Top Tips for German Learners

 

If you’re learning German, you’re not alone. There are 15.4 million people learning it with you.

German is the world’s 10th most spoken language.  But if we rank the world’s languages in order of their economic impact (i.e. their GNP) German comes in fourth worldwide after English, Chinese and Spanish.

Additionally, the number of people learning German has increased for the first time in fifteen years.  Europe continues to be the biggest home of German language learners, with 9.4 million students, and with countries such as Poland and France producing nearly 4 million learners between them! But according to a study done in 2015 (the next study is due in 2020) German has seen an increase in learners in countries such as Brazil, China and India as well. 

What’s the easiest thing about learning German?

German is very similar to a number of languages, so depending on which language you’re tackling German from, you may find that there are a lot of similarities. Dutch, English, Scots, Norwegian, Icelandic, Afrikaans, Danish and Swedish are all Germanic languages that share roots that date back as far as 500 BCE.

This is why you’ll often stumble across words that either sound the same and are spelled the same, or sound the same but are spelled differently, for example:

• English: alphabet
• German: Alphabet

 

• English: baby
• German: Baby

 

• English: boss
• German: Boss

 

• English: hunger
• German: Hunger

 

• English: name
• German: Name

 

• English: partner
• German: Partner

 

• English: rucksack
• German: Rucksack

 

• English: warm
• German: Warm

 

• English: winter
• German: Winter

Like English, German often builds words by using compounds, so if you know the words for ‘eyes’ and ‘color’ you can guess the word for ‘eye color’ Augenfarbe= eye color, Augen (eyes) + farbe (color). This can work both for and against learners of German, as it can create some pretty long words too…!

What’s the hardest thing about learning German?

False friends are often tricky when it comes to learning German. Those are words that are the same in English, either in spelling or pronunciation (or both) but they mean different things. This can be tricky when you are starting out, especially if you tend to slip back into your native language when you cannot think of a word. Here are some of the most common false friends in German that you need to watch out for!

• English: also
• German: auch
• German: also
• English: so

 

• English: arm
• German: Arm
• German: arm
• English: poor

 

• English: caution
• German: Vorsicht
• German: Kaution
• English: bail/deposit

 

• English: city
• German: Großstadt
• German: City
• English: center

 

• English: curious
• German: neugierig
• German: kurios
• English: strange

 

• English: I can
• German: ich kann
• German: ich kenne
• English: I know

 

• English: I will
• German: ich werde
• German: ich will
• English: I want

Beyond false friends, learners found German grammar tricky, especially when you look at noun genders. (Particularly if you’re coming from English, Afrikaans*, Chinese, Japanese or Finnish, all of which do not have gendered nouns. *although Afrikaans does have three gendered pronouns.)

Pronunciation of some of the letters specific to German (and occasionally shared in other Germanic languages) can also be tricky, such as: ä, ö, ü and ß. It’s tricky because we don’t have the pronunciation of these letters in English, but it’s also because some of the letters we do share are also pronounced differently (e.g. W in German is pronounced like “V” in English, V in German is pronounced like “F” in English.)

 

Best Things about Learning German

One of the best things about learning any language is the fact that you are able to communicate with native speakers in their first language. This was also one of the biggest reasons why German learners enjoyed speaking in German: being able to communicate with people they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to communicate with.

Top Tips from German Learners

“If you’re choosing your first foreign language to learn as an adult, choose one that’s close to your native language. Like German!” – Marcus

 

“If you learn the alphabet first, then your pronunciation and reading comprehension will greatly improve.” – Serena

 

“Embrace the German culture… and delicious food!” – Ian

 

“Have a go, if you don’t know a German word use an English one and make it sound more German, that was my German teacher’s advice!” – Claire

 

“Keep studying and working at it no matter how frustrating it is. I am an introvert and talking to complete strangers, even in the classroom was/is an ordeal for me. As a learner of foreign languages, you must ignore or put aside this fear and learn to laugh at your mistakes since everybody else is making the same mistakes as you.” – Brian

 

“Give a few minutes every day to the target language and rehearse by speaking with someone.” – Vivek