Courses / German / Basics

German Basics

Letters and sounds: how German is written and said, in six lessons.

This course

$2.99a month

6 lessons; the first is free. Or All courses: every course in every language, $9 a month or $59 a year.

Start the first lesson

The lessons

Lessons marked Free are open to everyone; the rest open with this course or All courses. Early access: a native speaker is still checking them.

  1. 1The German alphabet
    The 26 letters plus ä, ö, ü and ß, their names, a word for each, and spelling aloud.    Free
  2. 2Vowels, long and short
    Every vowel long or short, the umlauts, and the endings English speakers drop.    Plan
  3. 3Letter pairs
    ei and ie, eu, au, the two sounds of ch, sch, sp and st, and a few more pairs.    Plan
  4. 4Consonants unlike English
    w, v, z, j, the buzzing s, the end of a word, the German r, silent h and th.    Plan
  5. 5Writing German
    Capital nouns, ß or ss, German quotation marks, typing ä ö ü ß, and compound words.    Plan
  6. 6Stress and reading aloud
    Where the beat falls, long words, a tongue twister, and your first paragraph.    Plan