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.
Take the checkYour foundation so far
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Speaking practice
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Foundation units
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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 — EI versus IE
Mouth position · Say the name of the second letter: EI → “eye”, IE → “ee”.
- zweitwo
- siebenseven
- Liebelove
Wein
wine
Wien
Vienna
One letter swap, one long train ride.
How does “sieben” start?
Aussprachetrainer
Zwei Gläser Wein in Wien.
Two glasses of wine in Vienna.
Mouth position · Say the name of the second letter: EI → “eye”, IE → “ee”.