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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 high-
quality 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.

PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH MEANING OF

LETTER EXAMPLES
THE LETTER THE EXAMPLES
Aa [ɑ:] Apfel Apple
Bb [be:] Buch Book
Cc [tse:] Chef Boss
Dd [de:] Deutsch German
Ee [e:] Elefant Elephant
Ff [εf:] Familie Family
Gg [ge:] Gast Guest
Hh [hɑ:] Huhn Hen
Ii [i:] Insel Island
Jj [jɔt] Jahr Year
Kk [kɑ:] Kaffee Coffee
Ll [εl] Land Country
Mm [εm] Mutter Mother
Nn [εn] Nacht Night
Oo [o:] Ohr Ear
Pp [pe:] Pfau Peacock
Qq [ku:] Qualität Quality
Rr [εr] Regen Rain
Ss [εs] Schiff Ship
Tt [te:] Tisch Table
Uu [u:] Unterschrift Signature
Vv [fɑʊ] Vater Father
Ww [ve:] Wasser Water
Xx [ɪks] Xylophon Xylophone
Yy [ʼʏpsɪlɔn] Yacht Yacht
Zz [tsεt] Xylophon Xylophone

Straße, Fuß
[This letter is always in lower
ß (ß = ss) [εsʼtsεt] case and never comes at the
Street, Foot
beginning of the sentence.]
Ää [ε:] Äquator Equator
Öö [ø:] Öl Oil
Üü [y:] Überraschung 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 GERMAN
Hello! Hallo!
Hi! Hi!
Good day! Guten Tag!
Good morning! Guten Morgen!
Good afternoon! Guten Nachmittag!
Good evening! Guten Abend!
Good night! Gute Nacht!
Good bye! Auf Wiedersehen!
Bye! Tschüss!
See you soon! Bis bald!
See you later! Bis später!
Bis Montag! (Usually said on Friday/Saturday
See you on Monday!
when leaving the school/office for weekend)

ETIQUETTE
ENGLISH GERMAN
Please! Bitte!
Thank you! Danke!
Thanks a lot! Danke schön!
Thank you very much!/Many thanks! Vielen Dank!
You are welcome! Bitte schön! (Reply to "Danke schön!")
You are welcome! Nichts zu danken!
It was my pleasure. Es war mir ein Vergnügen.
My pleasure! Gern geschehen!
Excuse me please! Entschuldigen Sie, bitte!
Excuse me! Entschuldigung!
Yes, please! Ja, bitte!
I am sorry. Es tut mir leid.
I am sorry. Entschuldigen Sie, bitte!
Sorry! Entschuldigung!
No, thanks! Nein, danke!
May I... ? Darf ich...
I beg your pardon? Wie bitte?
Pardon? Wie bitte?
Enjoy the meal! Guten Appetit!
Take Care! Machs gut!
Have a nice day! Schönen Tag noch!
Have a good weekend! Schönes Wochenende!
Have fun! Viel Spaß!
Enjoy! 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? [Eng: How are you?]

B: Gut, danke. Und Ihnen? [Eng: Fine, thank you. And you?]
A: Auch gut, danke. [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 GERMAN
Countries & Cities in Europe Länder & Städte in Europa
COUNTRY CAPITAL LAND HAUPTSTADT
Austria Vienna Österreich Wien
Belgium Brussels Belgien Brüssel
Czech Republic Prague Tschechische Republik Prag
Denmark Copenhagen Dänemark Kopenhagen
England London England London
Finland Helsinki Finnland Helsinki
France Paris Frankreich Paris
Germany Berlin Deutschland Berlin
Greece Athens Griechenland Athen
Iceland Reykjavík Island Reykjavík
Ireland Dublin Irland Dublin
 Italy Rome Italien Rom
Liechtenstein Vaduz Liechtenstein Vaduz
Lithuania Vilnius Litauen Wilna
Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxemburg Luxemburg
Netherlands Amsterdam Niederlande Amsterdam
Norway Oslo Norwegen Oslo
Poland Warsaw Polen Warschau
Portugal Lisbon Portugal Lissabon
Romania Bucharest Rumänien Bukarest
Russia Moscow Russland Moskau
Spain Madrid Spanien Madrid
Sweden Stockholm Schweden Stockholm
Switzerland Bern die Schweiz Bern
Turkey Ankara die Türkei 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 Deutschland/Berlin Im Osten

Österreich/Wien
England/London Belgien/Brüssel Litauen/Wilna
Frankreich/Paris Tschechische Republik/Prag Rumänien/Bukarest
Irland/Dublin Liechtenstein/Vaduz Russland/Moskau
Luxemburg/Luxemburg 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 ENGLISH
Frage: Wo liegt Deutschland? Question: Where is Germany located?
Antwort: Deutschland liegt im Zentrum von Europa. Answer: Germany is located in the centre of Europe.
Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland? Question: What is the capital of Germany?
Antwort: Berlin ist die Hauptstadt von Deutschland. 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) Languages (Sprachen) People (Menschen)

Deutschland Deutsch Deutscher Deutsche

Österreich Deutsch Österreicher Österreicherin
die Schweiz Deutsch/ Italienisch/ Französisch Schweizer Schweizerin
Japan Japanisch Japaner Japanerin
England Englisch Engländer Engländerin
die Türkei Türkisch Türke Türkin
Frankreich Französisch Franzose Französin
Schweden Schwedisch Schwede Schwedin
Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi,
Indien (Eng: India) Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Inder Inderin
Punjabi und viel mehr.

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 2 - zwei
3 - drei 4 - vier
5 - fünf 6 - sechs
7 - sieben 8 - acht
9 - neun 10 - zehn
11 - elf 12 - zwölf
13 - dreizehn 14 - vierzehn
15 - fünfzehn 16 - sechzehn
17 - siebzehn 18 - achtzehn
19 - neunzehn 20 - zwanzig
21 - einundzwanzig 22 - zweiundzwanzig
23 - dreiundzwanzig 24 - vierundzwanzig
25 - fünfundzwanzig 26 - sechsundzwanzig
27 - siebenundzwanzig 28 - achtundzwanzig
29 - neunundzwanzig 30 - dreißig
40 - vierzig 50 - fünfzig

60 - sechzig 70 - siebzig
80 - achtzig 90 - neunzig

100 - (ein)hundert 200 - zweihundert

1000 - (ein)tausend 100000 - (ein)hunderttausend

As we now know the counting in German, we are in a position to answer some questions related to Numbers:

ENGLISH GERMAN
Question: How old are you? Frage: Wie alt sind Sie?
Answer: I am twenty (20) years old. Antwort: Ich bin zwanzig (20) Jahre alt.
Question: Are you eleven (11) years old? Frage: Sind Sie elf (11) Jahre alt?
Answer: No 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 (die) Woche
Weekday (der) Wochentag
Weekdays (die) Wochentage
Working day (der) Arbeitstag
Working days (die) Arbeitstage
on weekdays an Wochentagen

Monday Montag
Tuesday Dienstag
Wednesday Mittwoch
Thursday Donnerstag Donnerstag
Friday Freitag
Saturday Samstag
Sunday Sonntag
Weekend (das) Wochenende
on the weekend am Wochenende
over the weekend over the weekend über das Wochenende

ENGLISH Day before yesterday Yesterday <-Today -> Tomorrow Day after tomorrow
GERMAN vorgestern gestern <- heute -> morgen 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 (das) Jahr
Years (die) Jahre
Month (der) Monat
Months (die) Monate

January (der) Januar

February (der) Februar
March (der) März
April (der) April
May (der) Mai
June (der) Juni
July (der) Juli
August (der) August
September (der) September
October (der) Oktober
November (der) November
December (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 PLURAL

ich wir
du (Informal YOU = TU in Hindi) ihr

Sie (Formal YOU = AAP in Hindi) Sie

er/sie/es sie