I learnt German in high-school as second language.
You have to drill vocabulary and in case of nouns with gender. It's important for grammar. Then drill conjugation. Then drill declension. And that's about it.
Tschüß!
Yesterday was the day I began to learn German.
What tools should I use? How should I go about doing this? What are the best methods? Etc.
To build a strong foundation in German, balance structured lessons with daily language exposure. Start with interactive apps, build flashcards for high-frequency vocabulary, and reinforce your learning through reading and listening. The Best Methods for Beginners
The Input Method (Comprehensible Input): Focus heavily on reading and listening. Your brain will absorb sentence structures and vocabulary naturally without getting bogged down by endless grammar rules.
Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS): This is the most efficient way to memorize vocabulary. Instead of cramming, review words right before you are about to forget them.
Shadowing: Listen to native audio and repeat what they say out loud. This helps your mouth get used to the rhythm and unique sounds of German.
To build a strong foundation in German, balance structured lessons with daily language exposure. Start with interactive apps, build flashcards for high-frequency vocabulary, and reinforce your learning through reading and listening.
The Best Methods for Beginners
The Input Method (Comprehensible Input): Focus heavily on reading and listening. Your brain will absorb sentence structures and vocabulary naturally without getting bogged down by endless grammar rules.
Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS): This is the most efficient way to memorize vocabulary. Instead of cramming, review words right before you are about to forget them.
Shadowing: Listen to native audio and repeat what they say out loud. This helps your mouth get used to the rhythm and unique sounds of German.
Top Tools to Use
Vocabulary & Flashcards: Download Anki or Quizlet to practice the most common 1,000 German words.
Structured Apps: Use Duolingo for building a daily habit, or Busuu for bite-sized, comprehensive grammar and video lessons.
Reading Practice: Use the Readle app or LangZapp to read beginner-friendly stories.
Listening Practice: Listen to podcasts like Coffee Break German or Slow German on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Speaking Practice: Once you know the basics, use iTalki or Preply to hire affordable community tutors for conversational practice.
what languagees are similar to German?
German is part of the West Germanic language family, making its closest linguistic relatives Dutch, Yiddish, Frisian, and Afrikaans. While English is also a Germanic language, it has absorbed heavy Romance and Latin influences, making it a distant cousin rather than a sibling. 2. The Distant Relatives (North Germanic)
Scandinavian Languages (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish): These share the same ancient "Proto-Germanic" roots as German, but diverged into the North Germanic branch. While their grammar has simplified significantly compared to German, you will find countless shared cognates and similar phrasing logic. Shared Structural Features
Verb Placement: Similar to German, languages like Dutch and Norwegian employ the V2 (verb-second) rule in main clauses.
Compound Words: German is famous for mashing words together (e.g., Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgaben), a compounding feature highly prevalent in Dutch and Swedish as well.
If you are looking to learn a language and want to leverage similarities to German, Dutch or Afrikaans will give you the most familiar vocabulary and grammatical foundation. Explore language learning resources like Duolingo or Babbel to easily start comparing these linguistic siblings.
ethnic slurs in german
Terms used to refer to Germans—and words used by Germans against other ethnicities—vary widely by region and historical context. The following terms outline the most prominent slurs, historical pejoratives, and cultural stereotypes:
Slurs for Germans
Kraut: The most common English-language slur for a German. It originated during World War I and World War II, derived from the traditional German diet of sauerkraut.
Jerry / Fritz / Heinie: Slang terms used primarily by Allied soldiers during WWI and WWII to refer to German soldiers or citizens, stemming from common German given names.
Hun: A highly derogatory term used in Allied propaganda during the early 20th century, comparing Germans to the violent nomadic empire.
Squarehead: An English and Scandinavian pejorative for Germans.
German Regional Terms & Stereotypes
Piefke: A derogatory term used in Austria to refer to northern Germans, often implying they are arrogant or loud.
Mof: A highly offensive Dutch and Belgian term for Germans.
Gummihals: A pejorative used in Switzerland for Germans.
Saupreiß: An insulting regional term in Bavaria and Austria for Prussians (northern Germans).
Kartoffel (Potato): Historically a mild teasing term in Germany, this is sometimes used as a slur for ethnic Germans by immigrant communities.
Slurs Used By Germans
Kanake: A deeply offensive German ethnic slur used against people of non-German appearance, particularly those of Turkish or Balkan descent. It is sometimes reappropriated by youth cultures.
Polake / Polacke: A derogatory term used in Germany for Polish people.
Szwab: A Polish and Czech ethnic slur directed at Germans.
Ich werde dich ins Bett bringen und meinen Willen mit dir machen.
Ich werde dich schmerzen, zittern und schwitzen lassen, bis du stöhnen und stöhnen wirst.
Ich werde dich dazu bringen, mich anzuflehen, damit aufzuhören!
Wenn ich fertig bin, wirst du tagelang schwach sein!
Mit freundlichen Grüßen The Grippe!
I am firmly in the inputmaxxing camp. (ie just find anything interesting and easy in German and start mining there)
it's probably a very cognitive taxing strat though
I am more or less conversational in Japanese rn even though I've been "learning" it this way for almost a decade
But I'm decent enough to watch and read most stuff comfortably
