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Lesson 1: Meet Jens — Your German language tour guide
Introductions, personal pronouns, formal vs informal address, and the important verb "to be"
Lesson 2: You already speak German! (kind of...)
English/German similarities, cognates, false friends, and the rise of "Denglisch"
Lesson 3: Attack of the German sounds and symbols!
How to pronounce German words: How to say those Ä, Ö, Ü symbols and that weird ß thing
Lesson 4: Introduction to German nouns (and nieces)
German nouns, noun genders, plural nouns, and all the different ways to say "the"
Lesson 5: German greetings and essentials
Greetings, yes and no, please and thank you: The bare minimum you need to survive!
Lesson 6: Introduction to German verbs
The structure of regular verbs, and the important verb "to have"
Lesson 7: Commands
How to give polite and informal commands
Lesson 8: Questions words
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How much? How many? How to form basic questions in German
Lesson 9: Smalltalk! Talking about yourself in German
How to say "my name is…", where you come from, and talk about things you like
Lesson 10: How to compare things
How to compare things in German (i.e., better, best) using comparatives and superlatives.
Lesson 11: Ordering in a restaurant
How to order food in a restaurant by saying "I would like..."
Lesson 12: Introduction to German cases
What "cases" are, why you need them, and how to use the nominative and accusative cases.
Lesson 13: The "lazy dative" case
What the "dative" is, when to use it, and why it's the laziest of all the cases.
Lesson 14: German numbers
How to count from zero to one billion in German
lesson 15: Slang and expressions
Some common slang and expressions to make your German sound more natural

Meet Jens: Your German language tour guide

introductions, personal pronouns, formal vs informal address, and the important verb "to be"

This is Jens. Your German tour guide.

Hold onto your Bratwürste, you're about to learn...

  • How to introduce yourself
  • The most important "little" words — I, you, he, she, they, it
  • How to talk about people using the verb "to be"

Meet Jens. He will be your German tour guide during this brief exploration of the German language. He’ll help you navigate the basics of German grammar and vocabulary.

Play
Hallo!
Hello!
Play
Mein Name ist Jens
My name is Jens
Play
Ich spreche Deutsch
I speak German


Jens just introduced himself. Don't be rude! Introduce yourself back!

My name is __________
Play
Mein Name ist _____

That wasn't so hard, was it? You're learning German already!

Poor Jens... He can't catch a break

Jens didn't pay much attention to his language classes in school, so he likes to stick to vacation spots where he can speak his native language, German. That leaves him with three main choices:

Play
Deutschland
Germany
Play
Österreich
Austria
Play
die Schweiz
Switzerland
Vague map showing location of German-speaking countries

Jens loves The Sound Of Music, so he decides to explore Austria. But when he goes to buy his train ticket, his credit card is declined...

Play
schade!
darn!

... I guess he's staying in Germany for a while.

That's great news for us because it means he can help us learn a little German (Deutsch). But that's bad news for Jens. Now he's stuck on his grandma's couch for the summer, and he doesn't exactly have the nicest things to say about his family...

Meet Jens's family

Cartoon of Jens' family

Jens is bringing you home to meet his family! In order to follow the family gossip, you'll need to know the little words for I, you, he, she, it, and they.

You'll also need to know this basic verb: to be. In German, notice the verb morphs slightly depending on who it's describing. (We'll get into that more later, but for now, take a look at this one verb.)

Verb: sein (to be)

I am
Play
ich bin
You are (informal)
Play
du bist
You are (formal)
Play
Sie sind
He is
Play
er ist
She is
Play
sie ist
It is
Play
es ist
All of you are (informal)
Play
ihr seid
All of you are (formal)
Play
sie sind
We are
Play
wir sind
They are
Play
sie sind

So how does Jens describe his family members when they aren't listening?

Jens describes his family

Jens, tell us about your brother.

Play
Er ist klein und faul.
He is short and lazy.

What about your sister?

Play
Sie ist schlank und dumm.
She is skinny and dumb.

How about your parents?

Play
Sie sind alt und mollig.
They are old and plump.

What about your house? How would you describe it?

Play
Es ist alt und schmutzig.
It is old and dirty.

Jens, do you have anything positive to say? How would you describe yourself?

Play
Ja! Ich bin ehrlich!
Yes! I am honest!

Take a second to figure out how you might describe some of your own family members using the new verb, to be. (Don't worry, we won't tell them what you say.)

  • Tell me about your brother _______________
  • Tell me about your sister _______________
  • Tell me about your parents _______________
  • Tell me about yourself _______________

Formal vs informal in German (how not to offend Jens's grandma!)

What’s all this formal and informal nonsense? Before Jens can bring you back to meet his grandma, we have to clear something up.

In English, we usually show respect to someone by changing the way to refer to them. We usually call someone “ma’am” or “sir” to show respect, but we still refer to them as you. Take these examples:

  • “Excuse me, ma’am. Do you speak German?”
  • “Excuse me, sir. Do you speak German?”
  • “Hey kid, do you speak German?”

But in German, they have a completely different word for you depending on whether you are speaking informally (to a friend) or formally (to a superior or a stranger). 

So if you want to ask a person if they speak German, you’d have to decide whether or not to use the formal or informal.

You (informal)
Play
du
You (formal)
Play
Sie
All of you (informal)
Play
ihr
All of you (formal)
Play
sie

So how would you ask Jens’s grandma if she speaks German without offending her? Which “you” pronoun would you use? 

Cartoon of a fierce looking Oma

That's right. You'd use Sie.

Play Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

(Don't forget it! You do not want to offend Oma!)

Next lesson

Free German Lessons

Lesson 1: Meet Jens — Your German language tour guide
Introductions, personal pronouns, formal vs informal address, and the important verb "to be"
Lesson 2: You already speak German! (Kind of...)
English/German similarities, cognates, false friends, and the rise of “Denglisch"
Lesson 3: Attack of the German sounds and symbols!
How to pronounce German words: How to say those Ä, Ö, Ü symbols and that weird ß thing
Lesson 4: Introduction to German nouns (and nieces)
German nouns, noun genders, plural nouns, and all the different ways to say "the"
Lesson 5: German greetings and essentials
Greetings, yes and no, please and thank you: The bare minimum you need to survive!
Lesson 6: Introduction to German verbs
The structure of regular verbs, and the important verb "to have"
Lesson 7: Commands
How to give polite and informal commands
Lesson 8: Questions
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How much? How many? How to form basic questions in German
Lesson 9: Smalltalk! Talking about yourself in German
How to say "my name is…", where you come from, and talk about things you like
Lesson 10: How to compare things
How to compare things in German (i.e., better, best) using comparatives and superlatives
Lesson 11: Ordering in a restaurant
How to order food in a restaurant by saying "I would like..."
Lesson 12: Introduction to German cases
What "cases" are, why you need them, and how to use the nominative and accusative cases
Lesson 14: German numbers
How to count from zero to one billion in German
Lesson 13: The "lazy dative" case
What the "dative" is, when to use it, and why it's the laziest of all the cases
Lesson 15: How to sound cool
Some common slang and expressions to make your German sound more natural

German Children's Stories

Henry Hühnchen
Henry Chicken (Chicken Little)
Herr Vogel und Frau Wal
Mr Bird and Ms Whale
Die Drei Kleinen Schweinchen
The Three Little Pigs
Goldlöckchen und die Drei Bären
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Rotkäppchen
Little Red Riding Hood

German course reviews

Rocket German review
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