German Resources

Under Construction.

[a-german-learning-clown]

Can anyone suggest Language Lover Clown some easy German books? Clown has never read any book in German. How about Folk Tales?

Also,any original German movies or TV Shows? Clown loves Biography, History,Fiction,Drama... But you can suggest from other genres too....

German Youtube Channels about Books and Movie Clips?👉👈

<3🤡

[salvadorbonaparte]

Books (classic children's books also fun for adults)

Momo

Der Räuber Hotzenplotz

Der Wunschpunsch

Die Unendliche Geschichte

Krabat

Grimm's Märchen

Max und Moritz

Der Struwwelpeter

TV shows

Dark (time travel historical drama?)

In Aller Freundschaft - die jungen Ärzte (medical drama)

Die Heiland (legal drama)

Die Sendung mit der Maus (educational)

Löwenzahn (educational)

Films

Das Leben der Anderen (DDR drama)

Er ist wieder da (satire)

Who am I (thriller)

Die Welle (drama)

Der Himmel über Berlin (drama)

Das Wirtshaus im Spessart (comedy)

Johannes Brahms - die Pranke des Löwen (biography, I have to recommend this one because my uncle worked on it)

Almanya (German Turkish Relations)

Audio drama

Hui Buh das Schlossgespenst (you can find all episodes on Netflix, again intended for children but also really fun for adults)

[dialect-warrior]

Random German slang/phrases

I created a list of random German slang from a video game to help people in conversation. I’ll make a second list some other time.

VERBS

alles im Griff haben - to have everything under control

am Arsch sein - to be screwed

aus dem Weg schaffen - to get something out of the way (i.e. a problem)

bekannt machen - to introduce [people]

fremd sein - to not be from the area

die Geduld verlieren - to lose patience

herumtreiben - to hang about somewhere

sich raushalten - to stay out of someone’s business

schief gehen - to go wrong [a situation]

umhören - to ask around

verarschen - to take the piss

verrecken - to die [coll.]

NOUNS

die Bullen - the cops

die Jungs - guys

der Kerl (-e) - man [coll.]

der Pechvogel (ö) - unlucky person

der Verrückter (te) - lunatic

der Versager - loser

LITTLE WORDS

als Gegenleistung - in return

gewissen __ - certain __ [person]

in der Tat - as a matter of fact

namens __ - called __

neuerdings - in recent times

so ziemlich __ - pretty much __

umsonst - for nothing

viel los - busy/crowded

PHRASES / SAYINGS

ich bin dabei - i’m in [a deal]

lass das - don’t do that

mach keine Witze über __ - don’t joke about __

man sieht sich - see you around

pass auf dich auf - be careful

rat mal - just guess

reden wir über was anderes - let’s change subject

schon okay - that’s alright

verdammt richtig - damn right

verzieh dich! - get lost!

weißt du was, __ - tell you what, __

wenn es sein muss - if need be

wer weiß das schon? - who knows?

wie wäre es mit __ ? - how about __ ?

woher weißt du das? - how do you know that?

[wonderful-language-sounds]

I thought I’d do a post about German podcasts.  Many you can find on  iTunes, on Android using Castbox, or on their own websites/RSS feed. There are several more podcasts in German, but here are a few.  Other Podcasts: Arabic| French | Italian| Russian |Spanish| Ukrainian| Eurasia

Language Learning

Das tägliche Wort 

German GrammarPod

Germanlingq: Includes transcripts

GermanPod101: also has a youtube channel

German-Podcast: Includes transcripts

Learn German by Podcast: Transcripts must be bought, but free to listen.

My Daily Phrase German

Pukka German: Colloquial German and slang.

The Stammtisch: In German and English

Listening For Beginners-Intermediates

Andrea erzählt (Deutsch): A2-B1. Includes transcripts.

Coffee Break German: Listening and grammar. Extra material must be bought.

DaZPod

Deutsch – warum nicht?: A1-B1 with transcripts.

Grüße aus Deutschland : Includes transcripts

Hallo bei Logo: video podcasts

Langsam gesprochene Nachrichten: B2-C1. Includes transcripts.

Radio D: A1-A2 with transcripts.

Slow German: Includes transcripts

Step Into German: Music, film, soccer and Germany. Includes transcripts.

Twilingo: Includes transcripts

German Only

Anerzähler: Random stories and facts

CRE: Technology, culture or society.

Deutschlandradio: News, current events, culture. Includes transcripts.

Der Explikator:Movies, science, entertainment, and history.  Includes transcripts.

Das geheime Kabinett: Historical mysteries

Das Podcast UFO: Comedy

Forschergeist: Education and sciene

Geschichtenkapsel: Audio stories

Hörsuppe: Collection of several German podcasts.

Jung und Naiv: Current events

IQ - Wissenschaft und Forschung: Science

In Trockenen Büchern: Literature

Omega Tau: Technology

PSYCHO TALK : Psychology

Sanft & Sorgfältig: Satire about everything

SBS German: News, culture

Stevinho Talks: Gaming, soccer, movies

Stay Forever: Video games

Tagesschau Audio: News

Tsundoku: Books and reading

Weltenflüstern : Literature

WRINT: Collection of several podcasts on many topics.

[wonderful-language-sounds]

This is a list of tools that are helpful for those learning German. They are supplementary materials meant to improve your knowledge of the language and should be accompanied by a course/books. If you want resources/books to start learning German, they can be found here: [x]

Apps

Duolingo: This is great for learning translation between German and English/other languages. 

Memrise: I know most people use it for vocabulary, but I used it to learn the principal part of verbs. For example, I would put to begin on one side then anfangen - fing an on the other side. 

Deutschakademie [iOS] [Android]: This app offers exercises by grammar topic and is suitable for beginners as well as advanced learners as it goes to C1. 

German Class [iOS] [Android] : This app provides you with vocabulary drills, grammar explanations, and various exercises. The demo is free but the full app is $3.

German Listening [Android]: Listen to German articles read out loud.

HelloTalk: If you want to talk to native speakers, this is a great app. You can choose to text or call within the app, and have them correct your texts.

Learn German [iOS] [Android]: App designed by the Goethe Institute meant for beginners. It helps you learn vocabulary by theme in an interactive story way. 

Adventure German [iOS] [Android]: An interactive game where you must find a stolen item. This is was also developed by the Goethe Institute and is meant for high beginners as well as low intermediate students. This is a fun way of improving your vocabulary and reading comprehension.

A Mysterious Adventure [iOS] [Android]: This is mystery game by the Goethe Institute meant for intermediate students as it is all in German. You play as a woman trying to solve a mystery. I enjoyed playing the game and it helped my listening/reading comprehension.

Der Die Das [Android Only]: App meant to help you learn the correct articles of German words.

Beelinguapp: Read stories with translation side by side. It includes audio.

Listening/Videos

Slow German: Podcast that is slowly read to improve your listening comprehension in German.

FluentU: Interactive video website where you watch videos with the subtitles in both languages and learn through immersion. This is a paid service, but you can get a free trial.

Yabla: Similar to above, but cheaper. Also has a 2-week trial period if you want to try it.

Bodowartke: Listen to songs in different German dialects.

Lyricstraining: Learn German through song lyrics. You listen to a song and fill in the blank according to your level of the language.

NatifyMe: Learn German through videos. You can choose their videos or upload your own to make video flashcards of vocabulary.

Sounds of Speech: This is a phonetics teaching tool that teaches you German pronunciation with animations

Elemental Sounds: Learn the pronunciation of German.

DW: Several video courses with exercises fo different levels.

Verbs & Grammar

Verbix: Verb conjugator.

Verben: Verb conjugation practice.

Verbformen: Verb conjugator

Canoo: Dictionary of German inflection.

Cheatography: Make your own German cheat sheets about cases/vocabulary such as the one linked.

Dartmouth: Grammar review.

Vocabulary

Babadum: Vocabulary game

Linguee: A dictionary tool where you can see words and their definitions in different contexts.

Tatoeba: Look up a sentence/word and see how people have translated it.

Quizlet: Look up or make your own vocabulary lists in German. There are many ways provided for you to learn.

Lingvist: Learn vocabulary in context.

Goethe Institute B1: Vocabulary for the B1 exam.

Reading/Immersion

Readlang: Read various texts and watch youtube videos with the text in sync. You translate any words you do not know.

Clozemaster: A sentence game where you learn a language in context and choose the word that fits in the sentence.

Parallel.io: Read stories with translation side by side.

Lang-8: Write in German and have it corrected by native speakers. 

Influent: A language learning video game where you learn vocabulary by acting as a character exploring a house. It is fun and has different modes to learn the words. Cost is $10 but can be $3 during the sales in winter and summer.

German Stories: Read fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers in a dual language format

Spruecheportal: German idioms

German-glossary: A glossary of German idioms and their explanations/origins.

[funwithlanguages]

A list of basic grammar concepts

This is part of my guide on how to start learning a language quickly and efficiently. You can find the whole guide here.

When I start learning a language, rather than thinking “I need to learn all the grammar that there is in this language,” I think “I need to learn the grammar that I need to put a sentence together.”

Here’s a list of the concepts that I go through and learn. Personally, I like to google each concept to get the answer (e.g. “negation in Basque”, or “prepositional phrases in Basque” – there actually are none, so I learn the equivalent), because I find it faster. But online courses also work fine. Just pay attention to whether they cover all of these concepts.

Basic concepts

Subject, direct and indirect object, and verb order

Markers for subject, direct object, and indirect object

Verb conjugations (To start, I only memorize the infinitive and the regular conjugation for “I” in the present and past tense.)

Negation

Pluralizing nouns

Attaching articles and adjectives to nouns

Attaching adverbs to verbs and adjectives

Forming questions

Intermediate concepts

Indirect statements (“I think that…”)

Adjective clauses (“the woman that…”)

Prepositional phrases

Dependent clauses

Keep reading

[spanishsecondlanguage]

WordBrewery is great for improving your vocabulary.  It gives you a random sentence at either beginner, intermediate, advanced or master level, and you can make lists of words or sentences that you’d like to learn.   It includes the following languages:

Spanish

English

Chinese

Arabic

Portuguese

Russian

Japanese

German

French

Italian

Polish

Ukrainian

Korean

Serbian (Latin)

Serbian (Cryillic)

Hungarian

Greek

Swedish

Norwegian

[rayaanstudies]

For anyone learning French, Spanish, German, English or Dutch:

This website is great for if you want to practice conjugating verbs. It’s called Verbuga and it lets you choose from a long list of irregular and/or regular verbs in all tenses. It also gives you explanations if you need them. Check it out if you feel like it could be useful!!!!

[spanishsecondlanguage]

Test your listening proficiency

Here’s another test from LanguageTrainers.com, which tests elementary and intermediate listening levels in the following languages:

Arabic

Chinese

Danish

Dutch

English

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Norwegian

Portuguese

Russian

Spanish (European)

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

They also have a written, multiple choice test available here, which I talk about here.

[domsdesk]

hi!

so i’ve stumbled upon this post a while ago and i thought that was a pretty neat way to learn some basic german stuff. i kind of liked how my notes looked like, so i thought i would share the pdf template with the studyblr community. now, i know it’s not perfect, but it helped me a bit, so i hope other people will find it useful too

download here

you can tag me in your posts if you decide to use it!

[langsandlit]

Hello, language community! I made a Dropbox to share some of the books I am or will use while learning languages. They’re mostly fiction, grammar and linguistics books in different languages.

Expect constant updates with more books in more languages. Requests too are accepted.

Fiction

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter (entire series in German)

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter och de Vises Sten

J. R. R., Der Hobbit

José Cadalso, Noches Lúgubres

Lewis Carrol, Abenteuer im Wunderland

Roald Dahl, Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik

Roald, Dahl, Charlie y la fábrica de Chocolate

Grammar

A Comprehensive French Grammar

Basic German Grammar

De tú a tú - español para clases privadas

DELE B2 - preparación al diploma de español nivel B2

English Grammar

Essential Swedish Grammar

Finnish: Essential Grammar

German - An Essential Grammar

Modern French Grammar

Modern French Grammar Workbook

New York City English

Oxford Guide To English Grammar

Swedish - An Essential Grammar

Linguistics

A history of psycholinguistics

J. G. von Herder, Treatise on the Origin of Language

Last updated (make sure you always reblog the most updated version): 27 January 2016

[langsandlit]

Newly added:

De tú a tú - español para clases privadas

DELE B2 - preparación al diploma de español nivel B2

Prisma Comienza A1

Prisma Continúa A2

I will soon upload the audio files that come with some of these books.

[ricardastudies-deactivated20170]

Courses:

Duolingo [>20 languages]

Memrise

Linguti [Korean, French, Japanese, Polish, German]

Goethe Verlag [+ tests and exercises here]

Busuu [12 languages]

languagepod101 [36 languages]

Livemocha [38 languages]

Community:

lang-8 [native speakers correct what you write]

My Language Exchange

gospeaky [practice with native speakers]

SharedLingo [chat with native speakers]

Unilang [forum]

Basic Vocabulary, Phrases & Grammar

≤10 languages:

languagereef [Gujarati, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil]

SayJack [Japanese, Chinese, Korean, English]

Languagehelpers [French, German, Italian, Latvian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish]

Saysomethingin [Welsh, Spanish, Dutch, Cornish, Latin]

Languages Online [Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Macedonian, Spanish, Turkish, ESL]

Speak7 [Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, German, Japanese]

10-50 languages:

Linguanaut [16 languages]

languageguide [18 languages]

ielanguages [21]

FSI Language Courses [47 languages]

surfacelanguages [43 languages]

BBC languages

+50 languages:

The Joint Language Universit

Learn101 [104 languages]

Omniglot

UniLang

iLanguages

loecsen [+ audio]

parleremo

polymath

mylanguages

101languages

More:

Forvo [pronunciation guide]

languagetool [proof­reading program for 31 languages]

Online Dictionary Masterpost

Language Resources Masterpost

Anki [best flashcard program]

Ezglot [3000 most common words in 58 languages]

babadum [Vocabulary Game, 18 languages] 

Verb conjugator:

verbix

conjuguemos

Cooljugator [Estonian, Greek, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian]

Listening:

Easy Languages [Youtube channel, + subtitles]

Dingo Lingo [Youtube channel for kids]

bookboxinc [Youtube channel for kids]

Lyricstraining [learn English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Japanese, Turkish and Catalan through music]

Reading:

Bliu Bliu

lingvist [download books on foreign languages]

Project Gutenberg [Free Ebooks]

The Polyglot Project

Grimmstories [Read Grimms’ fairy tales in 18 languages]

[ricardastudies-deactivated20170]

8 ways to respond to “danke”

Here are some ways of saying “you’re welcome” in German

✿ bitte literally: “please” It’s the most common way of saying “you’re welcome”

✿ bitte schön It sounds more formal than “bitte” and it’s usually said when you’re handing something over to someone.

✿ bitte sehr synonymous to “bitte schön” but not as common.

✿ gern geschehen literally: gladly happened It can be used in many situations and it’s more formal than “bitte”.

✿ gerne It’s short for “gern geschehen” and therefore less formal.

✿ nichts zu danken literally: “nothing to thank for“ Not very common.

✿ kein Problem = no problem. Pretty informal

✿ kein Ding literally: “no thing” it’s very very very informal!!

[athenastudying-deactivated20220]

Okay but can I add my three favourite options in terms of unnecessary synonyms?

Dafür nicht

Da nicht für

Nicht dafür

which all mean “no need (to thank me) for that”

[ich-bin-der-baer]

Reading Practice: Deutscher Wald im Ausnahmezustand

der Ast (pl. die Äste) – branch der Ausnahmezustand – state of emergency der Baumstumpf (pl. die Baumstümpfe) – tree stump der Befall – infestation der Borkenkäfer – bark beetle die Dürre – drought der Ertrag (pl. die Erträge) – revenue; income der (die) Förster(in) – (forest) ranger die Fichte – spruce das Harz – resin die Rinde – bark der Sturmschaden (pl. die Sturmschäden) – storm damage die Temperatur – temperature der Wald (pl. die Wälder) – forest die Zerstörungskraft – destructive power

abholzen – to fell; to clear (of trees) absterben – to die anrichten – to cause aufforsten – to reforest ragen – to tower; to stick out regnen – to rain (sich) (an etwas) reihen – to follow (after something) schützen – to protect (sich) wehren – to defend (oneself)

aufwändig – arduous; time consuming aussichtslos – hopeless; futile kahl – bare sinnvoll – sensible; practical trocken – dry wehmütig – melancholy weitreichend – far-reaching

zunichte machen – to destroy; to ruin

[deutsian]

German expressions you probably ought to learn (#3)

Honestly cannot think of a better title for this post. Essentially, I have a memrise deck dedicated to all the miscellaneous German expressions and terms that don’t really crop up in vocab lists or tumblr posts. A lot of them are phrases and collocations that never really occur to you… until you need to use them!

i. Nimm mich nicht auf den Arm — don’t be funny with me Beispiel: Dolour war sprachlos, dann schob sie sich an ihm vorbei durch die Tür >>Nimm mich nicht auf den Arm.<< Üb.: Dolour was speechless, then she pushed past him through the door. “Don’t be funny with me”.

ii. Versuch’s doch mal — Have a go!/Try it! Beispiel: Versuch’s doch mal mit Politik. Üb.: Why not give politics a go?

iii. Schön wär’s — If only; I wish! (ugs.) Beispiel: Mein Leben voller Feenstaub und Konfetti (schön wärs). Üb.: My life full of fairy dust and confetti (if only!).

iv. Wir haben es im Griff — We have it under control Beispiel: Das Social Web ist vielseitig - und wir haben es fest im Griff! Üb.: The Social Web is versatile - and we have it firmly under control!

v. Da komme ich nicht (mehr) mit — It’s beyond me/I don’t get it! Beispiel: Da komme ich nicht mehr mit! Wofür hat man so viel Geld ausgegeben, wenn man sich auf die Ubisoft-Mitarbeiter nicht mehr verlassen kann? Üb.: I don’t get it! Why would one pay so much money when one can’t even rely on the Ubisoft workers anymore?

Enjoyyyyyy.

[deutsian]

Difficult German Synonyms - Kind(ly)

There are often multiple words in languages which have the same basic meaning, but are used in slightly different ways. Any advanced German learner has probably had qualms w/ ändern/verändern, gebrauchen/verwenden/nutzen, and many more examples. In these posts, I’ll explain these differences.

In this post: How to say ‘kind(ly)’ in German.

i - In the sense of sympathetic, considerate, friendly.

1) Gütig

Gütig is the most seldom option of these and can often have an outdated or religious ring to it, where it does mean kind in the sense of ‘sympathetic’ and ‘of a friendly nature’. It can also be used ironically.

Ex: Ich bin ein gütiger Mensch. Tr: I am a kind person.

Ex ironic: Sehr gütig von dir, mir zu helfen = the help you offered me was the least I could have asked for. Also parallel to English: “zu gütig!” “you’re too kind!”

2) Nett

Nett is used when someone does something in accordance with one’s liking and brings one satisfaction. A semblence of this is seen in the English expression ‘how nice of you to come’.

Ex: Meine Tochter ist nett zu ihren Mitschülern. Tr: My daughter is nice to her classmates.

3) Freundlich

This is used for people who are, and actions which show consideration and goodwill. It is stronger than nett.

Ex: Es war äußerst freundlich von dir, mir zu helfen. Tr: It was really kind of you to help me.

4) Liebenswürdig

This is the strongest of all the options and can be translated as ‘very friendly’ or ‘obliging’.

Ex: Der Mann war so liebenswürdig, mir die Tür aufzuhalten. Tr: The man was so kind as to hold the door open for me.

Often, all of the above words (besides gütig) can be used interchangeably. And in cases of more permanent kindness one can use gut — e.g. Sie war sehr gut zu ihrer Oma.

When saying ‘would you kindly…’/‘would you be so kind to…’, one can use any of the above options (including gut, but rarely gütig) — e.g. Wären Sie so freundlich….

ii - In the sense of a good-natured character.

Gutmütig, or, less commonly, gutherzig are the appropriate choices here. Depending upon context they may also imply that someone is too kind and potentially lets others walk over them.

Ex: Er ist extrem gutmütig/-herzig (und kann niemandem ‘ne Bitte abschlagen). Tr: He’s extremely good-natured (and can’t refuse an offer from anyone).

iii - In the sense of an angry ‘kindly’: ‘kindly get your shoes off the sofa!’

Gefälligst is the fitting term here and is used in imperatives

Ex: Erklären Sie mir gefälligst, was sie wollen! Tr: Kindly tell me what you need!

When saying ‘someone does not take kindly to something’, you would simply say ‘nicht gern’ — e.g. Ich lasse mich nicht gern herumkommandieren

iv - Freundlich, Freundschaftlich, Befreundet

To clarify any confusion: freundlich also means friendly, but does not suggest a close interpersonal relationship. For this, one must say freundschaftlich — e.g. Es besteht freundschaftliche Beziehungen zwischen Ihnen = they are good friends. Alternatively, you can say X is mit Y befreundet (they are friends).

Sources:

A Practical Dictionary of German Usage - K.B.Beaton

[deutsian]

German expressions you probably ought to learn (#2)

Honestly cannot think of a better title for this post. Essentially, I have a memrise deck dedicated to all the miscellaneous German expressions and terms that don’t really crop up in vocab lists or tumblr posts. A lot of them are phrases and collocations that never really occur to you… until you need to use them!

i. So musste es kommen — it was bound to happen/come to that Beispiel: Heute glaube ich, dass es so kommen musste, damit ich erkennen konnte, wie falsch mein Leben bisher gewesen war Üb.: Now, I realize that it all had to happen that way, so that I could realize how wrong my life had been up till now.

ii. Ich bin ein hoffnungsloser Fall (in…) — I’m hopeless/a lost cause (at…) Beispiel: Ich bin in der Mathematik ein Hoffnungsloser Fall. Üb.: I’m hopeless at maths.

iii. Es ist herausgekommen, dass (…) — It turns out/has come to light that (…) Beispiel: Es ist herausgekommen, dass Berichte über Störfälle getürkt worden sind Üb.: It has come to light that reports regarding the incident were faked.

iv. Ich nehme dich beim Wort — I’ll take you up on that / take your word for it Beispiel: Aber ich nehme Sie auch beim Wort, wenn Sie sagen, dass wir im Haushalt darauf achten werden,… Üb.: But I also take you at your word when you say that we are going to take great care…

v. (Immer) sachte!  — Easy does it! Or “Calm down!” (ugs.) Beispiel: Jetzt mal ganz sachte!“  Üb.: Would you chill out now!

Enjoyyyyyy.

[gwendolynlerman]

German vocabulary

Das Badezimmer, = - bathroom

der Abfluss, -¨e - drain

die Badewanne, -n - bathtub

die Blase, -n - bubble

die Bodenfliese, -n - tile

die Dusche, -n - shower

der Duschkopf, -¨e - shower head

der Hahn, -¨e/der Wasserhahn, -¨e - faucet

das Handtuch, -¨¨er - towel

der Handtuchhalter, = - towel rack

das Kosmetiktuch, -¨er - tissues

die Saugglocke, -n - plunger

die Seife, -n - soap

das Shampoo, -s/das Haarwaschmittel, = - shampoo

der Spülhebel, = - flusher

die Toilette, -n - toilet

die Toilettenbürste, -n - toilet brush

das Toilettenpapier, -e - toilet paper

der Tropfen, = - drip

die Waage, -n - scale

das Waschbecken, = - sink