klagen

to sue

verb KLAH-gen Rare

Also means

to complain

Usage Note

klagen means to file a lawsuit and, more broadly, to lament. With auf it names the remedy sought: auf Schadensersatz klagen (to sue for damages); with gegen it names the opponent. In everyday use ueber etwas klagen means to complain about something.

Examples

"Sie will gegen die Stadt klagen."

Natural Translation

She wants to sue the city.

Literal Translation

She wants against the city to-sue.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore German by topic

GermanNow

German Body Parts: Vocabulary + How to Say It Hurts

Learn German body parts with der/die/das and plurals, plus the two ways to say something hurts: Mir tut der Kopf weh and Ich habe Kopfschmerzen.

June 9, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

Wo, Wohin, Woher: Three Ways to Say Where

German splits where into three: wo (location), wohin (destination), and woher (origin). Learn the wo vs wohin rule, the hin/her logic, and common mistakes.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

GermanNow

Order Food in German: Restaurant Phrases

Order food in German with confidence: use ich hätte gern, read the Speisekarte, ask die Rechnung bitte, and handle zusammen oder getrennt like a local.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

GermanNow

German Two-Way Prepositions: Accusative or Dative?

Use accusative for movement into a place (wohin?) and dative for a fixed location (wo?). Master all nine German two-way prepositions with one simple test.

June 9, 2026 6 min read