German Dative Verbs

What are German Dative Verbs?

Get to know German verbs that always take the dative case. While there are fewer dative verbs compared to accusative ones, mastering these dative verbs first will improve your foundation in German grammar.

Dative Verbs List

German	English
ähneln	to resemble
antworten	to answer
auffallen	to stand out
ausweichen	to dodge
begegnen	to meet
beistehen	to stand by/support
beitreten	to join
danken	to thank
dienen	to serve
drohen	to threaten
einfallen	to come to mind
entgegenkommen	to come towards
erlauben	to allow
fehlen	to be missing
folgen	to follow
gefallen	to like
gehören	to belong to
gehorchen	to obey
gelingen	to succeed
genügen	to suffice
glauben	to believe
gratulieren	to congratulate
gut tun	to be good for
helfen	to help
misslingen	to fail
nachlaufen	to run after
nutzen	to use
passen	to fit
passieren	to happen
raten	to advise
schaden	to harm
vertrauen	to trust
verzeihen	to forgive
wehtun	to hurt
widersprechen	to contradict
zuhören	to listen to
zustimmen	to agree
zusehen	to watch

These are common German verbs using the dative case if they have an object. Some of these verbs can be used without any object and then there would be no dative needed e.g zustimmen. Ich stimme zu (I agree).

Dative Verbs with Example Sentences

German	English	Example Sentence
ähneln	to resemble	Er ähnelt seinem Vater sehr. (He is very similar to his father.)
antworten	to answer	Tina möchte ihm nicht antworten. (Tina doesn't want to answer him.)
auffallen	to stand out/to notice	Der Fehler ist dem Lehrer sofort aufgefallen. (The teacher noticed the mistake immediately.)
ausweichen	to dodge/avoid	Der Radfahrer musste dem Auto ausweichen. (The cyclist had to avoid the car.)
begegnen	to meet/bump into someone	Ich begegnete ihr gestern auf dem Weg zur Arbeit. (I bumped into her yesterday on my way to work.)
beistehen	to stand by/support	Tom steht seiner Freundin in schwierigen Zeiten bei. (Tom stands by his girlfriend in difficult times.)
beitreten	to join	Ich möchte dem Tennisverein beitreten. (I would like to join the tennis club.)
danken	to thank	Sie dankte dem Feuerwehrmann von ganzem Herzen. (She thanked the firefighter from the bottom of her heart.)
dienen	to serve	Früher dienten viele Leute Grafen und Fürsten. (In the past, many people served counts and princes.)
drohen	to threaten	Der Lehrer droht den Schülern mit extra Hausaufgaben. (The teacher threatens the pupils with extra homework.)
einfallen	to come to mind/think of	Fällt dir noch etwas ein? (Can you think of anything else?)
entgegenkommen	to come towards	Mir kommt ein Auto entgegen. (A car comes towards me.)
erlauben	to allow	Die Eltern erlauben den Kindern, lange aufzubleiben. (The parents allow the children to stay up late.)
fehlen	to be missing	Nur Anna fehlt noch, dann sind wir komplett. (Only Anna is still missing, then we are complete.)
folgen	to follow	Thomas folgte dem schmalen Weg. (Thomas followed the narrow path.)
gefallen	to like	Die Hose gefällt der Studentin. (The student likes the trousers.)
gehören	to belong to	Die Unterlagen gehören Tim. (The documents belong to Tim.)
gehorchen	to obey	Die Kinder gehorchten ihrem Vater. (The children obeyed their father.)
gelingen	to succeed	Andrè gelang es, die Aufgabe zu beenden. (Andrè succeeded to finish the task.)
genügen	to suffice/to be enough	Das genügt mir. (That's enough for me.)
glauben	to believe	Marlene sagte, sie glaube dir kein Wort. (Marlene said she didn't believe a word you said.)
gratulieren	to congratulate	Wir gratulieren dir herzlich zum Geburtstag! (We wish you a very happy birthday!)
gut tun	to be good for/do good	Der Urlaub hat Jenny gut getan. (The holiday did Jenny good.)
helfen	to help	Er half einer alten Frau über die Straße. (He helped an old woman across the road.)
misslingen	to fail	Der Kuchen ist mir total misslungen. (I totally failed with the cake.)
nachlaufen	to run after	Mein Hund läuft mir immer nach. (My dog always runs after me.)
nutzen	to use/to be of use	Es nutzt niemandem etwas, wenn wir den Schaden ignorieren. (It is no use to anyone if we ignore the damage.)
passen	to fit	Die Jacke passt dem Mann nicht so gut. (The jacket doesn't fit the man so well.)
passieren	to happen	Es passiert David ständig, dass er zu spät kommt. (It happens to David all the time that he is late.)
raten	to advise	Der Arzt hat ihm geraten, mehr Sport zu machen. (The doctor advised him to do more sport.)
schaden	to harm	Rauchen schadet der Gesundheit. (Smoking harms your health.)
vertrauen	to trust	Anna vertraute der Expertin voll und ganz. (Anna trusted the expert completely.)
verzeihen	to forgive	Peter wird ihm nicht verzeihen. (Peter won't forgive him.)
wehtun	to hurt	Nach der gestrigen Wanderung tut Tina heute alles weh. (After yesterday's hike, everything hurts for Tina today.)
widersprechen	to contradict/disagree	Der Chef widerspricht seinem Mitarbeiter. (The boss disagrees with his employee.)
zuhören	to listen to	Aisha hörte dem Professor gespannt zu. (Aisha listened intently to the professor.)
zustimmen	to agree	Ich stimme dir in allen Punkten zu. (I agree with you on all points.)
zusehen	to watch	Kann ich dir bei deiner Arbeit zusehen? (Can I watch you at work?)

Dative Verbs: Free Quiz

It makes sense to practice the verbs that come with the dative case. You can find a free Quiz: here.

FAQ:

What are the Cases in German?

The German language features four distinct cases. The nominative case, used primarily for the subject, can be identified by asking 'who' or 'what.' The genitive case denotes possession or ownership and is identified by asking 'whose.' The dative case is for indirect objects, identified by asking 'to whom' or 'for whom.' Lastly, the accusative case is used for direct objects that receive the action. Understanding these cases is crucial for mastering German grammar.

Why are the Cases in German important?

Understanding the cases in German is crucial as they are intertwined with many other grammar topics, such as articles, adjective endings, and relative clauses. The cases affect nouns, articles, and adjectives. Learn more about German cases: here

What is the Dative Case in German?

The dative case is a case in the German language. It is an indirect object and you ask "to whom" or "for Whom" to find a dative.

How do I learn the Dative?

To learn the dative it makes sense to learn it step-by step:

Understand the rules of the cases
Learn all prepositions that are used with a dative
Get to know the two-way prepositions
Master the dative verbs
Learn Verbs with fixed prepositions (this is pretty advanced)

Shall I first learn Dative prepositions or Dative Verbs?

For many students it is easier to learn first the prepositions and then the verbs. The dative prepositions are used a lot in the German language, and there are less to learn compared to the verbs.

Are there also Accusative Verbs?

There are a lot of verbs coming with an accusative case. That is why it is more important to learn verbs that need a dative.

How can I Learn German Dative Verbs with Exercises?

You can find a free Quiz: here.