In German, as in English, some verbs help other verbs. They add a layer of meaning, like ability, permission, or desire. These are called modal verbs. They change the mood of a sentence without changing the main action.

Think about the difference between "I swim" and "I can swim." The action is swimming, but "can" adds the meaning of ability. German modal verbs work the same way. When you use one, it gets conjugated to match the subject, and the main verb—the action verb—gets booted to the very end of the sentence in its original infinitive form. This structure is a core pattern in German, so it's a great one to learn early.

There are six primary modal verbs in German. Getting familiar with their basic meanings is the first step to using them confidently. Each one provides a different shade of meaning.

Let's look at each one in a simple sentence to see how it works.

können (ability) This verb expresses ability or possibility. If you can do something, you use können.

dürfen (permission) Use dürfen when talking about being allowed to do something. It’s all about permission.

müssen (necessity) This verb indicates that something is necessary or required. It's a stronger version of 'have to'.

sollen (obligation) Sollen is used for obligations, recommendations, or what someone is supposed to do. It’s like 'should' in English.

wollen (desire) This one is straightforward. It expresses a wish, want, or intention.

mögen (liking) Mögen means 'to like'. While it's often used on its own with a noun (Ich mag Kaffee), it can also be used with another verb to say you like doing that activity.

A very common and polite form of mögen is möchten, which means 'would like to'. You'll hear this one all the time, especially when ordering food or drinks.

Mastering these six verbs and the sentence structure they use will unlock a huge range of expression in your German conversations.