Imagine you’re in an interview showing off your fluency and need to say “can” in German to discuss what you’re able to do. If you’ve run into this situation—or one like it—you’ve likely run into the common German verbs dürfen (may) and können (can). They’re both modal verbs and are used in the same way their counterparts are in English, but the two terms have entirely different meanings from each other. Find out what this difference is and how these terms impact grammar so you can say “can” in German correctly when it counts.
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Common misunderstandings of ‘can’ in German
Have you ever asked a teacher if you can go to the bathroom, and they respond with “I don’t know, CAN you?” They’re not just trying to be difficult; they’re pointing out the commonplace confusion people have when using “may” vs. “can” or dürfen vs. können. You meant to ask if you were “allowed” to go to the bathroom, but instead you asked if you were “able to” go. These types of verb misunderstandings are common for newcomers to German (such as choosing between kennen vs. wissen), but it’s easy to clarify the differences with just a little study time.
In this case, you’d want to ask Darf ich zur Toilette gehen? (May I go to the bathroom?) rather than Kann ich zur Toilette gehen? (Can I go to the bathroom?) because you’re asking for permission, not clarification on whether or not you’re physically capable of traveling to the bathroom.
How to say ‘can’ in German
So, how do you say “can” in German? You use können (can), one of the modal verbs in German, which will usually need to be conjugated to be used in a sentence. Due to the German umlaut in können, some English speakers can find it tricky to pronounce correctly, so now is the time to dust off your umlaut pronunciation skills if they’re a little rusty.
Using können in a German sentence
When you want to say that you’re physically or mentally capable of doing something, you can reach for the word können (can). Since können is a modal verb, you can use it in a sentence by placing it next to the subject of your sentence and moving the main verb to the end of the clause.
Können will be conjugated according to the subject, meaning its ending will change depending on what pronoun is performing the action of the sentence. Your main verb at the end of the sentence will appear in its infinitive form, meaning its base form, which usually ends in -e or -en.
Keep in mind that proper nouns like Beth or France will always conjugate können as though they were er (he), sie (she), or es (it) instead. This chart can help you learn the different ways können conjugates depending on the subject pronoun of the sentence in three common German tenses.
| German Pronoun | Present Tense | Simple Past Tense | Present Perfect |
| Ich I |
kann | konnte | habe gekonnt |
| Du you, informal |
kannst | konntest | hast gekonnt |
| er/sie/es he/she/it |
kann | konnte | hat gekonnt |
| Wir we |
können | konnten | haben gekonnt |
| ihr you, informal plural |
könnt | konntet | habt gekonnt |
| sie/Sie they, informal/you, formal |
können | konnten | haben gekonnt |
These examples show how können changes word order and fits into German sentences:
- Ja, ich halte es. → Ja, ich kann es halten.
- Yes, I’m holding it. → Yes, I can hold it.
- Sie tauschen Ihre Euro am Flughafen um. → Sie können Ihre Euro am Flughafen umtauschen.
- Exchange your Euros at the airport. → You can exchange your Euros at the airport.
- Jetzt sehen Sie. → Jetzt können Sie sehen.
- Now you see. → Now you can see.
How to ask ‘May I?’ in German
If you want to say “May I?” in German, then you’ll have to use the verb dürfen (may, to be allowed). The direct translation of “May I” is darf ich, followed by whatever you want to ask permission for. Dürfen is a modal verb that refers to permission, rather than physical ability like können (can) does. Asking for permission to go to the bathroom or inquiring about receiving an extra slice of grandma’s Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake) are both perfect and practical examples of when you can use dürfen in a German sentence.
Understanding how to conjugate dürfen and use it in sentences
The verb dürfen (may, to be allowed to) must be conjugated according to the subject of the sentence, just like können (can), and dürfen impacts the structure of the sentence in the same way können does, too. This is because they’re both modal verbs.
To use dürfen in a sentence, place it right next to the subject of your sentence and move your main verb to the very end of the sentence in its infinitive, base form. The infinitive will typically end in -e or -en.
See how dürfen conjugates according to different pronouns across three common German tenses in this chart:
| German Pronoun | Present Tense | Simple Past Tense | Present Perfect |
| Ich I |
darf | durfte | habe gedurft |
| duyou, informal | darfst | durftest | hast gedurft |
| er/sie/es he/she/it |
darf | durfte | hat gedurft |
| Wir we |
dürfen | durten | haben gedurft |
| ihr you, informal plural |
dürft | durftet | habt gedurft |
| sie/Sie they, informal/you, formal |
dürfen | durften | haben gedurft |
These example sentences show the conjugation of dürfen according to the subject pronoun of the sentence in action and how it impacts the word order of the sentence:
- Sie spielen nicht draußen, weil es regnet. → Sie darf nicht draußen spielen, weil es regnet.
- They aren’t playing outside because it is raining. → They may not play outside because it is raining.
- Ich halte meine Nichte. → Darf ich bitte meine Nichte halten?
- I am holding my niece. → May I please hold my niece?
- Er biegt links ab. → Er darf nicht links abbiegen.
- He turns left. → He may not turn left.
Key takeaways about saying ‘can’ in German
There’s a lot of crossover between how the German language uses dürfen vs. können and how English uses “may” vs. “can.”
- Können means “can” in German and expresses the ability to do something or perform an action.
- The verb dürfen (may, to be allowed to) communicates permission or possibility.
- As modal verbs, both dürfen and können must be conjugated according to the subject of your sentence when they’re included.
- Dürfen and können both move the main verb of your sentence to the end of the clause and transform the main verb into its infinitive form.
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