meanings

- **to be (identity, state, description)** — The default linking verb — who/what something is, and what it is like.
- **to be (location)** — Where something is.
- **to have (as Perfekt auxiliary)** — Forms the spoken past of verbs of motion / change of state: gehen, kommen, fahren, werden, bleiben.

## Forms

ist, sind, war, bin, sein, bist, wäre, waren, sei, seid, gewesen, wären, seien

## Nearby words by frequency

- [der](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/der)
- [ich](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/ich)
- [sie](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/sie)
- [ein](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/ein)
- [nicht](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/nicht)
- [haben](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/haben)
- [du](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/du)

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Source: [https://mostspoken.com/words/de/sein](https://mostspoken.com/words/de/sein) — MostSpoken German frequency dictionary.