How to Speak German

This page contains advice on how to speak German. For more resources in German, please visit our page on the German language.

Speaking German: Before You Begin
1. First look at why you're learning German and how much time you have. If it's for a vacation, a few key phrases you study for ten minutes a day may suffice. Even knowing just a few words will help you communicate, and understand what others are saying to you.
2. To speak, read, or write on a higher level, lessons with audio and written elements are necessary. And to get the best return on these lessons, studying regularly is important.
3. No matter what your level of German is, take advantage of any chance you get to practice your German, however the occasion arises. Speaking (and understanding what is said to you) may be hard at first, but it will get easier with every word.
Basic German Phrases
David Hasselhoff sings "Du"
1. Visit the BBC's page of essential phrases.
2. Listen to the phrases being spoken as you read along (check out a BBC MP3 here).
3. Download the MP3s to listen to whenever you can.
4. Practice saying the phrases yourself.
5. Record yourself so you hear how you sound.
6. Print pages out to take with you!
- Check out this video to learn how to say "How much is it?" and "I'll take it."
Sample German Phrases
German Pronunciation Tips
Die Fantastichen Vier rap about abbreviations in MFG
1. The University of Exeter has a great page with advice on pronouncing different letters and words in German.
  - Read the lyrics from MFG and listen to how each letter sounds as you watch the video at right.
2. Deutschkurs has sound files explaining how umlauts ("ä", "ö" and "ü") affect pronunciation.
3. Also check out Indo-European Languages' German pronunciation page.
4. Always remember these key pronunciation rules:
  - "W" is pronounced with a "V" sound
  - "V" is said with a "F" sound
  - "ß" is a double "S" sound
Introductory German Lessons

The following sections include introductory level German lessons.
BBC's German Steps
BBC's German Steps Front Page
1. German Steps, has 24 great units on introductory German.
2. A series of dialogues covers common situations, such as Meeting People, Shopping, and Eating.
3. Listen to the online dialogues.
4. Reinforce what you've just heard and seen by using the online activities:
  - Guess the meanings of words you've just heard
  - Re-arrange the lines of dialogue on the computer into the exchange you just heard
  - Build sentences with the key words of the dialogue
  - Speak and write half of the dialogue
Deutsche Welle's Beginner's Course
1. Deutsche Welle has a beginning German audio course, Deutsch - warum nicht?.
2. Choose a chapter in the 4 series course.
3. Download the PDF File that accompanies the chapter you're studying.
4. Listen to the appropriate chapter's audio file.
Deutschkurs
1. Deutschkurs Welcome Page
2. Deutsckurs provides online advice and lesson plans for learning German.
3. Chapters 1-5, 6-10, and 11-15 are great beginning lessons.
4. If you're just beginning German, chapters 1 and 2 have some introductory information.
5. If you know a little German, start with chapter 3, pronunciation tips, and go on from there.
6. For every chapter, make sure to listen to the audio files. They are a great means to hear spoken German.
7. Practice speaking German by repeating the words and phrases you hear.
8. At the end of each chapter, test yourself on what you've learned with
Intermediate German Lessons

This next section highlights intermediate German lessons.
Deutsche Welle's Intermediate Course
1. Once you've followed the introductory lessons above, or if you just want to brush up your German, try Deutsche Welle's Wieso Nicht?, an intermediate level course.
2. Choose a chapter to study
3. Download the chapter's text (in a PDF File)
4. Listen to the audio lesson without looking at the text, to see what you can make out on your own
5. Then read through at the chapter you downloaded. If any words are unfamiliar, look up their meanings and practice saying them out loud.
6. Listen to the audio file once more. This time you should understand everything!
BBC's Deutsch Plus
BBC's Deutsch Plus
1. The BBC also has an intermediate level course, Deutsch Plus
2. There are 10 online topics to choose from.
3. Select a topic you wish to study.
4. You can either watch a video or, if you have a slower Internet connection, you can listen to an audio file about that topic.
5. First, listen to the dialogue and try to understand what's being said without referring to the course materials.
  - Watching the videos are more useful in this case, as you can work out some of the conversations' meanings from the interactions onscreen.
6. After listening, check out key language and key words. These sections provide English translations for important phrases and words in the dialogues.
7. Practice saying the key phrases and words yourself. If possible, tape yourself and play back the recording!
8. Then read the transcript of the dialogue.
9. Watch or listen to the dialogue one more time, reading along with the transcript, to understand everything they're saying!
Deutschkurs
1. Chapters 16-20 and 21-25 have material that is suitable for an intermediate level German student.
2. For each chapter, read through the lesson, listening to (and repeating after!) audio examples.
3. If you encounter something you don't understand, don't hesitate to go back to an earlier chapter and study another concept again. Learning a language takes practice and repetition, after all.
4. Test yourself with the exercises at the end of each chapter.
- Now test your intermediate German. Can you understand this song?:
  Die Ärzte sing Langweilig (Sim Version)"
Advanced German Lessons
1. For a higher level of lessons, check out Deutsckurs again!
2. Chapters 26-30 and 31-35 have more advanced concepts.
3. Take advantage of Deutschkurs's built-in audio files when you choose a subject to study.
4. Every time you play an audio example, repeat it again. This way you can reinforce your learning, and practice speaking!
5. After studying a lesson, test yourself with the exercises that follow.
Deutsche Welle's Business Course
1. Deutsche Welle also offers a course on business German, Marketplatz.
2. Try listening to the regular course to see what you understand.
3. Also download the PDF files for the transcript and the lesson chapter.
4. Read through the chapter and transcript, then listen to the regular course again.
5. If you think there's anything you've missed, also try the bilingual audio version; it has some content in English, so it's easier to follow!
Fun German Lessons

The following include German lessons that are intended to encourage the student to have fun!
BBC Cool German
BBC's Cool German
1. Want to know how to flirt, argue, or talk about music while impressing your German friends with your street cred?
2. Check out the BBC's cool German page.
3. Play the audio files while reading along with the phrases.
4. Practice saying the phrases yourself.
5. Record yourself and play back the recording; you'll be amazed by how German you sound!
  - Pay attention to the instructions about when and how to use this slang; you don't want to say the wrong thing and escalate a tense situation!
About.com Zungenbrecher
1. About.com has a fun page of German tongue twisters.
2. If you can say these, you excel in German!
  Listen to German music videos to practice the language - here Die Prinzen sing "Millionär"
German Podcasts
- Podcasts are a great way to hear German, and great because you can listen to them practically anywhere.
1. Deutsche Welle offers a range of podcasts for students of German:
  - News reports in German (Spoken slowly for easier comprehension).
  - Sprachbar (Podcasts about subtleties in the language).
  - Top-Thema mit Vokabeln (News reports supplemented with vocabulary lists).
  - Alltagsdeutsch (Reports about life in Germany, with all its quirks).
  - Stichwort (Latest German buzzwords).
2. Also check out couchpotatoes, a fun weekly podcast about popular culture, films and music, and other topics big and small.
3. Schlaflos in Muenchen (Sleepless in Munich) is a popular German blog and podcast. You can listen to a slowly spoken podcast of favorite posts here.
More Tips for Studying German
1. Read the news in German; tageschau.de has the headlines of the day.
  - Even if your German isn't advanced, if you familiarize yourself with what the main stories are before visiting this site, you should be able to follow along.
2. Listen to German music; try to understand the lyrics.
  - Groups like Die Prinzen have online videos that are great fun to watch.
3. Read blogs like German word a week. It has some out-of-the-ordinary words that are fun to learn.
4. Watch videos like Fokus Deutsch. After registering on the site, you can watch this series of videos, used in high school and college German classes around the country.
5. Check out your local university to see if they offer German classes, or if there is a student or professor who can tutor you.
6. Mixxer allows language students to register (for free) to find a partner for a language exchange. You can find a partner who is a native speaker of German, and who wants to learn English. By communicating over Skype, you and your partner can each help the other progress in your respective language studies.
7. Create or buy flash cards to test yourself. Have pictures or English words on one side and German words on the other. Both flash cards and podcasts are great for studying German on the go.
8. Rent movies in German. Turn off the subtitles (or cover the bottom of your TV set).
Resources for Studying German
1. This dictionary lets you look up words or sayings, in English or German. It also provides audio files so you can check pronunciation!
2. Check verb conjugation here.
3. The University of Winnipeg has put together a great reference page on the essentials of German grammar.
4. German grammar worksheets - use these exercises to practice what you've learned so far!
5. Die Bibel is Martin Luther's translation of the Bible. You can search for terms in German.
- - Also check out Mahalo's Guide to the German language