müssen
German, verb/ˈmʏsən/
müssen is spelled M-Ü-S-S-E-N (6 letters) and appears 603 times per million words in written German, the 155th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Müssen is a German verb meaning “to have to (do something); must; to be obliged (to do something); to need (to do something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “unausweichlich gezwungen sein, etwas zu tun oder zu erleiden”.
What does müssen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to have to (do something); must; to be obliged (to do something); to need (to do something).
Wir müssen es machen.
- 2
to have to do something implied; must; to be obliged.
Ja, ich muss.
- 3
colloquialto need to go to the bathroom.
Ich muss mal.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. unausweichlich gezwungen sein, etwas zu tun oder zu erleiden 2. es ist notwendig, an diesen Ort zu gelangen 3. den Drang zu einem Toilettenbesuch verspüren 4. zum Ausdruck einer Vermutung oder Schlussfolgerung
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of müssen
- muss present singular third-person
- musste past
- gemusst participle past
- müsste past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- müssend participle present
- müsse first-person singular subjunctive
- musst indicative present second-person
- müsst indicative plural present
- müssest second-person singular subjunctive
- müsset plural second-person subjunctive
- mussten first-person indicative plural
- müssten first-person plural subjunctive
- musstest indicative preterite second-person
- musstet indicative plural preterite
- müsstest second-person singular subjunctive
- müsstet plural second-person subjunctive
- habe gemusst first-person indicative multiword-construction
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce müssen?
- /ˈmʏsən/
- [ˈmʏsən]
- Germany [ˈmʏsn̩]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to müssen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is müssen in German?
müssen appears 603 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).