German

Home/Foreign Language Tutorials/German Tutorials/

Online German Language Lessons: An Introduction Why online German Language Lessons? Online German Language lessons are accessed by increasing number of population today due to various reasons. The first among them is its popularity. German is spoken by more than 120 million people today. It is primarily spoken in Germany, Austria, and in two-thirds of Switzerland. German also enjoys official status in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belgium (East Cantons) and Italy (South Tirol). Furthermore, it is a key language in the European Union and the new economies of Central and Eastern Europe. It is also spoken in Denmark (South Jutland County), Namibia and in small communities in the United States, Brazil and Argentina. Secondly, many people learn the German language through the online tutorials because theses tutorials help them to learn the language without attending regular classes. Germany has always been a major seat of learning and those who want to pursue their higher studies in the country would find these German language tips very useful. People have shown interest in the online lessons of the German language also because learning the language may help them to engage in any other activity of their interest in the country. And if you are thinking of pursuing a career in Germany in the future, these German language tips would definitely draw your attention as they are meant to make you capable of reading and writing the language within a very short period of time. What is on offer? Through this section on Online German Language lessons, we will try to teach the standard form of German language (i.e. Hochdeutsch/Standarddeutsch/Schriftdeutsch), which is taught in schools and used as the written language. So far as we are concerned, all efforts have been made to provide you with the German language tips that are correct and up-to-date. But if you find any flaw in these online German language lessons, please do let us know. We would appreciate any such effort that would help us to improve our site, a site that strives to provide best German language tips to its readers.

Home/Foreign Language Tutorials/German Tutorials/Introduction to German Language

"INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN LANGUAGE" German is a West-Germanic language of the Indo-European language family and is spoken by more than 120 million people in the World. It is official and national Language of Germany, Austria & Switzerland. German

also enjoys official status in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belgium (East Cantons) and Italy (South Tirol). Furthermore, it is a key language in the European Union and the new economies of Central and Eastern Europe. German is also spoken in Denmark (South Jutland County), Namibia and in small communities in the United States, Brazil and Argentina. If this was not enough to motivate you to learn German then here are some good reasons that might convince you to learn this foreign language. Enjoying official status in European Union, it is the most widely spoken language in Europe and the primarily spoken language in Germany, Austria, and in two-thirds of Switzerland. So if you have anything to do with these three most prosperous economies of World, then you better start learning German now. German & Germany Germany has the largest economy in the European Union and the third largest in the world. Moreover, Germany holds a strong position in foreign trade worldwide and is one of the largest export nations in the world. So if you want to get an edge in the competitive environments of international business learning German may be very helpful. In case, you are a student and want to go to Germany for your higher studies then there is no escape from learning German language. And if you are a professional working in the field of science, engineering or technology, you can enrich your knowledge by learning the language of Germany, a country known for highquality innovative products and cutting edge technology. German & exploring Europe If business, profession and even educational programs do not interest you then the rich and varied culture and traditions of Germany & Switzerland might cheer you to learn German. Also, if the history of Germany interests you, do learn German as it will definitely help you understand it better. If you are still not convinced then may be the idea to explore the beauty of Europe - the snow-covered mountain peaks of alps, the green meadows, the beautiful landscapes, the deep forests, the lakes, rivers and seas or may be fairytale castles, historic & modern architecture, famous landmarks and historic places - might charm you to learn the third most popular foreign language taught in the World and the second most popular language in Europe and Japan, after English.

German: An easy-to-learn foreign language If you know English then it's not difficult for you to learn German because it is a language which is most similar to English. The reason for this lies in their common West Germanic heritage. As both English and German are West-Germanic members of the Indo-European language family, they share lexical and grammatical similarities with each other. In addition, German language alphabet has 30 letters out of which 26 letters are same as the letters of the English alphabet i.e. A to Z. The other four letters which belong exclusively to the German language alphabet are ä, ö, ü and ß. The pronunciation, however, differs for both English and German alphabets.

Standard German (Hochdeutsch) German language has many traditional regional varieties that differ from region to region. But, it is the Standard German which is widely taught in schools & universities in Europe & in other parts of World, as it is the same Standard German which is used as written language. Standard German is usually called in German as Hochdeutsch, Schriftdeutsch or Standarddeutsch. It is widespread and usually brought into use in typical

business or tourist situations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So, don't you agree now that these reasons make German a very attractive foreign language? Don't you think it is worthwhile learning it? If your answer is positive, then come, let's start learning German today.

Home/Foreign Language Tutorials/German Tutorials/German Alphabet

Chapter 1 "GERMAN ALPHABET"

The very first thing to learn when learning any language is to learn its ABC. Following the trend, we begin our tutorials with the ABC of German Language i.e. German Alphabet. German alphabet has 30 letters, of which 4 are unique to German i.e. ä, ö, ü and ß (ss). The remaining German letters are the same as 26 standard letters of English alphabet (i.e. A to Z); however the pronunciation of each is different in German. LETTER Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

PRONUNCIATION OF THE LETTER [ɑ:] [be:] [tse:] [de:] [e:] [εf:] [ge:] [hɑ:] [i:] [jɔt] [kɑ:] [εl] [εm] [εn] [o:] [pe:] [ku:] [εr] [εs] [te:] [u:] [fɑʊ] [ve:] [ɪks] [ʼʏpsɪlɔn] [tsεt]

EXAMPLES Apfel Buch Chef Deutsch Elefant Familie Gast Huhn Insel Jahr Kaffee Land Mutter Nacht Ohr Pfau Qualität Regen Schiff Tisch Unterschrift Vater Wasser Xylophon Yacht Xylophon

ENGLISH MEANING OF THE EXAMPLES Apple Book Boss German Elephant Family Guest Hen Island Year Coffee Country Mother Night Ear Peacock Quality Rain Ship Table Signature Father Water Xylophone Yacht Xylophone

Straße, Fuß

ß (ß = ss) Ää Öö Üü

[εsʼtsεt] [ε:] [ø:] [y:]

[This letter is always in lower case and never comes at the beginning of the sentence.]

Äquator Öl Überraschung

Street, Foot Equator Oil Surprise

Chapter 2 "GERMAN GREETINGS AND ETIQUETTE"

This lesson teaches you how to greet, express gratitude or request in German. Come, let us learn how to say 'Hello', 'Good Morning', 'Good Day', 'Good bye', 'Thank you', 'Please', 'Sorry', 'Take Care' and 'Have a good day' in German. GREETINGS ENGLISH Hello! Hi! Good day! Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening! Good night! Good bye! Bye! See you soon! See you later!

GERMAN Hallo! Hi! Guten Tag! Guten Morgen! Guten Nachmittag! Guten Abend! Gute Nacht! Auf Wiedersehen! Tschüss! Bis bald! Bis später! Bis Montag! (Usually said on Friday/Saturday when leaving the school/office for weekend)

See you on Monday! ETIQUETTE ENGLISH

GERMAN

Please! Thank you! Thanks a lot! Thank you very much!/Many thanks! You are welcome! You are welcome! It was my pleasure. My pleasure! Excuse me please! Excuse me! Yes, please! I am sorry. I am sorry. Sorry! No, thanks! May I... ? I beg your pardon? Pardon? Enjoy the meal! Take Care! Have a nice day! Have a good weekend! Have fun! Enjoy!

Bitte! Danke! Danke schön! Vielen Dank! Bitte schön! (Reply to "Danke schön!") Nichts zu danken! Es war mir ein Vergnügen. Gern geschehen! Entschuldigen Sie, bitte! Entschuldigung! Ja, bitte! Es tut mir leid. Entschuldigen Sie, bitte! Entschuldigung! Nein, danke! Darf ich... Wie bitte? Wie bitte? Guten Appetit! Machs gut! Schönen Tag noch! Schönes Wochenende! Viel Spaß! Viel Spaß!

Chapter 3 "INTRODUCING YOURSELF IN GERMAN" - Questions & Answers In this lesson, you will learn how to make a proper introduction in German language or how to make conversation with a stranger in German? In other words, here you will learn how to introduce yourself and furthermore, how to get to know other people with the help of German language. ENGLISH GERMAN Frage: Wie ist Ihr Name? Antwort: Mein Name ist Rahul Malhotra. Question: What is your name? OR Answer: My name is Rahul Malhotra. Frage: Wie heißen Sie? Antwort: Ich heiße Rahul Malhotra. Question: What is your last name? Frage: Wie ist Ihr Familienname? Answer: My last name is Malhotra. Antwort: Mein Familienname ist Malhotra. Question: What is your first name? Frage: Wie ist Ihr Vorname? Answer: My first name is Rahul. Antwort: Mein Vorname ist Rahul. Question: Where do you come from? Frage: Woher kommen Sie? Answer: I come from India. Antwort: Ich komme aus Indien. Question: Where do you live? Frage: Wo wohnen Sie? Answer: I live in New Delhi. Antwort: Ich wohne in Neu Delhi. Question: What languages do you speak? Frage: Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie? Answer: I speak English, Hindi and a little bit Antwort: Ich spreche Englisch, Hindi und ein German bisschen Deutsch. Question: What is your mother tongue? Frage: Welche ist Ihre Muttersprache? Answer: My mother tongue is Hindi. Antwort: Mein Muttersprache ist Hindi. Question: What are you doing here? Frage: Was machen Sie hier? Answer: I am learning German. Antwort: Ich lerne Deutsch. Question: Do you work or do you study? Frage: Arbeiten Sie oder studieren Sie? Answer: I work. / I study. Antwort: Ich arbeite. / Ich studiere. If the answer is "I WORK": Question: Where do you work Frage: Wo arbeiten Sie? Answer: I work with Infosys. Antwort: Ich arbeite bei Infosys. If the answer is "I STUDY": Question: What do you study? Frage: Was studieren Sie?/ Answer: I study Mathematics Antwort: Ich studiere Mathematik Question: Where do you study? Frage: Wo studieren Sie? Answer: I study in Hansraj College. Antwort: Ich studiere in Hansraj College.

Chapter 4 "HOW ARE YOU?" "How are you?" is neither a question nor a request for any health-related information. It is a polite greeting, which is added after one says 'Hello" to know the general well-being of a person. In German, "How are you" is said differently in formal & informal situation. In a formal situation, 'How are you?' is said using the "Sie" form of 'you'. On the other hand, in an informal situation, it is said using "du" form of 'you'. We will be discussing the 'Sie' and 'du' form of 'you' in detail, later. For now, let us learn how to say "HOW ARE YOU?" FORMAL SITUATION A: Wie geht es Ihnen? B: Gut, danke. Und Ihnen? A: Auch gut, danke.

[Eng: How are you?] [Eng: Fine, thank you. And you?] [Eng: I am fine too, thank you]

INFORMAL SITUATION X: Wie geht es dir? [Eng: How are you?] Y: Gut, danke. Und dir? [Eng: Fine, thank you. And you?] X: Auch gut, danke. [Eng: I am fine too, thank you] Now that we have learnt how to say "How are you", we must also know how to reply to this question. The reply to "How are you?" is something that would vary as per your mood. In other words, the reply to this question should ideally reflect the way you are feeling that very moment, when you have been asked "How are you?". So, to be in a position to reply, you should know how to describe your mood in German. HOW ARE YOU? Mood

How to describe in German HAPPY

ausgezeichnet / prima/ sehr gut/ toll/ phantastisch/ super

gut

ganz gut

UNHAPPY

nicht besonders/ so la la

schlecht

sehr schlecht

Once you know how to describe your mood in German, just put that word in place of the highlighted word (i.e. 'gut') in the example. This holds good only if you are feeling good. In case you are unhappy, then don't add 'Danke, und …?' to your reply. In such a situation, the sentence "Auch gut, danke." would also be replaced with something like "Was ist denn los?" or "Warum denn?"

Chapter 5 "COUNTRIES & CITIES OF EUROPE" As you already know, German is primarily spoken in the continent of Europe. Therefore, as you proceed to learn German, it is important for you to know the important countries and the important cities of Europe. In this section, you will learn the names of important European countries and their capitals in English as well as in German. ENGLISH Countries & Cities in Europe COUNTRY CAPITAL Austria Vienna Belgium Brussels Czech Republic Prague Denmark Copenhagen England London Finland Helsinki France Paris Germany Berlin Greece Athens Iceland Reykjavík Ireland Dublin

GERMAN Länder & Städte in Europa LAND HAUPTSTADT Österreich Wien Belgien Brüssel Tschechische Republik Prag Dänemark Kopenhagen England London Finnland Helsinki Frankreich Paris Deutschland Berlin Griechenland Athen Island Reykjavík Irland Dublin

Italy Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey

Rome Vaduz Vilnius Luxembourg Amsterdam Oslo Warsaw Lisbon Bucharest Moscow Madrid Stockholm Bern Ankara

Italien Liechtenstein Litauen Luxemburg Niederlande Norwegen Polen Portugal Rumänien Russland Spanien Schweden die Schweiz die Türkei

Rom Vaduz Wilna Luxemburg Amsterdam Oslo Warschau Lissabon Bukarest Moskau Madrid Stockholm Bern Ankara

Chapter 6 "LOCATION & CAPITAL" Now, that we know the names of European countries and their capitals, let us learn how to answer some questions related to them in German. The following figure shows the location of the European countries in the continent of Europe.

Im Norden Dänemark/Kopenhagen Finnland/Helsinki Island/Reykjavík Norwegen/Oslo Schweden/Stockholm

Im Zentrum Im Westen England/London Frankreich/Paris Irland/Dublin

Deutschland/Berlin Österreich/Wien Belgien/Brüssel Tschechische Republik/Prag Liechtenstein/Vaduz Luxemburg/Luxemburg

Im Osten Litauen/Wilna Rumänien/Bukarest Russland/Moskau die Türkei/Ankara

Niederlande/Amsterdam Polen/Warschau die Schweiz/Bern

Im Süden Griechenland/Athen Italien/Rom Portugal/Lissabon Spanien/Madrid

You are now in a position to learn to answer questions related to the location and the capitals of countries in Europe. There are two basic questions related to a country, its capital & its location that you should be able to answer: GERMAN Frage: Wo liegt Deutschland? Antwort: Deutschland liegt im Zentrum von Europa. Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland? Antwort: Berlin ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland.

ENGLISH Question: Where is Germany located? Answer: Germany is located in the centre of Europe. Question: What is the capital of Germany? Answer: Berlin is the capital of Germany.

Here are some more examples to make things clear: Frage: Wo liegt Griechenland? Antwort: Griechenland liegt im Süden von Europa. Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von Griechenland? Antwort: Athen ist die Hauptstadt von Griechenland. Frage: Wo liegt die Türkei? Antwort: Die Türkei liegt im Osten von Europa. Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von der Türkei. Antwort: Ankara ist die Hauptstadt von der Türkei

Chapter 7 "COUNTRY, LANGUAGE & ITS PEOPLE"

In this Lesson, we will learn about the Languages and People of different countries and how are they called in German. As you are now aware of many of the country names in German, so in this chapter we are not providing you with the English corresponding terms. In case, you still face difficulty, please refer to Chapter 5. Country (Länder)

Deutschland Österreich die Schweiz Japan England die Türkei Frankreich Schweden Indien (Eng: India)

Languages (Sprachen)

Deutsch Deutsch Deutsch/ Italienisch/ Französisch Japanisch Englisch Türkisch Französisch Schwedisch Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Punjabi und viel mehr.

People (Menschen)

Deutscher Österreicher Schweizer Japaner Engländer Türke Franzose Schwede

Deutsche Österreicherin Schweizerin Japanerin Engländerin Türkin Französin Schwedin

Inder

Inderin

Chapter 8 "COUNTING" Numbers is something which you need every now and then in everyday conversation. You know the counting in English. Now, let us learn "How to Count in German". ZAHLEN 0 - null 1 - eins 3 - drei 5 - fünf 7 - sieben 9 - neun 11 - elf 13 - dreizehn 15 - fünfzehn 17 - siebzehn 19 - neunzehn 21 - einundzwanzig 23 - dreiundzwanzig 25 - fünfundzwanzig 27 - siebenundzwanzig 29 - neunundzwanzig

2 - zwei 4 - vier 6 - sechs 8 - acht 10 - zehn 12 - zwölf 14 - vierzehn 16 - sechzehn 18 - achtzehn 20 - zwanzig 22 - zweiundzwanzig 24 - vierundzwanzig 26 - sechsundzwanzig 28 - achtundzwanzig 30 - dreißig

40 - vierzig

50 - fünfzig

60 - sechzig 80 - achtzig

70 - siebzig 90 - neunzig

100 - (ein)hundert 1000 - (ein)tausend

200 - zweihundert 100000 - (ein)hunderttausend

As we now know the counting in German, we are in a position to answer some questions related to Numbers: ENGLISH Question: How old are you? Answer: I am twenty (20) years old. Question: Are you eleven (11) years old? Answer: No

GERMAN Frage: Wie alt sind Sie? Antwort: Ich bin zwanzig (20) Jahre alt. Frage: Sind Sie elf (11) Jahre alt? Antwort: Nein Frage: Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer? Question: What is your telephone number? Antwort: Meine Telefonnummer ist 2731895 (sieben und Answer: My telephone number is 2731895. zwanzig, ein und dreißig, neun und achtzig, fünf). Frage: Wie ist Ihre Handynummer? Question: What is your mobile number? Antwort: Meine Handynummer ist 9851678954 (acht und Answer: My mobile number is neunzig, ein und fünfzig, sieben und sechzig, neun und achtzig, 9851678954. vier und fünfzig).

Chapter 9 "DAYS OF THE WEEK" There are 7 days in a week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. These 7 days are divided into 'weekdays' and 'weekend'. The 5 days from Monday to Friday are called Weekdays. Whereas, Saturday and Sunday together form a weekend. In this chapter, we will learn the German synonyms for the weekdays and some other words related to a week. ENGLISH

GERMAN

Week Weekday Weekdays Working day Working days on weekdays

(die) Woche (der) Wochentag (die) Wochentage (der) Arbeitstag (die) Arbeitstage an Wochentagen

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Donnerstag Friday Saturday Sunday

Montag Dienstag Mittwoch Donnerstag Freitag Samstag Sonntag

Weekend on the weekend over the weekend ENGLISH GERMAN

(das) Wochenende am Wochenende over the weekend über das Wochenende

Day before yesterday vorgestern

Yesterday gestern

<-Today -> <- heute ->

Tomorrow morgen

Day after tomorrow übermorgen

Chapter 10 "MONTHS OF THE YEAR" A calendar year has 12 months beginning with January and ending with December. In this chapter, we will learn the names of these 12 months in German. ENGLISH

GERMAN

Year Years Month Months

(das) Jahr (die) Jahre (der) Monat (die) Monate

January February March April May June July August September October November December

(der) Januar (der) Februar (der) März (der) April (der) Mai (der) Juni (der) Juli (der) August (der) September (der) Oktober (der) November (der) Dezember

Chapter 11 SEASONS OF THE YEAR It is often said, "Seasons come and seasons go". But what are these seasons called in German, do you know? This is what you will learn in this chapter about 'Seasons of the year'

ENGLISH

GERMAN

Season

(die) Jahreszeit

Seasons

(die) Jahreszeiten

Spring

(der) Frühling

Summer

(der) Sommer

Autumn

(der) Herbst

Winter

(der) Winter

Monsoon

(der) Monsun

Temperature

(die) Temperatur

Weather

(das) Wetter

What is the temperature?

Wie ist die Temperatur?

Degree Celsius

Grad Celsius

maximum

maximal

minimum

minimal

Weather Forecast

(der) Wettervorhersage

Weather Forecasts

(die) Wettervorhersagen

Weather Report

(der) Wetterbericht

Weather Reports

(die) Wetterberichte

Shower

Schauer

thunderstorm

Gewitter

Rain

Regen

Snow

Schnee

FRAGE: How is the weather?

FRAGE: Wie ist das Wetter?

ANTWORT: The weather is…/It is ….

ANTWORT: Das Wetter ist…/ Es ist….

…lovely/ beautiful

…schön

…pleasant

…angenehm

…foggy

…neblig

…misty

…leicht neblig

…clear/bright

…heiter

…sunny

…sonnig

…cloudy

…bewölkt

…windy

…windig

…cloudy

…wolkig

…rainy

…regnerisch

…sticky

…schwül

…humid

…feucht

…cool

…kühl

…cold

…kalt

…wet

…nass

…ice-cold

…eiskalt

…unpleasant

…unangenehm

…very warm

…sehr warm

Chapter 12 "PERSONAL PRONOUNS" Pronouns are called "Pronomen" in German. So, Personal Pronouns become "Personal Pronomen". In this chapter, we will learn the various Personal Pronouns in German. Each Pronoun here is explained with help of an image describing that particular pronoun, so that you do not need the help of the English corresponding terms to learn these pronouns. SINGULAR

ich

PLURAL

wir

du (Informal YOU = TU in Hindi)

ihr

Sie (Formal YOU = AAP in Hindi)

Sie

er/sie/es

sie