Learning German Together

Where everyone gathers to learn with each other

[learning-de]

Invite code is ENCTGZ

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Hi, do you have any tips on getting the articles correct? I am a new German learner 😁

Im awful at these and generally try to get away with ignoring them in every day conversation, but maybe I can help a little. There little bit of a method to it. For instance, everything ending in -heit and -keit will be feminine, as well as almost all flower names. Most foreign words will be neutral. Masculine is many days of the week and such. There's a better chart here: https://www.lsa.umich.edu/german/hmr/Grammatik/Gender/Gender.htmlThat should give you a fair guess at things, but most of all, practice and memorization will be the way to go

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Sentence

I really want to know what does Selbstverständlich lieber single als vergeben means . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since there’s no subject, I can’t clarify who in this case, but it’d be something similar to “Naturally, one would prefer single over taken.” With “one” being able to be replaced with whoever said it or whoever is referred to in the context, anyway.

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hey, can you help me with a sentence?

Potentially, I'm only around b2 level right now, but I can probably get close :) go ahead and send it in!

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German Notes, References, and Charts

So, through the last three months of intensive classes (where I’ve gone from just above A1 level to working on my B2 now, which I should have complete in December), I’ve been amassing a lot of German notes. I have media resources in here (for watching, reading, listening, and so on), tons of grammar charts, exercies for practice (most with an answer key as well). If anyone wants to make changes, just download a copy of the file, make your change, and save it.

Feel free to ask any questions. I made a lot of these resources myself (not the .pdfs though), and have them all printed off and available to check for anything I’m doing in class. The two reference files in there I actually have on my phone as well so that I can check them where ever I am.

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A friend of me also is trying to learn german But Its kinda impossible to Find german Shows/Movies (or dubbed ones) With English subs ... You know some? 😊

VPN and Netflix, actually :) It tends to be super easy for me, but living in Germany, it’s a completely different story as opposed to someone who lives outside of Germany. I can go to a local theater and they’ll play one or two movies a week with English subs, for example. As far as completely free options, I unfortunately don’t know of any that don’t involve a VPN, and most of the ones that do won’t have English subs (like watching kika or any other large German network on their website).

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Hallo! I would like to learn German for my Oma. She always taught me phrases and such but for little money how do you think would be the best way to do this at least for a basic knowledge? Website? Book?

Ah, sorry, for some reason, Tumblr never informed me of my asks here for literally years, so I’ve no idea when this came in, but... well... answer for you!The best way to learn just Basic German to get you to *speaking* some is Duolingo. It’s completely free, but you won’t learn much in the way of WHY you conjugate things or swap words around. Instead, it will give you an alright feel of the language without explicitly learning the rules though. I’d still recommend looking up the grammar elsewhere (Lingolia is a great website to reference when you want to learn something, and they also offer all of their content both for free and printed all in a nice handy reference book in both Eng/De and De/De)

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Hey, beginner here! I have been using duolingo for German and I was wondering if you had any textbooks you could recommend?

Wow, I have no idea when this was sent, but apparently tumblr hasn’t been notifying me of any messages at all for a loooong time, oopsText books, I’d have to recommend Lingolia if you’re mostly interested in grammar rules and small exercises. I’m in an official German class right now, and Lingolia is literally one of my first references for grammar when I have no idea what I’m doing. They have two separate books you may be interested in, one that’s just about German Grammar and one that’s has exercises to practice what you find in the grammar book. They’re sold separately, but both are under 10eur.

If you’re looking for something that will give you more overall coverage, I’d have a hard time suggesting a single book. I tend to work here and there between probably ten or fifteen books (or scans of books) given to me by the class, and they’re completely in German at this point, so probably not the best for a beginner. Between grammar, exposure (through conversing, reading, listening and watching), and vocabulary (which I’d recommend making your own lists. I’ve been doing this for a few months through Anki when I went through ten or fifteen other packs and just couldn’t find one I liked for me). Before you dedicate time to making a list, look up tips on making good flash cards and how to import decks by making spreadsheets first. Doing those would have saved me a month or two of work that I just ended up deleting after.

[learning-de]

Dinner For One/The 90th Birthday

The sketch has become a tradition in Germany, where up to half the population may watch it every year on New Year's Eve, but it is relatively unknown in Britain and has never been broadcast on television in Canada or the United States. It has become the most frequently repeated tv program ever, being broadcast 19+ times every New Years Eve (on various channels).

In 1985, a Danish network decided not to broadcast A Dinner for One, and they received so many complaints, they had to show it the following New Year's Eve.

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The Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, but Germany is still divided

I found this to be a very interesting article (in English with links to other English sources and news articles that are also very interesting) regarding differences between East and West Germany that exist into current times.

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Hey (dont know if this is the right place to ask), I started learning German a while ago and I've been looking for a way to chat to people in German. Do you know any good/easy sites to use? couldn't find anything on the net. cheers

I have a couple options for you to pick from, actually.

If you're looking for something a little closer to a forum where you can find penpals, chat partners, or just chat with whomever shows up, there's a wonderful community here on reddit for this very purpose.

If you'd rather do something a bit smaller, we have an ongoing group chat via Skype where we talk in English or German and we'll do things like work on Duolingo together at times. Feel free to add me on Skype at Piratekender if you'd like to join, and just mention German in the introductory message! :)

I am coming up on a move and a new job here (I start in a week and need to be in a different city by then), so I won't get a whole lot of time to chat this week, but as things settle down and we're a new apartment with an internet connection, I'll be around a lot more. There are people from various places in the world in that chat, however, so there's almost always someone on to talk to whenever the mood strikes.

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Hallo! I have recently started to learn German because next year I am moving in with my Internet friend. I like him and he likes me. I'm not only moving there for him but to learn about a new culture and just live somewhere else than America. I'm so nervous though because I feel like it will be difficult to get a job there though. My question is before I go do I need any other papers in order to actually physically go to germany? I plan on going to apply for my visa the day after I arrive there.

Hey Anon!

It can be different in each case, depending on what you already have, but as long as your passport is valid, you should be able to get a 90-day visiting visa without an issue. If you need more time, you need to leave the EU for a couple of days as far as I know, and then you can re-enter Germany and get another 90 days. Just make sure all of your papers are valid and up-to-date.

I also don't know what state you're from, but look into if your state has a reciprocal driver's license deal with Germany. The state I'm licensed to drive in does, but the one my husband was in does not, so if he were to get his license over here, it'd be well over 1,000euro and he'd have to go through classes and training again. I only have to do a first aid course, get some other paperwork, and pay 40eur, then I can have my German license.

I would definitely be concerned with getting a job the most though. Depending on what part of Germany you're moving to, you will definitely want an A1 or higher knowledge of German. If you're moving to Berlin (or somewhere else with a LOT of English like Berlin), you should be able to find a job at a cafe or pub when they want a native English speaker for their customers, so it's not *as* important there.

I've been here a little over two years (though a lot of this time was spent dealing with health issues and such), and only got a job just now. I'd say I've been REALLY focusing on finding work here for at least six months, and that's with a work visa. Unless you marry a German, it's really difficult to get a work visa here unless you get a job offer first. If you're skilled at a trade, you may find a work place that's willing to pay for the visa and speed the process along. If not, you'll need proof of the job offer, and the employer will have to be patient enough for you to go through that process yourself.

If you need any other clarifications or have other questions, feel free to come here and I'll do what I can to help you out!

Good luck, and happy learning!

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@timewillshowthedumber said: Is it only available to people living in Germany, or can you subscribe even if you live in the US?

If you google "how to access Netflix in other countries", you can find solutions like hola which will allow you to access the country's selection of your choice. It's not something I use myself, but there are plenty of instructions and information out there. If you have any trouble, ask around and you're guaranteed to find someone who can help!

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German Netflix is now a thing, everyone! This is actually old news, since I was in the hospital the day after it came out (and thus was getting ready for that), but I've been doing nothing else as a means of recovery. It's the first streaming site that I've found that will let you stream in English or German with German subs. I would like to find something that has English subs too, but because of things like this, I've found my reading comprehension has been getting a lot better.

[learning-de]

7 German TV Series To Make You Laugh While You Learn

My cousin sent me this post, which includes links to DVDs and locations where you can stream at least some of the items mentioned. Awesome selection, and there's a couple on here that I haven't seen yet!

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I know I said not to expect any updates for a while here, but I just... Chicken Yodeling... You're welcome.

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This is Kalyn here! Sorry for the lack of updates for a while everyone. I know we've gotten just a HUGE surge of followers (nearing 400 now!) We've been sorting out some rather large events in our lives, and I have an operation to get done soon. I'll start updating again once I can move my arms without pain after I'm out of the hospital!

If I find any good links and feel like posting, expect possible updates before the 15th of September, but if you don't hear from me until late next month, don't be concerned! I haven't abandoned this blog, and I refuse to!

No matter where in the world I end up being, this blog follows me. I'm in Germany now, still, but this may change in the upcoming months (to one of the following: US, Ireland, Korea, Japan). We are, as of yet, unsure where we'll be.