Frequently Used German Dative Verbs

In the following chart you'll find those German verbs that take a "direct" object in the dative case rather than the normal accusative case. (More details about this distinction below.)

The "dative verbs" category is a rather loose classification because almost any transitive verb can have a dative indirect object. But in general, a dative verb is one that normally takes an object in the dative case—usually without any other object.

The list below does not include such "normal" verbs, as geben (give) or zeigen (show, indicate), that commonly have both a direct and an indirect object (as in English): Er gibt mir das Buch.—mir is the indirect object (dative) and Buch is the direct object (accusative). 

In addition to the single-word English translation, many dative verbs can be translated with a to-phrase: antworten, to give an answer to; danken, to give thanks to; gefallen, to be pleasing to; etc. This favorite grammar trick of many German teachers does not always hold up (as with folgen, to follow)

But this "to" aspect does have some basis in the German grammar of some dative verbs, in that they are not actually taking a true direct object. Ich glaube dir nicht. (I don't believe you.) is short for Ich glaube es dir nicht—in which es is the true direct object and dir is a sort of "dative of possession" that could be translated "of you" (i.e., "I don't believe it of you.").

However, even if you are one of those rare people who find all this dative grammar fascinating, it is best to simply learn (memorize!) the more common dative verbs. Thus, the chart below, which lists the most common dative verbs—those that you should learn first. Below that is a chart of less-common verbs. 

Note that many dative verbs also have an accusative be- prefix variation: antworten/beantworten, danken/bedanken, etc. In many cases, we have listed these under Beispiele (examples) in the following chart. 

Dativ-Verben - Dative Verbs Most Frequently Used
Deutsch	English	Beispiele
antworten	answer	Antworten Sie mir! Antworten Sie auf die Frage! Beantworten Sie die Frage!
danken	thank	Ich danke dir. Ich bedanke mich.
fehlen	be missing	Du fehlst mir. Was fehlt dir? Also see befehlen, below.
folgen	follow	Bitte folgen Sie mir! Ich bin ihm gefolgt. Ich befolge immer deinen Rat.
gefallen	like, be pleasing to	Dein Hemd gefällt mir. Also negative, missfallen, to not like Dein Hemd missfällt mir.
gehören	belong to	Das Buch gehört mir, nicht dir.
glauben	believe	Er glaubte mir nicht.
helfen	help	Hilf deinem Bruder! Ich kann dir leider nicht helfen.
Leid tun	be sorry	Es tut mir Leid. Sie tut mir Leid.
passieren	to happen (to)	Was ist dir passiert?
verzeihen	pardon, forgive	Ich kann ihm nicht verzeihen.
wehtun	to hurt	Wo tut es Ihnen weh?

Below are additional dative verbs that are less common, yet still important German vocabulary words. You'll also find a few genitive verbs listed below the dative chart.

Dativ-Verben  Less Common Dative Verbs
Deutsch	English	Deutsch	English
ähneln	resemble	gratulieren	congratulate
befehlen	command, order	glücken	be lucky
begegnen	encounter, meet	lauschen	overhear
bleiben	remain	munden	taste
dienen	serve	nützen	be of use
drohen	threaten	passen	fit, suit
einfallen	occur to, think of	raten	advise
erlauben	allow	schaden	harm
gehorchen	obey	schmecken	taste
gelingen misslingen	succeed fail	schmeicheln	flatter
geraten	turn out well	trauen vertrauen	trust
genügen	be enough	widersprechen	contradict
geschehen	happen	winken	wave at/to
gleichen	be like	zürnen	be angry with
Zuhören (listen to), zulächeln (smile at), zujubeln (rejoice), zusagen (agree to), zustimmen (agree with), and other verbs with a zu- prefix also take the dative. EXAMPLES: Stimmst du mir zu? (Do you agree with me?); Ich höre dir zu. (I'm listening to you.)

Genitiv-Verben - Genitive Verbs Verbs that take a genitive object
Deutsch	English	Deutsch	English
bedürfen	require	sich vergewissern	ascertain
sich erinnern	remember	sich schämen	be ashamed
gedenken	commemorate	spotten	scorn

Note: Verbs used with the genitive tend to be found in more formal writing (literature) or informal expressions. They are rare in conversational German. For some of these verbs, the genitive can be replaced by a prepositional phrase.

Genitive examples

Ich bedarf deiner Hilfe. | I need your help.
Sie schämen sich ihres Irrtums. | They are ashamed of their error.
Wir treffen uns um jenes Mannes zu gedenken, dessen Werk so bedeutend war. | We meet to commemorate the man whose work was so significant.