Pre-A1 • No experience required
Die Grundlagen
German Foundations
Start with the sounds, patterns, and essential building blocks of spoken German.
New to German? Start at unit one. Coming back after a few years and unhappy with your accent? These ten units are also the fastest way to fix the sounds nobody corrected the first time.
Recommended
Start from the beginning
Unit 1: Das Alphabet. Around twelve minutes, no experience assumed.
BeginReturning learner
Test my pronunciation knowledge
Jump to the checkpoint. Whatever wobbles there tells you which unit to open.
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Die Einheiten
- 1Das AlphabetThe alphabetAll 26 letters plus Ä, Ö, Ü and ß — with their German names, not their English ones.12 min
- 2Die VokaleGerman vowelsA, E, I, O, U — and the short/long difference that changes the whole word.10 min
- 3Umlaute und ßUmlauts and ßÄ, Ö, Ü and the Eszett — the four characters English does not have.12 min
- 4Wichtige LautverbindungenImportant sound combinationsEI, IE, EU/ÄU, SCH, SP/ST, both CH sounds, Z, W, V, J, R and final devoicing.18 min
- 5Wortakzent und RhythmusWord stress and rhythmWhich syllable carries the weight — and why equal emphasis sounds robotic.10 min
- 6Zahlen und ZählenNumbers and counting0 to a million, the famous back-to-front twenties, and numbers you actually use at work.15 min
- 7Datum, Uhrzeit und GeldDates, time and moneyDays, months, the 24-hour clock, and paying with a decimal comma.14 min
- 8Erste wichtige AusdrückeEssential first expressionsThe survival set — greetings, thanks, apologies and asking people to slow down.10 min
- 9Nomen, Artikel und GroßschreibungNouns, articles and capitalizationWhy every noun is capitalized and why you never learn one without der, die or das.9 min
- 10Aussprache-CheckpointPronunciation checkpointOne pass through everything, ending with a recorded self-introduction.15 min
Two minutes, optional
Laut des Tages
Sound of the Day — The ich-Laut
Mouth position · Tongue high and forward, lips neutral. Whisper the h in “huge”.
- ichI
- nichtnot
- richtigcorrect
mich
me (front ch)
machen
to do (back ch)
Front versus back of the mouth.
The ich-Laut is closest to…
Aussprachetrainer
Ich glaube, das ist richtig.
I think that's correct.
Mouth position · Tongue high and forward, lips neutral. Whisper the h in “huge”.