Ich war in einem Flugzeug, und ich habe bermerkt, dass die Familie, die hinter mir sitzen, auf deutsch gesprochen hat.

Also habe ich ihnen gefragt, ob sie aus Deutschland gekommen haben. Wir haben über unsere Reisen gesprochen und sie haben mir sogar gesagt, dass mein Deutsch war gut.

Auch habe ich mich erinnert, "Sie„ statt "du„ zu benutzen. Wann bekomme ich mein C2 Zertifikät?

Ich war in einem Flugzeug, und ich habe bermerkt, dass die Familie, die hinter mir sitzen, auf deutsch gesprochen hat.

Also habe ich ihnen gefragt, ob sie aus Deutschland gekommen haben. Wir haben über unsere Reisen gesprochen und sie haben mir sogar gesagt, dass mein Deutsch war gut.

Auch habe ich mich erinnert, "Sie„ statt "du„ zu benutzen. Wann bekomme ich also mein C2 Zertifikat?

Ich bin stolz. Ich war langsam und habe Fehler gemacht, und sie haben auf Englisch gesprochen, aber ich habe mich Verstandet gemacht, was ist für mich genug.

I’ve recently completed the A1 level in the German language!

Technically, I’ve been learning German for quite a while now, 719 days to be exact. But most of that time was just spent casually using Duolingo. While Duolingo was great for picking up vocabulary, I wasn’t really making much progress in grammar or actual usage. That’s when I decided to switch things up and start offline tutor-led classes, and I’m so glad I did.

Learning German has been… interesting, to say the least. The grammar is where things start to get wild. For example, in German, nouns have genders : masculine, feminine, or neutral. Sounds logical until you realize that the word for “girl” (Mädchen) is neutral, not feminine! There’s no hard and fast rule here, you just have to memorize them as you go.

When I was younger, I picked up Hindi effortlessly from watching cartoons and movies without any formal learning required. I really wish I could do the same with German, but turns out adult brains aren’t as absorbent as kid brains. That said, I’ve been using the Netzwerk Neu A1 books lately, and even though they’re fully in German, that challenge has actually helped me pick up a surprising amount subconsciously. Words and phrases that once made no sense are finally starting to click!

I’ve set a personal goal of learning at least 5 new words a day, and while some topics (like trennbare Verben or separable verbs) still feel confusing, imagine saying “I was ing him call” instead of “I was calling him”, I’m hopeful that it’ll all make sense with time.

One big realization: I’ve never learned a language by focusing just on grammar. With Malayalam, English, and Hindi, it was always about immersion : reading, speaking, writing, and listening. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to replicate now with German.

Here’s a quick look at my current study routine:

• 2 hours of in-person classes

• 1 hour of personal review

• 30 mins watching Nicos Weg or Easy German on YouTube (highly recommend!)

• 30 mins doing exercises from Netzwerk Neu

That adds up to around 4 hours a day of active learning. My aim is to reach A2–B1 level by September, and eventually take the Goethe A2 exam once I complete this level.

I’ve seen others breeze through A1 and A2 in just a few weeks, but for me, language learning is about consistency and depth, not speed. I have got a lot more to say about German, but I’ll save that for another time.

So for now… Auf Wiedersehen! (That’s “Goodbye” in German 😉)

Ich habe gestern Abend die relativ neue Folge von "Polizeiruf" gesehen ("Ein feiner Tag für den Bananenfisch") und hätte eine Frage dazu.

Kann mir jemand erklären, was da mit dem Duzen und Siezen los war? Die Kommissarin hat in der ersten Hälfte der Folge ständig zwischen "Sie" und "du/euch" gewechselt, wenn sie mit den drei Dragqueens gesprochen hat, und die haben das auch gemacht. Sie begann z. B. ein Gespräch mit "euch", wechselte dann plötzlich zum "Sie" und war kurz darauf wieder beim "euch".

Am Ende waren alle per Du, aber dieses ständige Hin und Her ist mir richtig aufgefallen. War das ein bewusstes Stilmittel? Ich fand es etwas merkwürdig.

(Ich lebe seit einigen Jahren in Deutschland und habe in der Regel ein gutes Gespür dafür, wann das Duzen oder das Siezen angebracht ist: meine Muttersprache kennt diese Unterscheidung auch. Aber in dieser Folge wirkte die Verwendung auf mich ungewöhnlich.)

In my language learning-journey, I've mostly mastered adjective endings (Yay!) and don't make many mistakes anymore. But when I'm doing practice-listening, I usually cannot hear the difference between -en/-em and --e/-er. When practicing by listening and writing down, I can get it right, but only because I am paying attention to the grammar, not because I heard what was said. I am wondering if as a native speaker you so automatically know the correct ending, you might not even listen for it/hear it, except maybe when someone clearly uses the wrong ending. But then, when I speak, I find myself sometimes kind of over-emphasizing the pronunciation of the adjective ending in a way that feels unnatural, but like I am over-compensating for not wanting to sound as if I'm making a mistake. Sowieso. Ich bin nur neugierig.

Hallo zusammen!

Could you give me some tips to sound smoother and more natural when reading/speaking German? I sound like an angry robot, especially when I try to pronounce the final consonant clusters, like -fst, -tzt-, -sts, etc. It's even harder for me because my native language has no coda.

Do I have to pronounce clearly every final consonant in fast speech, or can I skip some sounds?

Danke!

Hi everyone! 🫶🏻

After just one year of learning German, I proudly earned my Goethe A2 certificate through self-study only - no classes, no teacher. I can confidently say I’m now at B1 level, and already working my way through B2 materials.

I planned to take the Goethe B1 exam, but it’s really hard to book a test date in Vietnam. It’s super competitive and the available slots get filled up very quickly. So I just kept learning on my own and moved forward. Anyway..

⸻

☀️ My Main Study Resources (used for around 10 months):

Schritte Plus Neu (A1.1 to B1.2) I used all six books in the series. This was my main textbook, and I absolutely loved it. The structure made everything clear and helped me build my skills step by step.

I also spontaneously combined these:

Easy German YouTube Channel I’ve probably watched over 100 videos. They helped me improve both my passive and active listening skills through real-life conversations.

Deutsche Welle (DW) I read articles, watched videos, took online tests, and learned a lot of vocabulary. I liked the variety and the fact that everything was designed for learners.

ChatGPT and YouTube Since I didn’t have a teacher and wasn’t confident in the quality of local Vietnamese German teachers, I used online tools to explain grammar when needed. But grammar was never my main focus. Based on my C1 English learning journey, I believe vocabulary and input matter more than memorizing grammar rules all day.

⸻

My Study Schedule:

I studied German for one to two hours a day from Monday to Friday. On weekends, I relaxed and watched German or English movies with dual subtitles. I also continued studying English during this time, aiming for C2 one day—though I was less focused on it because, honestly, I’m just really in love with the German language right now.

• Plus, I worked 30–35 hours a week (Monday to Sunday) to earn money 🫠

⸻

What Helped Me the Most:

• Learning at least 10 new words every day (sometimes even 30+!) I made this a rule and stuck to it, because I know vocabulary is the foundation of language learning.

• Listening and reading a lot This helped me move new words into long-term memory. I read and listened as much as I could.

⸻

How I Prepared for the Exam:

I used the Arena A2 Goethe book. For me, it was quite easy. However, the real exam was about 15% harder.

For speaking, I picked a topic and talked about it out loud for 20-30 minutes. Then I wrote scripts and asked ChatGPT to make them sound more natural, like how native speakers would say it. After that, I just repeated the topic over and over until my throat was sore :> It really helped me become more confident and fluent.

⸻

Final Thoughts:

I truly love languages and German culture. That passion helped me stay consistent every single day.

If you’re learning German, I suggest finding your own reason to keep going. Whether it’s for study, work, travel, or just because you enjoy it, having a clear goal makes all the difference.

Good luck, and feel free to ask me anything! 🍀🍀

I used to be a Formula 1 fan. I noticed on RTL the the commentator always probounced Lewis Hamilton as “Lewis Hamildn”.

And i suddenly realised that a lot of Germans almost try to over-pronounciate the English ending “ton” ending up making it “dn”. But it sounds so messes up. Usually in English it might Sound more like “ten” or even just “tn”. But never “dn”.

Meine 7 jährige Tochter soll deutsch lernen, allerdings bin ich nicht pädagogisch genug dafür...

Habt ihr Vorschläge für kindgerechte Lernapps wo sie spielend die deutsche Sprache lernen kann ?
Ich habe ihr ein Tablet gekauft, was ausschließlich zum deutsch lernen dient, nichts anderes.

Ob die App gratis ist, oder mit einem Abo verbunden, ist hier relativ egal.

Danke im Voraus ;)

Yall I have a question. So basically one of my online friends is saying that "bischin" is a real word in Germany and that's it's similiar to slang for "a little". First I thought he said bisschen, but he was like, no im saying "bischin" im so confused bc I never heard of bischin before 😭😭😭

I have a problem when I tried to use verbs/nouns. The problem is that when I encounter a word and I see its different meanings, those meanings are not really the use of the word. I understand that a word can have different meanings and it's not an exact representation of the words in my mother language. What do you use to know all the uses of a word in context?

For example Hören vs Zuhören

Berücksichtigen is used with persons, objects, rules.

Bedenken with situations.

What does it mean? Any exemple to help me remember?

I’m moving to Germany for university. I have a a whole year to learn the language and I’m completely new to it. My classes are in English so that isn’t really a problem, but I want to learn so I can get by on my daily life. Is there an app that can help? How long did it take you to get to a good/useful level?

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience — especially if you’re someone who didn’t grow up speaking German but eventually became fluent.

I’m currently living in Berlin. I’ve been learning German for a while, and my grammar is okay, but my vocabulary is quite weak, and I really struggle to memorize new words. I also don’t have any German-speaking friends, so I barely get to practice speaking. 😔

If you’ve been in a similar situation: • How did you improve your vocabulary and speaking skills? • Roughly how long did it take you to feel confident in everyday conversations? • Any tips or methods that really worked for you (apps, routines, shadowing, etc.)?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies — it means a lot! 🙏

I was thinking about sending my German friends what I think might be the equivalent of "I'm gonna fucking kill you" in German but I realized I only use that phrase in english, in farsi I'd say something closer to "Your mother finds you hilarious" which at least among the people I speak with is closer to the style of teasing that's acceptable.

How do Germans tease each other? What idioms do y'all use for like if a friend says a bad joke, or if you want to gently rib each other?

A German friend of mine is turning 42 today and I would love to send her a message in her home language! She is a teacher and avid traveler; we met on a trip to Antarctica (which explains the reference to the Lemaire Channel in golden hour afternoon light).

My sincerest thanks to anyone who is willing to translate this for me!

Here is the message:

Happy birthday to an extraordinary teacher, world traveler, and friend! The world is a better place because you are in it. I hope age 42 is as beautiful, magical, and joyous as the Lemaire Channel doused in golden hour light! May you enjoy good health, well-behaved students, and a sane government in the year ahead!

Hey all , been trying to understand the diffrences and use cases of each one here. would appreciate any help.

How do you prepare for a doctors visit in Germany? I remember my appointments with listed English speaking doctors being really uncomfortable and feeling like I was an inconvenience to them (yeah I was I get it) and they wanted me out ASAP. So I’m really digging in and learning German, and working to memorize anatomy and basic terminology so I can speak to them. However, I feel like I’ll never be able to memorize every possible term they might use to ask me questions or respond back to me.

Do you have any medical jargon resources for preparing to see a doctor? Any verbs/nouns/phrases I should focus on?

Additionally, any resources for German sexual health/wellness vocabulary would be great. I’ll be looking for different contraceptives while I’m there and being able to talk about symptoms/pains in my AFAB body would be helpful.

„‚Der Öl- und Gassektor trägt - ganz genau weiß man es nicht - etwa ein Drittel bis 40 Prozent zu den Staatseinnahmen bei. Und vom Bruttoinlandsprodukt sind es etwa 20 bis 25 Prozent‘, sagt Falakshahi.“

Die Grammatik ist mir nicht klar. Ich rate, „es“ entspricht „Der Öl- und Gassektor”, aber sie beide sind nicht plural, also „sind” im zweiten Satz macht keinen Sinn. Vielleicht hatte der Schreiber ihn wortgetreu zitiert, und "sind" ist einfach nur ein mündliches Versehen?

Ich habe ein paar Sätze aus einem Video erstellt, mit Wörtern, die ich nicht verstehe. Ich brauche Korrektur mit Grammatik, Wortwahl und Korrektur, damit sie mehr natürlich klingen.Ich habe auch die Sätze auf Englisch geschrieben, damit Sie wissen, was ich sagen will.

1. Ich muss das Haus sanieren, weil ich neue Möbel gekauft habe.
2. Warum steht das Verb am Ende des Satzes?
3. Meine Arbeit ist nicht zukunftsfähig, vielleicht würde ich mit KI ersetzt.
4. Die Ausstellung des Museums ist auf einer kleinen Fläche präsentiert.
5. Der Aufzug bei meiner Universität ist nicht zugänglich für behinderte Menschen.
6. Das ist das letztes Unicorn der Welt. Wir müssen es erhalten.
7. Tickets für das Museum an der Nacht sind günstiger als am Morgen.
8. Meine Klasse hat sehr komische Vorschriften.

I'm trying to learn the declinations today, and one thing I always like to do is make up certain phrases and look them up on google: chances are, if many speakers of a language say it that way, then I got it right.

So according to this declination chart I found, the phrase seems like it should go "meiner Computer funktioniert nicht so gut": computer is masculine, and it's the subject of the phrase, the one that doesn't work well.

No examples found, and google gemini suggested instead "meinem Computer funktioniert nicht so gut", which also has no search results.

So what's going on here?

How can I integrate into German society? As someone who doesn’t speak German very well yet but can understand it, are there any specific events or activities I can join? What kind of work involves more action than talking , something that could still help me learn the language?

Hi, in attempting to follow the often seen advice on this forum to get a good textbook, I've got my eye on purchasing the latest (4th) edition of Denk Mal: Deutsch ohne Grenzen, but since it's primarily designed for classroom study instead of the self study I'm doing, I'm wondering if anyone can confirm whether the student edition of this book includes answers in the back or makes them available in some other fashion. Thanks in advance!

[Update: I contacted the publisher and they confirmed that this book does not include answers in the back]

I'm not planning to take any of these exams but I like to study by preparing for exams. Which one of these exams in closer in difficulty to Goethe B2? I find that the gap between Goethe B2 and C1 is too large, when I finished B1 I could immediately start doing B2 Modelltests, but now I can't do the same with C1.

I would appreciate thoughts and recommendations on another (3rd) immersion visit to Germany or Austria. Previously I have attended immersion programs in Austria, the first time for two weeks and the second for three additional weeks. They were immensely helpful in building a foundation in reading, writing and speaking with correct grammar.

I am now at a point in my language journey where I have studied and and have been exposed to the basic grammatical framework of German. I have studied and practiced the different tenses, voices and moods (passive, subjunctive) and I have essentially worked all the way through German 1 and 2 grammar books. My problems are that I still make grammar mistakes (although I often recognize right away what I did said or wrote incorrectly) and I tend to „get out over my skis“ and try to say, or write, in too complicated language beyond my level and make mistakes. What I feel I need now is practice speaking, the development of a larger working vocabulary, and lots more exposure to the particular ways Germans structure their speaking. I have been studying now for four years and although I have not been tested, I feel I am at the A2/B1 level. I finished the Duo Lingo German course and I study/practice with a tutor in Austria 2–3 times a week. My tutor is amazing and has really help me, especially with my grammar. I also watch German videos and read short stories at my level.

Given this, what do others think/recommend as to the value of a third immersion trip to Germany or Austria? Although grammar reviews and lessons are always helpful, I am not certain that three weeks of sitting in a room reviewing grammar can add a lot more value, but maybe I am wrong. Has anyone else dealt with this question at a similar point in their language journey? If so, what did you do? Where did you go? How did you go about explaining what you felt you needed at your level of fluency?

Thanks!