Learn German Easily

Check out my:   

• Basic Online Lessons (drop down menu)
• Free Email Course

With my free email course I’m going to teach you 7 very important rules and the storytelling method (also called TPRS method). It will enable your brain to think in German. Being able to think in German is what you need if you want to speak German fluently.

This method is suitable for:  

• Beginners  
• Intermediate and
• Advanced students

Similarities between German and English

German is not difficult!

German and English have the same roots

Did you know that there are similarities between German and English? As a matter of fact these two languages are linguistic siblings. They have a lot in common because they have the same roots.

OK – let’s start with some common words that are very similar in both languages to give you a first impression.

Please try this: Read and listen to the German words and sentences without looking at the English translation. Do you understand the meaning?

gut = good

es ist gut = it is good

guten Morgen = good morning

willkommen = welcome

guten Morgen und willkommen
= good morning and welcome

See, I told you. German is easy 🙂

Let’s check out some other similar words.

Again try this: Read and listen to the German words and sentences without looking at the English translation. Do you understand the meaning?

I suggest that you read and listen to the words several times because they are similar and that could confuse you a little in the beginning.

wollen = want

Sie = you

Wollen Sie? = Do you want?
(It means literally: Want you?) 

was = what

Was wollen Sie? = What do you want?
(literally: What want you?) 

Wasser = water

Wollen Sie Wasser? = Do you want water?
(literally: Want you water?) 

essen = to eat

trinken = to drink

Was wollen Sie essen?
= What do you want to eat?
(literally: What want you eat?) 

Was wollen Sie* trinken?
= What do you want to drink?
(literally: What want you drink?) 

*Note that the polite form of you (Sie) is always written with a capital “S”. I explain this in more detail in basic lesson No 11. 

Are you still with me? Great 🙂

Let’s use what we have learned so far and build some sentences with some similar verbs.

Again try this: Read and listen to the German words and sentences without looking at the English translation. Do you understand the meaning?

Wollen Sie trinken? = (drink)
= Do you want to drink?
(literally: Want you drink?) 

Wollen Sie essen? = (eat)
= Do you want to eat?
(literally: Want you eat?) 

Wollen Sie schwimmen? (swim)
= Do you want to swim?

Wollen Sie lernen? = (learn)

Wollen Sie studieren? = (study)

Wollen Sie kommen? = (come)

Wollen Sie parken? = (park)

Wollen Sie gehen? = (go)

Wollen Sie starten? = (start)

Wollen Sie tanzen? = (dance)

mit mir? = with me?

Wollen Sie mit mir* tanzen?
= Do you want to dance with me?

*Note that the word order in German and English is sometimes a little different. No German would have a problem if you said: “Wollen Sie tanzen mit mir?” but it would be correct to ask: “Wollen Sie mit mir tanzen?”

This is the reason why my rule No 1 is so important! If you sign up to my email course then I will teach you my “rules” in detail 🙂

Let’s add only one word to the sentences.

Again try this: Read and listen to the German words and sentences several times.

Wann wollen Sie … ? 
= When do you want to … ?
(literally: When want you … ?) 

Wann wollen Sie trinken?
= When do you want to drink?
(literally: When want you drink?) 

Wann wollen Sie essen?

Wann wollen Sie schwimmen? 

Wann wollen Sie lernen?

Wann wollen Sie studieren?

Wann wollen Sie kommen?

Wann wollen Sie gehen?

Wann wollen Sie starten?

Wann wollen Sie tanzen? 

Wann wollen Sie mit mir tanzen?
= When do you want to dance with me?

I, can, have and must are also similar in German

Again try this: Read and listen to the German words and sentences several times.

Ich kann = I can
Ich habe = I have
Ich bin = I am
Ich muss = I must 

Ich kann … = I can … 

Ich kann nicht. = I cannot.

Ich kann singen. = I can sing.

Ich kann nicht singen. = I cannot sing.

Ich kann schwimmen. = I can swim.

Ich kann nicht schwimmen.
= I cannot swim.

Ich kann surfen. = I can surf.

Ich kann nicht surfen. = I cannot surf.

Still on track?

Ja? – Super, das ist wundervoll. 🙂

= Yes? – Super, that is wonderful.

Let’s use what we have learned so far and build some sentences with some similar nouns.

Again try this: Read and listen to the German words and sentences without looking at the English translation. Do you understand the meaning?

Ich habe … = I have …  

Ich habe einen Traum. = I have a dream.

Ich habe ein Baby. = I have a baby.

Ich habe einen Computer. = I have a computer.

Ich habe einen Laptop. = I have a laptop.

Ich habe einen Hamster. = I have a hamster.

Ich habe einen* Ring. = I have a ring.

Ich habe ein* T-Shirt. = I have a T-shirt.

*Don’t worry about the different words (ein, einen) for “a” in German. I’m going to explain this in upcoming lessons.  

There is more!

See how easy it is to get started if you use similar words.

Try this: Try to guess what the following German sentences mean.

Ich muss … = I must (have to) …  

Ich muss gehen. = I must go.

Ich muss Sie finden. = I must find you.

Ich muss warten. = I must wait.

Ich muss meine Haare waschen.
= I must wash my hair.

Ich muss heute Nacht schlafen. 
= I must sleep tonight.

Would you have thought that German and English are so similar?

If we continue at this pace you will be able to speak German fluently by the end of the day. I’m just kidding! My students learn German very fast but not that fast 🙂

In my actual audio lessons and audio stories I use the storytelling method and a special “question and answer technique”. This technique will enable your brain to think in German step by step and you will develop a natural feeling for the German language. Students who practice with my lessons daily need only about 6 to 8 months until they speak German fluently!

OK – let’s go on and have a look at some other similar words.

Again try this: Read and listen to the German words and sentences a few times.

Ich bin ein Idiot. = I am an idiot.

Ich bin ein Manager. = I am a manager.

Ich bin ein Monster. = I am a monster.

Ich bin blond. = I am blond.

Ich bin cool. = I am cool.

Ich bin super cool. = I am super cool.

Ich bin fair. = I am fair.

Ich bin impotent. = I am impotent.

Ich bin intelligent. = I am intelligent.

Ich bin sexy. = I am sexy.

Ich bin unfair. = I am unfair.

Ich bin wild. = I am wild.

Do you want more?

With this introduction I wanted to show you that German and English are not so different. Of course German is a little more complicated and the grammar is difficult. However, you shouldn’t worry about the German grammar at all, because if you follow my 7 rules (email course) and practice with my storytelling method (TPRS) and my special “question and answer technique” you don’t need to learn grammar rules. Of course you could if you like grammar but you don’t have to. You will develop a natural feeling for the correct grammar. Your brain will be programmed to use German in a very natural way.

Now I wish you a lot of fun. You can do all my other free basic lessons on this website (check out the drop down boxes). And if you want to learn German in the fastest way possible I suggest that you sign up to my email course and read everything about the 7 rules very carefully.

If you want to learn more read on:

How do I learn German as a beginner or as an advanced student? 

The answer is easy, with a method called TPRS.

This method helps beginners but also advanced students. They use the same method but they focus on different things.

Beginners: 

If you are a beginner you should focus at first on: vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling. You will learn these things automatically and with fun if you read and listen to the sample lessons that you will receive with my email course.

Repeat all lessons many times. Repetition is the key to save new information in your long term memory. You can also try to answer the questions (in the question and answer parts) but you don’t need to answer them if you don’t feel comfortable or if you think they are too difficult for you.

Intermediate and advanced students: 

You already have a basic understanding of the German language. Now it is time to enable your brain to think in German. Being able to think in German is what you need if you want to speak German fluently.

The TPRS method and in particular the “question and answer technique” will help you to reach this goal. Sign up to my email course and focus in every lesson and audio story on the question and answer part. Your progress will be huge.

What is TPRS? 

You might ask yourself, “What the heck is TPRS?”

TPRS is the method I use (also called storytelling method).

TPRS is the short form for “Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling” and it is a great method for learning foreign languages.

If you have been learning a second language for some time, then you already know that learning can be very boring and exhausting and grammar is always the most boring part. And I bet you have heard that German grammar can be a little tricky and that German is not the easiest language to learn. You may wonder, how can I learn to speak German with TPRS?

Well, have you ever learned something very quickly in your life? 

I bet you did 🙂

And I guess it was something you really enjoyed, right? Actually this is the answer to the question:

How do I learn German fast?  

How is it possible to learn German easily and effortlessly?

The answer is very simple: You have to have fun!

This is why I use a method called TPRS to teach you German.

But let me explain this method a little:

As the name suggests, there is always a story involved. I’m going to tell you a little funny story (or just sentences in the beginning) in German/English (or partly translated into English) and afterwards I will ask questions about it.

This sounds very trivial, right?

But think about it for just one second. Maybe you already know that when you listen to something many times, you can remember it more easily. If you get a funny or interesting story, you would probably have no problem to repeat it more than one time (repetition is very important).

With every repetition you will deepen what you have learned. You will get to know many new words because you always get the English translation as well. But this is not all. You also need to know how to pronounce the German words. And therefore I always provide an audio recording with every lesson/story. You will hear a native speaker tell the story and ask the questions.

Now you are able to learn new words and the correct pronunciation. However, that doesn’t make you a fluent German speaker, right? That is why I also use the “question and answer technique”.

I will ask questions about the story but in a very special way. If you have listened to the story, you learned all necessary German words to answer the questions.

Actually the questions are created in a way that you just need to change the word order of the question a little to answer it correctly. And the most important thing is that you are actively involved. By answering questions your brain is active and will absorb the information just like that.

It is the most effective way to learn new things. If you just repeat sentences like in many language courses your brain is passive and will soon forget all new words.

What shall I tell you more?

I think the best way for you is to try it. After all, my German lessons on this website are free and if you sign up to my email course I will teach you the TPRS method in detail. There are 7 rules and if you follow these rules and use my storytelling method you will speak German fluently in a very short time.

I’m also in the process of translating this website into Spanish. If you speak Spanish please have a look:

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