Today's words · 🏃 Movement verbs

Run, jump, climb: 10 German verbs that get you moving

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These verbs prefer sein over haben in the perfect tense — and today you'll find out why.

Monday morning, a colleague asks ‘Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht?’. You went hiking, swam in a lake and sprinted for the bus… You say ‘Ich habe gewandert’ and your colleague smiles a little. Why?

Today's ten verbs are all about moving your body. With them you can describe your weekend vividly, and pick up the rule along the way: when you move from one place to another, the perfect tense usually takes sein. 🏃

🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks

laufen

[LOW-fen]to run; to walk

(läuft – ist gelaufen)

📌 Ich laufe jeden Morgen im Park.

→ I run in the park every morning.

💡 Same root as English leap 🏃 laufen covers both running and walking.

Bonus Wie läuft’s? = How's it going?

⚠ Irregular, with sein: er läuft – ist gelaufen

rennen

[REN-en]to run, to race

(rennt – rannte – ist gerannt)

📌 Ich musste zum Bus rennen.

→ I had to run for the bus.

💡 A cousin of English run 💨 Faster and more urgent than laufen.

⚠ Irregular past: rannte – ist gerannt

springen

[SHPRING-en]to jump

(springt – sprang – ist gesprungen)

📌 Der Hund ist über den Zaun gesprungen.

→ The dog jumped over the fence.

💡 Like English spring — boing! 🦘

Bonus a jump = der Sprung · to jump into the water = ins Wasser springen

schwimmen

[SHVIM-en]to swim

(schwimmt – ist geschwommen)

📌 Im Sommer schwimme ich im See.

→ In summer I swim in the lake.

💡 A twin of English swim 🏊 Just turn sw into schw.

⚠ Usually sein in the perfect: Ich bin im See geschwommen.

klettern

[KLET-ern]to climb

(klettert – ist geklettert)

📌 Die Katze ist auf den Baum geklettert.

→ The cat has climbed up the tree.

💡 Possibly linked to kleben (to stick) — you stick to the wall as you climb 🧗

Bonus a climbing gym = die Kletterhalle

wandern

[VAN-dern]to hike, go walking

(wandert – ist gewandert)

📌 Am Wochenende wandern wir in den Bergen.

→ At the weekend we go hiking in the mountains.

💡 Like English wander, out over hills and fields 🥾

⚠ A stroll round the block is spazieren gehen; wandern means a proper hike.

joggen

[JOG-en]to jog

(joggt – ist/hat gejoggt)

📌 Ich jogge jeden Morgen im Park.

→ I jog in the park every morning.

💡 Straight from English 👟 Just add a second g.

Bonus The perfect works with sein or haben: Ich bin/habe gejoggt.

bewegen

[buh-VAY-gen]to move; to move (emotionally)

(bewegt – hat bewegt)

📌 Du solltest dich mehr bewegen.

→ You should move around more.

💡 Related to wiegen (to rock) 🤸 Rock and move your body!

Bonus Get moving! = Beweg dich mehr! · movement = die Bewegung

hüpfen

[HUEP-fen]to hop, to skip

(hüpft – ist gehüpft)

📌 Die Kinder hüpfen vor Freude.

→ The children are jumping for joy.

💡 Same root as English hop 🐰 Smaller and lighter than springen.

Bonus Children jump for joy: vor Freude hüpfen

kriechen

[KREE-khen]to crawl, creep; to grovel

(kriecht – kroch – ist gekrochen)

📌 Das Baby kriecht schon durch die ganze Wohnung.

→ The baby already crawls all over the flat.

💡 A cousin of English creep 🐛 Low and slow along the floor.

⚠ Irregular, with sein: kroch – ist gekrochen

🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture

Germans love to wandern. Well-marked hiking trails (Wanderweg) run all over the country, not just in the mountains, and at weekends you'll see families heading out in hiking boots.

In summer, lots of people swim in lakes rather than pools, and most towns have an outdoor pool (Freibad) that fills up on sunny days.

And since most shops are closed on Sundays, many people spend the day going for a walk (Spaziergang) with family or friends. 🌳

✅ Quick quiz

Q. On Monday you want to tell a colleague ‘We went hiking in the mountains’. What do you say?

① Wir haben in den Bergen gewandert.
② Wir sind in den Bergen gewandert.
③ Wir wandern in den Bergen gewandert.

Show the answer

② Wir sind in den Bergen gewandert.
wandern is a verb of moving from place to place, so the perfect uses sein: Wir sind gewandert.

Describe one way you moved today in the perfect tense, like ‘Ich bin heute gelaufen!’ — and don't forget the sein! 🏃‍♀️

🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 📍 Prepositions of place