sollen
German, verb/ˈzɔlən/
sollen is spelled S-O-L-L-E-N (6 letters) and appears 324 times per million words in written German, the 291st most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Sollen is a German verb meaning “should; to be obligated (to do something); ought; shall” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “um das Erteilen eines Befehls oder Auftrags auszudrücken”.
What does sollen mean in English?
verb
- 1
should; to be obligated (to do something); ought; shall
Ich soll das machen.
- 2
to be recommended (to do something); to be asked (to do something)
- 3
to be intended (to do something); to be meant (to be something)
- 4
to be said (to do something); reportedly; they say that; I hear that; so they say; rumor has it; supposedly.
Es soll da viele Leute geben.
- 5
would; indicates that the subordinate clause indicates something that would happen in the past but after the time frame of the main clause
- 6
should; indicates that the subordinate clause indicates a hypothetical and unlikely condition for the main clause
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. um das Erteilen eines Befehls oder Auftrags auszudrücken 2. um eine Empfehlung eines Dritten auszudrücken 3. in der indirekten Rede: um eine nicht selbst aufgestellte Behauptung oder das Hörensagen auszudrücken 4. im Präteritum: um eine spätere Zeitebene in der Vergangenheit auszudrücken
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 sollen
- soll present singular third-person
- sollte past
- gesollt participle past
- haben auxiliary
- sollend participle present
- solle first-person singular subjunctive
- sollst indicative present second-person
- sollt indicative plural present
- sollest second-person singular subjunctive
- sollet plural second-person subjunctive
- sollten first-person indicative plural
- solltest indicative preterite second-person
- solltet indicative plural preterite
- habe gesollt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben gesollt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- hast gesollt indicative multiword-construction perfect
- gesollt haben active infinitive perfect
- zu sollen active extended infinitive
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce sollen?
- /ˈzɔlən/
- Germany [zɔln̩]
- /ˈsɔlɛn/
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to sollen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is sollen in German?
sollen appears 324 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).