versuchen
German, verb
versuchen is spelled V-E-R-S-U-C-H-E-N (9 letters) and appears 110 times per million words in written German, the 786th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Versuchen is a German verb meaning “to try, to attempt (often with an uncertain result)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Versuchen is a different word: “gerund of versuchen”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “mit ungewissem Erfolg etwas beginnen, anstreben”.
What does versuchen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to try, to attempt (often with an uncertain result)
Bitte sei still, ich versuche zu schlafen.
- 2
to try, to taste
- 3
to tempt
- 4
to dabble in, to experiment with (often with an uncertain result)
- 5
archaicto examine
noun
- 1
neutergerund of versuchen
noun
- 1
dative plural of Versuch
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. mit ungewissem Erfolg etwas beginnen, anstreben 2. versuchen, etwas zu tun 3. dauerhaft, nachdrücklich etwas anstreben 4. eine soziale Rolle ( einen Beruf) probeweise ausüben
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 versuchen
- versucht present singular third-person
- versuchte past
- haben auxiliary
- versuchend participle present
- versuche first-person indicative present
- versuchst indicative present second-person
- versuchest second-person singular subjunctive
- versuchet plural second-person subjunctive
- versuchten first-person indicative plural
- versuchtest indicative preterite second-person
- versuchtet indicative plural preterite
- versuch imperative second-person singular
- habe versucht first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben versucht first-person indicative multiword-construction
- vers. abbreviation
- versuche! imperative singular
- versucht! imperative plural
- versucht haben active infinitive perfect
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to versuchen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is versuchen in German?
versuchen appears 110 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).