kaufen vs. verkaufen vs. einkaufen: meanings and usage in German
Kaufen means buying; verkaufen means selling. Einkaufen usually describes doing your shopping or purchasing supplies, and can also take a named object. Kaufen and einkaufen therefore overlap, while verkaufen changes your role from buyer to seller. The most useful grammar difference is separable einkaufen versus inseparable verkaufen.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| kaufen | buy | a particular item or purchase | kaufte; hat gekauft |
| verkaufen | sell | giving ownership for payment | inseparable ver-; hat verkauft |
| einkaufen | shop or purchase supplies | groceries, errands or procurement | separable ein-; hat eingekauft |
kaufen
Meaning and usage: Use kaufen when the purchased item is central: a ticket, laptop or gift. The verb can also describe where you regularly buy things without naming a particular item. It does not require a completed transaction whenever it appears in the present tense.
Grammar: Weak verb: kauft, kaufte, hat gekauft. The purchased item is accusative. Jemandem etwas kaufen uses a dative beneficiary. Für + accusative can name a price or beneficiary; bei + dative names a seller.
Ich kaufe meiner Schwester ein Buch.
I am buying my sister a book.
Wir haben die Fahrkarten online gekauft.
We bought the tickets online.
verkaufen
Meaning and usage: Use verkaufen from the seller’s perspective. The seller gives someone an item in exchange for payment. In sich gut verkaufen, the subject is a product that sells well; that does not mean the product is buying anything.
Grammar: Inseparable ver-: verkauft, verkaufte, hat verkauft. The item is accusative; the buyer can be dative or an + accusative. Do not insert ge- into the participle.
Lea verkauft ihr altes Fahrrad an einen Nachbarn.
Lea is selling her old bicycle to a neighbor.
Das neue Wörterbuch verkauft sich gut.
The new dictionary is selling well.
einkaufen
Meaning and usage: Use einkaufen for the shopping activity or obtaining supplies. Ich gehe einkaufen leaves the purchases unspecified. Ich kaufe Lebensmittel ein names them. Commercial procurement and other extended uses also exist, so the verb is not restricted to a supermarket trip.
Grammar: Separable ein-: Ich kaufe ein; kaufte ein; hat eingekauft. When an infinitive uses zu, write einzukaufen. An object, when stated, is accusative.
Wir kaufen heute für die ganze Woche ein.
We are doing our shopping for the whole week today.
Ich habe Gemüse und Reis eingekauft.
I bought vegetables and rice.
Overlap and context
Ich kaufe Gemüse and Ich kaufe Gemüse ein can describe the same purchase. The second places it within shopping or stocking up. Do not make quantity a strict dividing rule: one item can be bought while shopping, and kaufen can cover many items. Verkäufer and Käufer may describe the same transaction, but verkaufen and kaufen assign different roles to the subject.
Common mistakes
- Do not write Ich einkaufe heute; say Ich kaufe heute ein.
- Do not say einkaufen never takes an object.
- Use hat verkauft, not hat geverkauft, in the perfect tense.
Memory aid: Follow the item: the buyer kauft, the seller verkauft. Add ein when the focus is the shopping or supply-gathering activity; remember the prefix moves in a simple main clause.
Try it
You spent the morning getting groceries. Complete with the shopping verb: Ich habe heute Morgen ___.
Show the answer
eingekauft
Einkaufen describes the activity without a named object. Kaufen would normally need clearer purchase context in this short sentence; verkaufen would mean you sold something.
Sources for meaning and usage
Zahlen, bezahlen and zählen: paying is different from counting
Zahlen and bezahlen both concern paying. Zahlen commonly accompanies an amount or price; bezahlen commonly accompanies the thing, service or person paid for. These are useful tendencies, not absolute rules. Zählen, with ä, means counting and has several related senses.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| zahlen | Pay an amount | A price, rent, tax or restaurant payment | No separable prefix; einen Betrag zahlen; hat gezahlt |
| bezahlen | Pay for something; pay someone | An order, bill, service or worker | Inseparable be-; etwas/jemanden bezahlen; hat bezahlt |
| zählen | Count; matter; rely on | Counting items, valid scores and support | No separable prefix; etwas zählen; zählen auf + accusative |
zahlen
Meaning and usage: A sum or price is a common direct object. The verb also fits rent, taxes and other regular payments. In a restaurant, Bitte zahlen is a normal way to ask to settle the bill; you do not need to specify the amount.
Grammar: Use an accusative amount or payment: zwanzig Euro zahlen. Für + accusative can name what the payment covers. You can name a recipient in the dative or with an + accusative. Perfect: hat gezahlt.
Für das Bahnticket habe ich achtzehn Euro gezahlt.
I paid eighteen euros for the train ticket.
Wir möchten bitte zahlen.
We'd like to pay, please.
bezahlen
Meaning and usage: This often focuses on settling the cost of goods or services, or compensating someone for work. Be- does not make the verb a guaranteed statement that every payment obligation is completely finished.
Grammar: The bill, item or paid worker is accusative: die Rechnung bezahlen; den Handwerker bezahlen. A dative person can be the recipient of an amount. Be- is inseparable, giving hat bezahlt.
Ich bezahle die Rechnung mit meiner Karte.
I'll pay the bill with my card.
Die Firma bezahlt den Techniker für die zusätzliche Arbeit.
The company pays the technician for the additional work.
zählen
Meaning and usage: This concerns determining a number, rather than handing over money. It can also mean mattering or being valid, and auf jemanden zählen means relying on somebody.
Grammar: An item counted is accusative: die Münzen zählen. The verb can stand alone, as in counting to ten. Relying uses auf + accusative. Perfect: hat gezählt.
Bevor ich bezahle, zähle ich meine Münzen.
Before I pay, I count my coins.
Overlap and context
Die Miete zahlen and die Miete bezahlen both work. Duden also permits overlap with contributions and restaurant payment. Learn the typical objects to improve your phrasing, but do not mark every alternative as wrong.
Common mistakes
- Keep the umlaut: zahlen is paying; zählen is counting.
- Do not teach that bezahlen can never have a money amount as its object; that construction is documented too.
Memory aid: Zählen answers 'how many?'; zahlen and bezahlen answer a payment question.
Try it
You check how many coins you have. Complete: Ich ___ die Münzen.
Show the answer
zähle
You are determining a number, so the umlaut verb zählen is needed.
Sources for meaning and usage
Leihen, ausleihen, verleihen and borgen: borrow or lend?
Leihen, ausleihen and borgen can mean either borrowing or lending: the construction tells you the direction. Verleihen normally means lending out in this context. Ich leihe dir mein Fahrrad gives it to you temporarily; ich leihe mir dein Fahrrad means I borrow it. Do not assign a fixed “borrow only” meaning to ausleihen.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| leihen | lend or borrow | temporary use; money | recipient/reflexive dative + object accusative |
| ausleihen | lend out or borrow | libraries; equipment | separable: leiht … aus |
| verleihen | lend out; award | equipment; prizes and titles | inseparable ver- |
| borgen | lend or borrow | temporary use in everyday speech | regular; dative recipient/reflexive |
leihen
Meaning and usage: Leihen describes temporary transfer with an expectation of return. The subject can be the owner lending something or the borrower receiving it. A reflexive dative mir/dir/sich makes borrowing clear, especially with von or bei identifying the lender.
Grammar: Not separable; leiht–lieh–hat geliehen. Jemandem etwas leihen; sich etwas von/bei jemandem leihen. The thing is accusative; the recipient or reflexive pronoun is dative.
Ich leihe meiner Nachbarin meinen Werkzeugkasten.
I lend my neighbour my toolbox.
ausleihen
Meaning and usage: Ausleihen is common for borrowing library books or lending equipment. Both directions occur in standard usage. Read the full sentence: Die Bibliothek leiht Bücher aus describes the library lending; ich leihe mir ein Buch aus describes borrowing.
Grammar: Separable: leiht aus–lieh aus–hat ausgeliehen. The same object pattern as leihen; infinitive with zu: auszuleihen.
Ich leihe mir in der Bibliothek einen Reiseführer aus.
I borrow a travel guide from the library.
verleihen
Meaning and usage: Verleihen makes the lending direction clear. It can describe commercial lending or rental services as well as lending personally. Another important meaning is awarding a prize or title; figuratively it can mean giving a quality to something.
Grammar: Inseparable ver-; verleiht–verlieh–hat verliehen. Jemandem etwas verleihen; something may also be verliehen an jemanden.
Der Verein verleiht Fahrräder an seine Mitglieder.
The club lends bicycles to its members.
borgen
Meaning and usage: Borgen is another verb for the temporary transfer, in either direction. It is familiar in everyday speech, though people and regions differ in how often they choose it. It does not identify a legal loan type by itself.
Grammar: Not separable; borgt–borgte–hat geborgt. Jemandem etwas borgen; sich etwas von/bei jemandem borgen.
Darf ich mir deinen Regenschirm borgen?
May I borrow your umbrella?
Overlap and context
An omitted recipient can make a short sentence such as Ich leihe das Fahrrad aus ambiguous without context. Add mir for borrowing or name the recipient for lending. Verleihen also appears in award ceremonies, where no return is intended; that is a separate sense.
Common mistakes
- Do not teach ausleihen = borrow and leihen = lend as absolute rules.
- Borrowing is Ich leihe mir …, not Ich leihe mich ….
- Do not translate every verleihen as lend: a prize is awarded.
Memory aid: Read who receives the object. Mir suggests “for myself”; dir names the person receiving it.
Try it
In Ich leihe dir meinen Stift, who receives the pen?
Show the answer
You, the person addressed as dir.
Dir is the dative recipient; ich is the person lending.
Sources for meaning and usage
Mieten vs. vermieten: who rents and who lets?
Use mieten when you pay to use somebody else's property. Use vermieten when you make property available to somebody else in return for rent. The same apartment can appear with either verb, because the speaker's role changes. A tenant mietet the apartment; its owner vermietet it. English 'rent' can describe both sides, so always identify who is doing the action.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| mieten | rent something as the paying user | apartments, rooms, cars and equipment | accusative item; optional dative mir; hat gemietet |
| vermieten | rent out; let property to someone | landlords and rental providers | inseparable; accusative item; dative recipient or an + accusative |
mieten
Meaning and usage: Mieten describes taking something into use for payment rather than acquiring ownership. It can apply to a long-term apartment or a short-term car. The duration does not determine which verb you choose. An optional dative reflexive pronoun highlights obtaining it for yourself.
Grammar: Regular, nonseparable verb: mietet, mietete, hat gemietet. The rented item is accusative: eine Wohnung mieten. With a dative reflexive pronoun, say ich miete mir ein Auto. Bei + dative can name a rental company; von + dative can name the provider.
Wir mieten für das Wochenende ein kleines Auto.
We are renting a small car for the weekend.
Nora hat eine Wohnung in der Nähe ihres Arbeitsplatzes gemietet.
Nora has rented an apartment near her workplace.
vermieten
Meaning and usage: Vermieten describes providing an item or property for someone else's paid use. Ownership is not the grammatical point: the subject is the person or organization offering the rental. A person may also sublet property, which requires its own contractual context; the vocabulary alone does not establish permission.
Grammar: Regular and inseparable: vermietet, vermietete, hat vermietet. The item is accusative. Name the recipient with dative or an + accusative: jemandem eine Wohnung vermieten; eine Wohnung an jemanden vermieten. No ge- is added to vermietet.
Die Eigentümerin vermietet die Wohnung an ein junges Paar.
The owner rents the apartment to a young couple.
Die Firma vermietet Fahrräder für Tagesausflüge.
The company rents out bicycles for day trips.
Overlap and context
The verbs describe opposite perspectives on the same arrangement, rather than different kinds of accommodation. Wir mieten die Wohnung and sie vermietet die Wohnung can both be true. In advertisements, zu vermieten means available to rent; Wohnung gesucht introduces someone looking for a place. Do not infer the tenant's or provider's role solely from an English translation.
Common mistakes
- If you are looking for a home to live in, say Ich möchte eine Wohnung mieten, not vermieten.
- In the perfect, use gemietet but vermietet; the inseparable ver- prefix blocks additional ge-.
- The object stays accusative with both verbs. The tenant named after an with vermieten also takes accusative.
Memory aid: Mieten: I use it and pay. Vermieten: I provide it and receive rent.
Try it
Complete from the property provider's perspective: Meine Nachbarin ___ ihr freies Zimmer an eine Studentin.
Show the answer
vermietet
The neighbor offers the room for another person's paid use.
Sources for meaning and usage
Bestellen, buchen or reservieren? Orders and bookings in German
Bestellen commonly means order a product or service. Buchen commonly means book travel or accommodation. Reservieren means keep a place or item available for someone. These uses overlap: German speakers can bestellen a room or buchen a seat. The context matters more than a rigid purchase-versus-no-payment rule.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| bestellen | order; arrange delivery | Restaurant orders, goods and services | Regular, inseparable: bestellt, bestellte, hat bestellt. |
| buchen | book; record a transaction | Travel, accommodation and accounting | Regular, inseparable: bucht, buchte, hat gebucht. |
| reservieren | reserve; hold available | Tables, seats and items set aside | Regular, inseparable: reserviert, reservierte, hat reserviert. |
bestellen
Meaning and usage: Bestellen usually describes asking for something to be supplied or prepared. It is natural for food, books or a taxi. It can also mean arrange a reservation, and it has further meanings outside shopping. The key everyday idea is requesting the provision of something, rather than a guaranteed payment method or delivery channel. A spoken restaurant order and an online order both qualify.
Grammar: Regular, inseparable: bestellt, bestellte, hat bestellt. Something ordered is accusative; bei + dative identifies a supplier; für + accusative can identify a recipient.
Ich bestelle für uns zwei vegetarische Suppen.
I am ordering two vegetarian soups for us.
Wir haben ein Taxi zum Bahnhof bestellt.
We ordered a taxi to the station.
buchen
Meaning and usage: Buchen is a familiar choice for a flight, hotel room, package or course booking. It can describe the customer making a booking or the provider recording it. In accounting it also means enter a transaction in the books. The word alone does not establish whether payment has happened, whether cancellation is possible or whether the booking is legally binding.
Grammar: Regular, inseparable: bucht, buchte, hat gebucht. A flight, room or service is a direct accusative object.
Für November buchen wir einen kleinen Seminarraum.
We are booking a small seminar room for November.
reservieren
Meaning and usage: Reservieren emphasizes that something is held for a particular person or later use. It suits a restaurant table, seat or item a shop puts aside. It does not automatically mean free, temporary or cancellable. Whether you must pay or fulfill other conditions comes from the provider’s terms, not from the meaning of the verb.
Grammar: Regular, inseparable: reserviert, reservierte, hat reserviert. Accusative object; für + accusative identifies who it is reserved for.
Kann ich das Buch bis morgen reservieren?
Can I reserve the book until tomorrow?
Overlap and context
Ein Zimmer buchen and ein Zimmer reservieren may refer to essentially the same arrangement. Buchen often presents it as a booking; reservieren highlights availability being held. Bestellen also has a reservation sense. Ask about confirmation and payment directly instead of inferring them from the verb.
Common mistakes
- For ordinary restaurant food, bestellen is the natural default; a table can be reserviert.
- Do not assume every reservieren arrangement is unpaid. The verb does not specify its commercial conditions.
- Keep bestellen inseparable: Ich bestelle das Essen. There is no detached be at the clause end.
Memory aid: Order the soup, book the trip, reserve the table. Use these as practical defaults, while allowing genuine overlap.
Try it
Choose natural defaults: Wir ___ einen Tisch für morgen. Das Essen ___ wir erst im Restaurant. Use reservieren and bestellen.
Show the answer
reservieren; bestellen
The table is held for a future visit; the food is ordered during the visit. The verbs can have additional meanings, but these are ordinary restaurant combinations.