German Separable Verbs: How Trennbare Verben Work (With Examples)

You learn anrufen (to call), you feel good about it, and then a German friend texts you: “Ich rufe dich später an.” Where did the verb go? Half of it sits in second position and the other half has wandered off to the end of the sentence. Welcome to separable verbs, or trennbare Verben.

They look strange at first, but the rules are short and very regular. Once you know where the two pieces go, you will spot them everywhere, because Germans use them constantly for everyday actions like getting up, shopping, calling and going out.

What is a separable verb?

A separable verb is a normal verb with a small prefix glued to the front. The prefix changes the meaning, sometimes a little and sometimes completely:

• stehen (to stand) becomes aufstehen (to get up)
• kommen (to come) becomes ankommen (to arrive) or mitkommen (to come along)
• hören (to hear) becomes aufhören (to stop)
• kaufen (to buy) becomes einkaufen (to shop, to do the shopping)

In the dictionary form (the infinitive) the prefix and verb are written as one word. In a normal main clause they split up. The conjugated verb takes its usual second position, and the prefix goes to the very end.

• Ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf. (I get up at seven o’clock.)
• Wir kaufen am Samstag ein. (We do our shopping on Saturday.)
• Der Film fängt um acht an. (The movie starts at eight.)

English does something similar with phrasal verbs. You can say “pick me up” and “pick up the kids.” German just has stricter rules about where the little word goes.

The most common separable prefixes

These prefixes are almost always separable. Most of them are also ordinary words (often prepositions or adverbs), which is a handy way to recognize them.

A pronunciation tip helps here: separable prefixes are always stressed. You say AUFstehen and ANrufen, with the weight on the prefix.

Where the prefix goes in different sentences

The split only happens when the verb is conjugated and sitting in its normal main-clause position. In other structures the verb stays in one piece, and that is where many learners trip up.

Main clauses and questions: split

Statements, yes/no questions, W-questions and commands all split the verb.

• Ich rufe dich morgen nach der Arbeit kurz an. (I’ll give you a quick call tomorrow after work.)
• Kommst du mit? (Are you coming along?)
• Wann fängt der Kurs an? (When does the course start?)
• Steh auf! (Get up!)
• Räum bitte dein Zimmer auf! (Please tidy your room!)

Notice the first example. No matter how much you squeeze into the middle of the sentence, an waits patiently at the end.

With a modal verb: together

When a modal verb like können, wollen or müssen takes second position, the separable verb goes to the end as a full infinitive.

• Ich muss heute noch einkaufen. (I still have to go shopping today.)
• Kannst du mich morgen anrufen? (Can you call me tomorrow?)
• Ich will heute Abend fernsehen. (I want to watch TV tonight.)

In subordinate clauses: together

After words like dass, weil, wenn and ob, the conjugated verb moves to the end of the clause, and the prefix reattaches to it.

• Ich weiß, dass du früh aufstehst. (I know that you get up early.)
• Ich weiß nicht, wann der Kurs anfängt. (I don’t know when the course starts.)
• Weil ich früh aufstehe, bin ich abends oft müde. (Because I get up early, I’m often tired in the evening.)

In the perfect tense: ge- goes in the middle

For the past participle, ge- slips in between the prefix and the verb stem, and the whole thing is written as one word.

Verbs that describe movement or a change of state take sein, so aufstehen and ankommen use sein. Most others, like einkaufen, anrufen and fernsehen, use haben.

With zu: zu goes in the middle

In infinitive clauses with zu, the zu also squeezes between prefix and stem.

• Es ist schwer, früh aufzustehen. (It’s hard to get up early.)
• Ich habe keine Lust, heute einzukaufen. (I don’t feel like going shopping today.)
• Er hat vergessen, die Tür zuzumachen. (He forgot to close the door.)

Inseparable prefixes: the ones that never split

Some prefixes stay attached no matter what. You’ll meet these eight all the time: be-, emp-, ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver- and zer-. None of them can stand alone as a word, which makes them easy to tell apart from separable prefixes.

• Ich verstehe dich nicht. (I don’t understand you.)
• Ich bekomme viele E-Mails. (I get a lot of emails.)
• Das Restaurant empfiehlt den Fisch. (The restaurant recommends the fish.)

These verbs also drop the ge- in the past participle: verstanden, bekommen, empfohlen. The stress falls on the stem, never on the prefix: verSTEHen.

The tricky middle group

A handful of prefixes, mainly durch-, über-, um-, unter- and wieder-, can go either way, and the meaning changes with them. Stress gives it away.

• Er fährt das Schild um. (He knocks the sign over with his car.) Separable, stress on UMfahren.
• Er umfährt den Stau. (He drives around the traffic jam.) Inseparable, stress on umFAHRen.

At A1 and A2 level you’ll rarely need these. Just know they exist so they don’t throw you when you see them.

12 separable verbs to learn first

These come up in almost every beginner conversation. Learn each one with an example, because the sentence shows you the split.

1. aufstehen (to get up): Wann stehst du am Wochenende auf? (When do you get up on the weekend?)
2. anrufen (to call): Rufst du mich später an? (Will you call me later?)
3. einkaufen (to shop): Ich kaufe meistens im Supermarkt ein. (I usually shop at the supermarket.)
4. anfangen (to begin): Die Schule fängt im September an. (School starts in September.)
5. aufhören (to stop): Hör bitte auf! (Please stop!)
6. mitkommen (to come along): Kommst du heute Abend mit? (Are you coming along tonight?)
7. ankommen (to arrive): Der Zug kommt um 18 Uhr in Berlin an. (The train arrives in Berlin at 6 p.m.)
8. abholen (to pick up): Ich hole dich vom Bahnhof ab. (I’ll pick you up from the station.)
9. einladen (to invite): Wir laden unsere Nachbarn zum Essen ein. (We’re inviting our neighbors over for dinner.)
10. fernsehen (to watch TV): Ich sehe abends selten fern. (I rarely watch TV in the evening.)
11. aufräumen (to tidy up): Am Sonntag räume ich die Wohnung auf. (On Sunday I tidy up the apartment.)
12. zurückkommen (to come back): Wann kommst du aus dem Urlaub zurück? (When are you coming back from vacation?)

Common mistakes to avoid

• Forgetting the prefix at the end. Ich rufe dich morgen. is incomplete and sounds odd. You need Ich rufe dich morgen an.
• Splitting the verb in a subordinate clause. It’s …, weil ich früh aufstehe, not …, weil ich stehe früh auf.
• Putting ge- at the front. The participle is eingekauft, never geeinkauft.
• Splitting an inseparable verb. Ich stehe das nicht ver is wrong. Say Ich verstehe das nicht.

Key takeaways

• A separable verb has a stressed prefix that moves to the end of a main clause or question.
• With modal verbs and in subordinate clauses, the verb stays in one piece at the end.
• In the perfect tense and with zu, the extra syllable goes between prefix and stem: eingekauft, einzukaufen.
• be-, emp-, ent-, er-, ge-, miss-, ver- and zer- never separate.

FAQ

How do I know if a verb is separable?

Check the prefix. If it’s a word that can stand on its own, like an, auf, mit or zurück, the verb is almost certainly separable. If it’s one of the eight inseparable prefixes, it stays together. Good dictionaries also mark separable verbs, often with a vertical line or dot: an|rufen.

Do separable verbs ever stay together in a main clause?

Yes, whenever a modal verb or a helper verb like haben, sein or werden takes the second position. Then the separable verb appears at the end as an infinitive or participle: Ich werde dich anrufen. (I will call you.)

Are separable verbs the same as English phrasal verbs?

They work in a similar way, since a small word changes the meaning of the main verb. The difference is that German fixes the position: in a main clause the prefix always goes to the end.