🗣️ Learn German

German follows the CEFR levels, the same ones used by universities, employers and visa offices across Germany. Work through them in order:
A1 and A2 are the beginner stages for everyday survival.
B1 is the level most commonly asked for by employers and for permanent residence.
B2 lets you work and study comfortably in German.

Aim for 20 to 30 minutes a day. Little and often beats long weekend sessions. Start with the A1 lesson below, and use the free resources at the bottom to practise.

What you will be able to do: introduce yourself, order food, ask simple questions and handle short everyday exchanges.

Grammar to master at A1:
The three articles der, die, das (grammatical gender).
Personal pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, wir) and the verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have).
Present tense of regular verbs.
Numbers, days, dates and telling the time.
Formal Sie versus informal du, and when to use each.

Vocabulary themes: greetings, family, food and drink, daily routine, the home.

What you will be able to do: talk about your past, describe your surroundings and manage routine tasks like shopping and appointments.

Grammar to master at A2:
The perfect tense (Perfekt) to talk about the past, for example ich habe gegessen.
Modal verbs: koennen, muessen, wollen, duerfen.
The dative case and common dative prepositions.
Separable verbs, for example aufstehen and einkaufen.
Comparatives, such as groesser and besser.

Vocabulary themes: travel, health, work, shopping, directions.

What you will be able to do: hold a conversation, explain your opinions and deal with most situations that come up while living in Germany. B1 is the level most often required for jobs and for permanent residence.

Grammar to master at B1:
Subordinate clauses with weil, dass, wenn and ob (word order changes).
The simple past (Praeteritum), especially for writing and storytelling.
Relative clauses to add detail.
Konjunktiv II with wuerde for polite requests and hypotheticals.

Vocabulary themes: work life, media and news, feelings and opinions, plans.

What you will be able to do: work and study in German, follow the news, and argue a point clearly. B2 is often required for university courses and skilled jobs.

Grammar to master at B2:
The passive voice across tenses.
Konjunktiv I for reported speech, and full Konjunktiv II.
Advanced connectors: obwohl, trotzdem, dennoch, je desto.
Turning verbs into nouns (Nominalisierung), common in formal writing.

Vocabulary themes: abstract and academic topics, current affairs, formal writing.

The phrases that help most in your first weeks. German first, meaning in brackets.

Finding a room (useful on AllesHere):
Ich suche ein Zimmer. (I am looking for a room.)
Ist das Zimmer noch frei? (Is the room still available?)
Wie hoch ist die Kaution? (How much is the deposit?)
Kann man sich hier anmelden? (Can I register this address here?)

At the Buergeramt (Anmeldung):
Ich moechte einen Termin buchen. (I would like to book an appointment.)
Ich moechte mich anmelden. (I would like to register my address.)

Everyday:
Entschuldigung, koennen Sie mir helfen? (Excuse me, can you help me?)
Ich verstehe das nicht. (I do not understand.)
Sprechen Sie Englisch? (Do you speak English?)
Was kostet das? (How much does that cost?)

You do not need to pay to reach B1. These are free and high quality:

DW Learn German (Deutsche Welle): full A1 to C1 courses, including the Nicos Weg video series. https://learngerman.dw.com

Goethe-Institut free practice exercises: https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/ueb.html

DW slowly spoken news, great for listening practice once you reach A2 to B1: https://www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/nachrichten/s-8030

Anki, a free flashcard app for building vocabulary with spaced repetition: https://apps.ankiweb.net

Study a little every day rather than a lot once a week. Consistency is what builds fluency.

Learn every noun together with its article (der, die or das). The gender is part of the word.

Speak from day one, even in broken German. Locals appreciate the effort and it builds confidence fast.

Change your phone and apps to German once you reach A2. Everyday exposure adds up.

Set a clear goal, for example B1 for a job or residence, and work backwards from it.