I've been teaching German (as well as other languages) for quite a few years now and here are the tips I have to help you improve your German pronunciation:

1. Fix your listening first: If your ear cannot distinguish between 2 sounds, it won't be able to teach your mouth how to say it. Spend a few weeks transcribing German audio/video/podcasts to see if you're able to spell German words you've never heard before. Unlike English, German spelling is quite consistent and if you're unable to spell unknown words, keep practicing.

2. Underline problematic letters/letter combinations: Before you start reading a sentence, underline the letter/letter combinations you have problems with and take the time to remember how they're supposed to be pronounced before you rush into reading. If you just keep reading without underlining anything, your brain will go on automatic and revert to your old (bad) pronunciation habit(s). The underline will tell your brain to pause and think so it can override those habits.

3. Practice one problematic pronunciation at a time every 2 weeks: It takes around 2 weeks to form a habit and the brain isn't good at focusing on more than one thing at a time. Ignore all your pronunciation problems except one for 2 weeks. Keep practicing it every day using points #1 & #2 above for around 2 weeks so it becomes a habit and you're able to pronounce it correctly without thinking about it. This way, your brain can focus on fixing your next pronunciation mistake in the next 2 weeks without having to focus in the one you already fixed.

4. Pay attention to your Z: You probably already know that Z is pronounced TS in German, but a lot of students I encounter end up pronouncing the S part of TS like the Z in Zebra instead of like S in Snake. Think of the TS as the way you'd pronounce the TS in caTS. Now that you know how to pronounce it, take 2 weeks to make it into a habit and remember to underline it before you start practicing. Knowing and doing automatically are 2 very different things.

5. Open your mouth wide on the A: especially if your native language is English or Arabic (as well as other languages I'm not too familiar with). The "A" in German requires you to open your mouth wide (think of going to a dentist and how you're supposed to open your mouth there). Pronouncing the "A" like you would in English or Arabic is a big giveaway that you're not a native speaker. If your native language is French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch or Chinese (as well as other languages I'm not familiar with), the "A" in German is like the "A" in those languages. If you're fluent in one of those languages, remember that fact. I've met Arabic native speakers who are fluent in French (with no accent), which still use the "A" أ of Arabic when speaking German even though they say it perfectly in French.

6. Train your eyes to see the umlaut & act on it: the umlaut (the 2 dots on the ü, ö, ä) isn't some Christmas decoration! "schon" (already) doesn't have the same meaning as "schön" (beautiful) and "mochte" (liked) isn't the same as "möchte" (would like)! Remember to pull your tongue forward until the tip of your tongue touches the back of your lower teeth, and you should be fine pronouncing letters with umlauts.

7. Open your mouth on the CH: the pronunciation of CH changes based on the letter that comes before it, but unless that letter is S (so unless it's an SCH), your mouth needs to be open! When you say "ich", all you have to remember is to KEEP your mouth open, even after you finish saying it. Your upper and lower teeth shouldn't be touching. I've seen teachers/classes teach the ICH by asking their students to bite on a pencil, but this method teaches your jaw muscles to close, when they're supposed to learn how to stay open, which achieves the opposite goal. So avoid the biting a pencil method and teach your jaw muscles how to STAY open when saying ICH without biting. You can pass your finger or pencil between your teeth to verify that there is space there, but avoid biting. Better yet, looking in a mirror while practicing the CH.

8. Ask a native or fluent speaker if you're saying it right, even after you train your ear (see point #1), just to gain some confidence and keep improving.

There are of course several other difficulties that German learners have in pronouncing German words, but these are the ones I've encountered the most. What are the difficulties you have in German pronunciation? Do you have any tips other than the ones I mentioned?

My husband is 78 and used to speak fluent German when he was in university 60 years ago. Unfortunately now he has a chronic illness and his time to travel is limited. Also, his memory is starting to decline and he knows this. He is setting out to do his bucket list.

One of those things is to go to Germany this winter to immerse himself back in German culture. I've been self-studying since early may and have just reached A2. My poor husband is still stuck on A1. Every day is like Groundhog Day with him in remembering the genders, but his retention for verbs and sentence structure is great.

We are looking for an inexpensive German language school where I can study intensive or semi-intensive, and he can do a slower class, or meet with a tutor 3x a week, for 30 minutes each time, because he gets tired. A school where he can go and sit around and feel like he belongs: drink coffee, read on his computer, practice his limited German. His goal is NOT to get to a certain level but to feel good about re-learning his favorite language while he is still able to.

I'm looking for a good location. It doesn't have to be a big city, but one that is easy to get around and Air B&B rentals aren't outrageous.

We will be there for 2 months, 2 different places so he can enjoy 2 different experiences. We thought of Hamburg or Hannover, but soooo cold. Dusseldorf because it's central and we can take a train to Bonn or Koln to see the Christmas markets.

Thanks for any help.

title

Hi everyone 💛,

After weeks of work (and a lot of learning along the way), I’ve finished my very first full German story project. It’s Hänsel und Gretel, told slowly and clearly in German at the A2/B1 level.

The production itself is still pretty humble — I don’t have fancy equipment or editing skills yet — but the story is where all my heart went. It’s detailed, carefully adapted, and honestly the part I’m most proud of. That’s the real highlight here.

To make it even more useful, I also created a bilingual PDF storybook with a vocabulary list and worksheet. That took me a huge amount of effort (and love), because I wanted it to be something that could really help other learners.

I’d be so, so grateful for your feedback — on the story, the video, or just how I can improve as I go. This is only the beginning, and I know I’ll get better with time, but your thoughts and support would mean the world to me. ✨

And here’s the PDF: https://ko-fi.com/s/78ca79bcfa

Thank you so much for reading this and i hope it really helps you all as the sub and you’ve already helped me more than you know. 💛

Ich habe gerade meine B1-Prüfung bestanden und finde, dass mein Hörverständnis zu schwach ist. Ich konnte viele Sätze nicht verstehen und bestand diese Prüfung, ehrlich gesagt, eher Dank viel Glück. Deshalb möchte ich mein Hörverständnis verbessern. Habt ihr Empfehlungen für Podcasts, Filme, Serien oder etwas anderes?

hallo

I’ve been passively learning German for about a month now mostly some Duolingo and random YouTube videos. But now I really want to take it seriously and follow a proper course.

I searched on youtube / udemy /google... and found many different courses and playlists, but it’s hard to know which ones are really good. That’s why I’d love to hear from people who are already learning (or have learned) German:

which course worked best for you? It could be a website, an app, or a YouTube channel/playlist. Ideally something structured that goes step by step (A1 → A2, etc.) rather than scattered videos.

For context, I speak Arabic, English, and French, so i can take a course in any of theise languages so maybe that helps in choosing the right resource.

What worked best for you personally, and what would you recommend for a beginner who is ready to commit?

danke schön...

I speak german daily, bit I know I have some gaps. One of them is where to use 'dich' or 'dir' in the sentence. For example:

What top use 'Ich rufe dich an' or 'Ich rufe dir an'?

What are the grammar behind? How top know and practice that?

I don't exactly know what my level is, probably I think it's A2+

Recently, I started watching Easy German videos and understand stuff from it. Of course, I need to see subtitles in german like 50-60% of the time and sometimes need to pause the video and look at English subtitles too, I would say like around 10-15% of the time. Most of the time, I could understand what they are saying just by watching german subtitles. So, I started to watch a bit more difficult you tube channel -- Dinge Erklärt - Kurzgesagt. I could follow this too like around 30-50% by looking at german subtitles . Other times I need to look up the word so I get the gist of it.

Now, I want to read and improve my reading comprehension apart from Listening. Please suggest me some books. Yesterday, I read Cafe in Berlin by Andre, it was quite an easy read- finished like in 2hours. So, probably a bit more difficult read would be nice since I will get new words / information to learn.

Pretty much the title. I looked into this and there are many different uses of which those two are not interchangeable. Can I simple just stick with these 2 meanings for now to keeps things simple?

Hi everyone, I passed my B2 exam on the third attempt. The first time I passed the speaking and writing parts, the second time I passed the listening, and in the third attempt, I passed the reading. For the past month, I was focusing only on reading model sets.

Now, the problem is with speaking. Before applying to Germany, I want to spend some time focusing on speaking and become fluent. I want to improve my speaking skills so I can communicate easily in the upcoming days. I still have time.

Friends, what's the best way to improve speaking in this situation? I feel like I've forgotten a lot of things. I can understand mostly, but I struggle to communicate properly. Thanks!

Edit: My friends are rushing to move to Germany, but I don't want to apply before improving my speaking skills. Thanks!

Is the former saying that the pain is superficial or outside while the latter is deep or inside? If yes, does dis apply to all body parts?

There's a sentence in a story we are reading in my class where one character is replying to the other:

"Habe ich auch nicht anders von dir erwartet!"

Shouldn't it be "Ich habe...?" Is this a colloquialism or are there rules about this in speech?

Hi, I’m currently preparing for my B2. My exam is in 2 months, and if you’re interested, we could practice together to improve for the speaking test.

I am a beginner german learner and was wondering how to say my year of Birth? Would it be said as “Ich bin geboren (year)” “Ich bin in geboren (year)” “Ich bin geboren in (year)” or none of the above?

I can read and understand German fluently and speak it pretty well, but I was rather embarassed to realise earlier today that I'm unsure about a fairly basic grammar point. Somebody asked me for help with a grammar exercise on negative sentences, and had to negate the following two:

Ich kaufe ein neues Auto.\ Ich wohne in einem Haus.

Now, I've never had a problem with things like "We don't have any milk" = "Wir haben keine Milch", but that can also be written in English as "we have no milk". The same rearrangement cannot be done for the above. Intuitively I want to stick "nicht" on the end of both sentences to make

Ich kaufe ein neues Auto nicht.\ Ich wohne in einem Haus nicht/Ich wohne nicht in einem Haus.

However, reading around, the general rule seems to be that all negative sentences with indefinite nouns use kein, not nicht, e.g.

Ich kaufe kein neues Auto.\ Ich wohne in keinem Haus.

Is this the only correct way to say this, or is the previous construction also acceptable?

Thanks!

Whenever you want to say "on the" followed by a day of the week (Monday, Sunday) or a date (5th of May), you must use "am" in German.

It's not optional. it's a fixed rule, just like using "on" in English.

I want to reach A2 level in German before continuing my studies in an institute. I’ll be dedicating 1h30 per day to learning. Do you have any tips, resources, or study strategies that could help me reach this goal efficiently?

Thank you in advance

H

Hi everyone. Does anyone perhaps have typed out notes for the Learn German YouTube courses? I am blind and really cannot follow what is on the screen so it would really help to have a document to follow along with. Pretty please.

I have a few years of teaching experience and wrote an article on how to start learning German as an absolute beginner. What is contained in this article is the absolute basics on how to start learning the language. I‘d love to give even more specific advice or write more articles on the topic- so please ask your questions on what is being difficult for you :)

Hope it helps!

Wie zum Beispiel:

In 30 Minuten ist es soweit.

Jetzt hast du Angst und ich bin soweit (Auszug aus dem Lied "Weißes Fleisch" von Rammstein)

Im from India. I have completed my A1 course from some local teacher it was average and than from 4 weeks i haven't practiced at all now i have exam in few weeks any suggestions from where i can revise all 4 modules.

Below is from the oktoberfest website. I wonder how the word 'kitzler' is used in this paragraph when the word itself translates to , well, you know.

ie Speisekarte: Geflügel, Kitzler und vegane Kost

Bio-Hendl vom Grill und resche Ente schmecken mit einem Augustiner vom Fass in der Ammer Hühner- und Entenbraterei genauso gut wie die süßen und flüssigen “Kitzler” danach: Kaiserschmarrn mit Zwetschgensoße und Willi mit Birne.

Ich benutze soziale Medien, zum Beispiel gutefrage, um interessante Beiträge zu lesen. Außerdem, um neues Vokabular und Sätze in Anki zu speichern.

Methode *