GuestLevel 1 · Curious explorer
Activate Deutsches Institut für NormungNot applicable: this course uses Latin letters.
Activate International phonetic alphabet
Activate Articulatory phonetics
Learn German
Learn German with guided lessons in sounds, reading, vocabulary and grammar, plus interactive A1–A2 practice.
A1 · Sounds worth noticing
Ie is usually a long i sound; ei is a diphthong. Learn the other useful patterns.
- Ie and ei: order changes the sound — Read Liebe and Wein, then meet eu and äu.
- Ä, ö, ü: dots that change the vowel — Distinguish Mutter/Mütter and form front rounded vowels.
- Ch, sch, sp and st — Find the difference between ich, Buch and Schule.
- W, v, z, ß and word endings — Avoid a few familiar-letter traps before article practice.
A1 · Start with der, die, das
Learn noun gender and nominative articles, then the plural die.
- Der, die, das: things around you — Learn the article together with the whole noun.
- People, words and grammatical gender — Learn the article together with the whole noun.
- Singular or plural? Der, die or das — Mix singular nouns with plurals and choose their nominative article.
A1 · Akkusativ: the direct object
Masculine der becomes den. Complete the article in a full sentence.
- Der becomes den — Find the direct object and supply its article.
- Für, durch and ohne — Let a preposition tell you which case to use.
A1 · Dativ: recipients and locations
Practise dem, der and den with the complete noun already supplied.
- Dem, der, den: helping and giving — Complete articles for recipients and dative verbs.
- Mit dem Bus; auf dem or auf den? — Use dative after mit and aus; contrast location with destination.
A2 · Genitiv: belonging and possession
A first look at des and der, followed by a review of all four cases.
- Des or der: whose is it? — Meet genitive ownership with noun endings already written.
- Belonging: complete the article — Choose only des or der in complete noun phrases.
- Final review · all four cases — A shuffled mix: keep the words and complete just their articles.
Additional resources
Keep the article tables and sound patterns beside your lessons.