Learn to speak German
About this idea
Master German, Europe's most widely spoken native language with over 90 million speakers. German gives you access to a rich literary culture, to business in Europe's largest economy, and to tuition-free universities. Start with grammar basics, essential vocabulary, and pronunciation.
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How to get started
WEEK 1
FOUNDATION (Days 1-7)
- Learn pronunciation: German sounds, umlauts (ä, ö, ü), ß character
- Download Duolingo or Babbel: Free apps, structured German courses, 15 minutes daily
- Master greetings: Guten Tag (good day), Danke (thank you), Auf Wiedersehen (goodbye)
- Learn numbers 1-20: Essential for daily communication
- Study articles: Der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter) - German has grammatical gender
WEEK 2
essential phrases (Days 8-14)
- Basic conversation: Wie geht's? (How are you?), Ich heiße... (My name is...)
- Learn verb conjugation: Present tense, common verbs (sein, haben, gehen)
- Practice with native speakers: HelloTalk (free) to chat with German speakers
- Watch German content: Simple videos, children's shows with subtitles
WEEK 3
building vocabulary (Days 15-21)
- Family and people: Familie (family), Freund (friend), common relationships
- Food and drink: Essen (food), Trinken (drink), ordering in restaurants
- Daily activities: Common verbs, describing your day
- Join German learning communities: r/German on Reddit, find study partners
WEEK 4
grammar & conversation (Days 22-30)
- Sentence structure: German word order, verb placement
- Cases: Nominative, accusative basics - how German marks grammatical roles
- Practice conversations: Introduce yourself, describe your interests, ask questions
- Use spaced repetition: Anki (free) for vocabulary and grammar review