---
title: "Dative Verbs"
description: "Complete reference list of ~50 German dative verbs — verbs that take a dative object without an accusative object — with English meanings and example sentences."
source: "https://germanforenglishspeakers.com/reference/dative-verbs"
crawled: "2026-06-30"
---

# Dative Verbs

As a reminder, these are verbs that can take a dative object even without an accusative object or a dative preposition. (See [V.13](/verbs/dative-verbs.md "V.13 Dative Verbs") for more.) The best way to remember them is a short phrase with a dative pronoun or article, so we've given you one for each verb:

| Verb | English | Sample Usage |
|---|---|---|
| **ähneln** | to resemble | _Er ähnelt **seinem** Vater sehr._ (He really resembles his father.) |
| **antworten** | to answer | _Sie haben **mir** nicht geantwortet._ (They haven't answered me.) |
| **auffallen** | to stand out, make an impression | _Der Kratzer an seinem Auto ist **ihm** nie aufgefallen._ (He never noticed the scratch on his car.) |
| **ausweichen** | to evade | _Er weicht **meinen** Fragen ständig aus._ (He constantly evades my questions.) |
| **befehlen** | to order, command | _Der Offizier befiehlt **den Soldaten** den Angriff._ (The officer orders the soldiers to attack.) |
| **begegnen** | to meet someone | _Ich bin **ihm** schon einmal begegnet._ (I've met him before.) |
| **beistehen** | to stand by, support | _In schweren Zeiten standen wir **ihnen** bei._ (We stood by them in difficult times.) |
| **danken** | to thank | _Ich möchte **Ihnen** nochmals danken…_ (I wanted to thank you again…) |
| **dienen** | to serve | _Lass **dir** das als Warnung dienen!_ (Let that serve as a warning to you!) |
| **drohen** | to threaten | _Mein Chef drohte **mir** mit der Kündigung._ (My boss threatened to fire me.) |
| **einfallen** | to come to mind, think of something | _Es fällt **mir** nicht im Traum ein._ (I wouldn't dream of it.) |
| **entgegnen** | to reply, retort | _**Dem** ist auch nichts zu entgegnen._ (There's nothing to say to that.) |
| **erlauben** | to allow, permit | _Erlauben Sie **mir** die Bemerkung…_ (Permit me to remark…) |
| **erscheinen** | to appear | _Das erscheint **mir** gar nicht geheuer._ (That doesn't appear safe to me.) |
| **erwidern** | to reply | _Sie wusste nicht, was sie **ihm** daraufhin erwidern sollte._ (She didn't know how to reply to him.) |
| **fehlen** | to be missing | _**Mir** fehlen die Worte…_ (Words fail me…) |
| **folgen** | to follow | _Da kann ich **dir** nicht folgen._ (I'm not following you.) |
| **gefallen** | to please \[someone\] | _Wie gefällt **dir** das Essen?_ (How do you like the food?) |
| **gehorchen** | to obey | _Der Hund gehorcht nur **seinem Herrchen**._ (The dog only obeys his owner.) |
| **gehören** | to belong to | _**Wem** gehört diese Tasche?_ (Who does this bag belong to?) |
| **gelingen** | to succeed | _Mit etwas Geduld wird es **dir** gelingen!_ (With a little patience you'll succeed!) |
| **genügen** | to suffice, be enough | _Leider genügt es **den Anforderungen** nicht._ (Unfortunately it doesn't fulfill the requirements.) |
| **geraten** | to advise | _Ich habe **ihm** dazu geraten._ (I advised him to do it.) |
| **geschehen** | to happen, occur | _**Ihr** ist etwas geschehen._ (Something happened to her.) |
| **glauben** | to believe \[someone\] | _Du kannst es **mir** glauben._ (You can trust me on this.) |
| **gleichen** | to closely resemble \[someone or something\] | _Du gleichst **ihm** aufs Haar._ (You resemble him down to a hair.) |
| **glücken** | to succeed, work out | _Hoffentlich wird es **ihnen** glücken._ (Hopefully it'll work out for them.) |
| **gratulieren** | to congratulate | _Wir hatten ein Geschenk gekauft, um **ihm** zu gratulieren._ (We had bought a gift to congratulate him.) |
| **helfen** | to help | _Könntest du **mir** bitte helfen?_ (Could you give me a hand?) |
| **lauschen** | to eavesdrop, listen in \[on someone\] | _Sie konnte nicht widerstehen, **ihnen** zu lauschen._ (She couldn't resist eavesdropping on them.) |
| **misslingen** | to fail | _Sie konnten sich nicht sicher sein, ob es **ihnen** misslingen würde._ (They couldn't be sure whether they'd fail.) |
| **munden** | to taste good \[to someone\] | _Lebkuchen mundete **ihr** in der Weihnachtszeit immer noch am besten._ (Gingerbread cake still tasted best to her at Christmastime.) |
| **nützen** | to be of use \[to someone\] | _Es wird **dir** nichts nützen._ (It won't do you any good.) |
| **passen** | to fit | _Das Kleid passt **ihr** wie angegossen._ (That dress fits her like it was poured on.) |
| **passieren** | to happen | _Das kann **jedem** einmal passieren._ (It can happen to anyone.) |
| **raten** | to advise | _Dazu kann ich **dir** nur raten._ (I can only advise you to do so.) |
| **schaden** | to damage \[something\], do harm \[to someone\] | _Ein bisschen Bewegung kann **niemandem** schaden._ (A little exercise can't hurt anyone.) |
| **schmecken** | to taste good \[to someone\] | _Hat **dir** das Essen geschmeckt?_ (Did you like the food?) |
| **schmeicheln** | to flatter | _Es ist einfach, **einem** Kind zu schmeicheln._ (It's easy to flatter a child.) |
| **sich nähern** | to approach, draw near to | _Er nähert sich **dem** Ruhestand._ (He's nearing retirement.) |
| **trauen** | to trust | _**Dem** Glück ist nicht zu trauen._ (Good fortune is not to be trusted.) |
| **vertrauen** | to trust, confide in, rely on | _Ich vertraue **ihm** nicht._ (I don't trust him.) |
| **verzeihen** | to forgive | _Verzeihen Sie **mir** die Unterbrechung…_ (Forgive me the interruption…) |
| **weichen** | to yield to, make way for | _Allein **der Gewalt** wird er weichen._ (He will only yield to force.) |
| **widersprechen** | to contradict, gainsay | _Wage nicht, **mir** zu widersprechen!_ (Don't you dare contradict me!) |
| **winken** | to wave \[to someone\] | _Er winkte **mir** zum Abschied._ (He waved goodbye to me.) |