I've been reading Langenscheidt Kurzgrammatik Französisch. It contains a section with tips and tricks for learning the grammar of any foreign language, and it says some really smart stuff (the book is really good in general). Anyway, I'm posting here one tip that was exciting for me to read, because it encapsulates what got me through German grammar (if you need to, you can use DeepL to translate it):

Schreiben Sie zusammengehörende Grammatikregeln auf einem großen Bogen Papier, knapp und präzise, eventuell mit Zeichnungen, Verweisen und kurzen Beispielen überschaubar zusammen und erstellen Sie Ihren persönlichen Lageplan. Mithilfe sogenannter mind maps gewinnen Sie schon durch das bloße Erstellen des Plans ganz schnell Einblick in die Struktur der Sprache und verschaffen sich einen schnellen übersichtlichen Gesamtüberblick. Ob Sie dieses Papier dann auch irgendwo hinhängen oder nicht, ist nicht ausschlaggebend, denn Sie haben dann ja den Plan schon im Kopf.

Wo sollte "nicht" stehen?

A) Die Ärzte, die diese konkrete Impfung durchführten, würden also unausweichlich nicht von Hunden gemocht, ohne selber daran schuld zu sein

B) Die Ärzte, die diese konkrete Impfung durchführten, würden also unausweichlich von Hunden nicht gemocht, ohne selber daran schuld zu sein.

Mein Wissen sagt mir, dass man "nicht" vor einem Präpositionalobjekt stellt - demnach wäre (A) richtig. Mein Gefühl sagt mir aber: (B). Die Variante (A) empfinde ich vielmehr als Sondernegation denn eine Satzverneinung.

Da es so einen Widerspruch gibt zwischen meinem Wissen und dem, was mir die Intuition sagt, fällt mir noch ein, dass ich "von Hunden" vielleicht falsch als Präpositionalobjekt eingestuft habe? Wenn man da es in Wirklichkeit mit keinem Präpositionalobjekt zu tun hat, dann gibt es somit auch keinen Widerspruch zwischen der mir bekannten Regel und dem, was die Intuition sagt?

i already know im thinking too far ahead but i feel like its a necessary question. when you are reading, writing or listening to your tl, are you converting the words into your native language or are you truly just using the words. for example imnative english speaker and when i speak read or write i dont actively think of what ..... word means i just know it, where as in school id speak french but rather than just knowing what to say i had to constantly convert each word from english in my head into french.

sorry if its a dumb question...

Hallo ihr alle ❤️ Könnt ihr bitte erklären was (nur zu) bedeutet ? und auf welche Abkürzung bezieht sich das ? _ Ich habe manche Fragen an Sie !

• nur zu meine Liebe nur zu

1.Wie kann man verstärkt sagen, dass etwas wenig ist und jedoch viel bringt? - sogar, selbst, alleine, schon* ?

2.Wo landet dann "schon"? - eng bei diesen Wörtern (a) oder beim Resultat (b)

"ALLEINE schon (a) / SOGAR ALLEINE / SOGAR schon alleine das genügt, um das zu erreichen"

"Schon ALLEINE dieses eine Wort ist genug / SOGAR ALLEINE dieses eine Wort ist SCHON (b) genug"

?

How common it is to replace pronouns with der/die etc when referring to people? I know it's grammatically correct so I just would like to know how often native speakers actually use them. Are there any specific rules about it or it's a matter of preference?

Also, is it appropriate to use them in formal writing and speaking?

What youtube channels and podcast do you recommend for improving Listening section in B1 and B2 level ?

I studied non-stop for weeks and just finished my exam. I kicked butt on the grammar and reading. Listening was easy. The writing part was terrible.

I practiced non-stop on writing Beschwerde Brief and ended up with a topic: You visited a museum with free admission. Now you are unhappy. Seriously, the whole point of the brief is to ask for money back or threaten legal involvement. I def. scored badly here. There is really nothing you can complain about. I told them that the employees were unfriendly and the closing times were wrong.

Mündliche Prüfung: I was a nervous wreck and I had practiced for weeks. Teil 1 I did amazing. Teil 2 was a topic I understand really well and I took great notes. Teil 3 is not brain surgery. The problem was that the person I was partnered with had a really strong accent. I could barely understand anything he said. Teil 2: I choked. I practiced having a discussion with postive/negative aspects of a topic. He just started explaining what the entire subject was etc. The procter interrupted him and asked me to add what he missed. FFS. I understand NOTHING: We were supposed to go back and forth. I just fell apart and finally added my personal experience with the topic. Teil 3: We worked as a team.

Now I get to wait 4 weeks for the results. Schriftliche I def. passed. Mündliche I am not certain. It's 50/50 but I likely failed. I am so disappointed.

Idk if it's just me but whenever I heard Handy it's pronounced as if it had the ä umlaut (Händy) Am I just crazy and imaginating things or does this really happen?

Hello,

I had German in high school for 4 year, but I truly didn't learn much and barely remember anything actively. However, when I read something I can kinda figure out a lot of things and going through different grammar rules in A1-B1 I do have some memory of learning it / seeing it before. In over 2 weeks my semester in university starts and I'm taking a mandatory course that's counting on us knowing German on B1 level (= after we finish high school here that's the level we should be on). I took a really long online test and it put me on mid-A2. It's basically German for social studies so will probably focus on academic things related to majors in this field.

My question is - what can I do to come to the class as prepared as possible? What should I focus on? Any tips for my routine? I have about 2-3 hours every day to really study.

Thanks

Hallo, ich bin 14, ich interessiere mich für Deutsch und ich habe für neun Monaten deutsch gelernt. Aber ich habe gemerkt, dass ich lerne sehr langsam gegenüber anderen Leute. Ich bin momentan kaum A2-b1 Niveau und ich möchte zu fragen, wie lernte ihr deutsch? Wie kann ich mich verbessern?

(Es tut mir leid, ob ich viele Fehler gemacht habe.)

Hello everyone, as you can already guess, I'm planning to take the B2 exam. For that reason I figured I needed someone to practice the sprechen part with, if anyone is interested I would be glad, thank you! My time zone : CET

I studied German a long time ago and am getting back into it. I had taken classes in high school and college and at the Goethe Institute. Now I am using Babel and listening to an audio book by Paul Nobel.

I am having trouble with locating certain words in the sentence structure most used in Paul Nobel's book. For example: I will do it tomorrow -->

Ich werde es morgen tun.

But why not

Ich werde morgen es tun.

What is the difference (besides maybe I would sound unhinged) and how do I remember this and get it right consistently?

Wenn wir eine Ellipse verwenden wollen, ist es bei zwei Verben zulässig (A), dass das Personalpronomen beim zweiten Verb und nicht dem ersten weggelassen wird? Wie wäre es zum Beispiel beim Satz: "Das Lebenswerk von Franz Kafka mag ich und schätze." ?

Oder ist das IMMER falsch (B), und muss immer das Personalpronomen des ERSTEN Verbs weggelassen werden? - "Das Lebenswerk von Franz Kafka mag und schätze ich."

Oder (C) sind beide Varianten an sich korrekt und es kommt einfach auf den Kontext an, welche von ihnen die richtige bzw. die "richtigere" ist? - zum Beispiel, wenn der Kontext wäre, dass ich betonen möchte, dass nicht jemand anderer, sondern ich das tue, dann würde ich das Personalpronomen definitiv nicht beim zweiten, sondern beim ersten Veb weglassen: "Das Lebenswerk von Franz Kafka mag und schätze ICH [und nicht du].").

Was ist richtig - A, B oder C?

I am watching peppa wutz and papa wuts says, "Zwiebeln stehen auf der Liste." I can't find any resources as to why they use stehen here and not the verb sein. Why is it not, "Zwiebeln sind auf der Liste" ? Maybe I am not googling the right thing, but any resources or links are welcome! Thank you in advance.

Answer: one of the definitions for stehen is something is written, printed, read somewhere (link). I will be buying a dictionary!

I had an exam and one of the tasks was: "Stellen Sie Fragen zu den markierten Wörtern". (For example, the sentence is "Christian reist mit dem Flugzeug ins Ausland", where "mit dem Flugzeug" is underlined, and you are expected to write "Womit reist Christian ins Ausland?") Here is the sentence: Kollege Müller arbeitet an diesem Projekt seit einem Monat. "Seit einem Monat" is underlined. And I wrote: "Wie lange arbeitet Kollege Müller an diesem Projekt?". My teacher marked "wie lange" as incorrect.

TL;DR

• I’m 50 days (50 hours) and 1,000 words (Memrise) into brute-forcing the German B1 written and spoken exam. It appears to be working well - I’m already able to follow parts of conversations
• I’m budgeting another 150 days (150 hours) for Memrise which will get me to 4,500 words
• Then focus shifts to 100 days (100 hours) of Cornelsen textbooks (Das Leben A1, A2, B1) for fine-tuning (7 pages per day)

I have an asset at home - girlfriend with B2 level German. My plan is to speak 80% of the time with her in German when I hit 2,000 words in Memrise

Background

I’ve been living in Zurich, Switzerland for four years (from NZ originally), but I’ve only recently started learning German seriously. My two main reasons:

1. Swiss C Permit – I need B1 written, A2 spoken for my application in October 2025, but I’m aiming for B1 in both.
2. My 5-month-old daughter – I want to be fluent before she starts speaking so I can interact with her and her friends, even if they only speak German. I don’t want to miss out on anything, make her life more difficult because I can’t speak German.

The Pillars of My Learning System:

• Brute-force vocabulary learning: No matter what way you cut it, you need to remember words! I’m going to brute-force it. I’m using Memrise to rapidly build my vocab.
• No classes, no tutors: Traveling, scheduling, paying - it’s all a waste of time for me. I study alone at my standing desk each morning, often with my daughter in a baby harness.
• Spaced repetition: I heavily rely on Memrise’s SRS system - the review queue ensures I keep seeing words until I master them. I don’t need to track what I know manually - it automatically resurfaces words at the right intervals.
• Whiteboard reinforcement: I write difficult words in real-time during review sessions to engage a different part of my brain for memory retention.
• Speaking practice later: I will brute-force vocab first (goal: 2,000+ words) before additionally talking in German at home with my girlfriend (B2 level) most of the time.
• Dopamine-hacked focus sessions: I use nicotine pouches (Zyn/Snus) to make me crave (I am addicted) my hour of German learning a day. I have two per day—one during German study and one during a workout.

Why Memrise?

Memrise is an SRS (Spaced Repetition System) platform that forces active recall rather than passive recognition. By default, it offers various learning modes, but I have customized my settings to be as strict as possible.

Custom Settings I Use in Memrise:

1. Max review words per session: 50 (default is lower).
2. Max new words per session: 10 (default is lower).
3. Typing-only tests: No multiple-choice, no listening-only—just full, precise recall.
4. No "Speed Review" or "Difficult Words" feature: I only use Learn New Words and Review Words—everything else is unnecessary.
5. German Keyboard Practice: I switch my MacBook Air to Swiss-German keyboard mode while doing Memrise, so I also learn to type in German properly.

Additional Memrise Features (That I Don't Use):

• AI-powered conversation practice – Lets you chat with an AI in German.
• Native speaker videos – You can watch clips of Germans using phrases in context.

How Spaced Repetition Works in Memrise

A learning session presents a word multiple ways. Once I answer correctly six times, the word is considered "learned" and enters the review queue.

Review Cycle (SRS Intervals):

1. 4 hours later – First review
2. 1 day later – Second review
3. 1 week later – Third review
4. 1 month later – Fourth review
5. 6 months later – Long-term retention

If I get a word wrong during a review session, it drops back to the start of the cycle (4-hour interval) and must work its way back up. On any given day I have 100-150 words to review.

My Daily Learning Routine (1 Hour Per Day, Every Day)

🚀 6:00 AM – Wake Up With My Daughter

• My daughter wakes up at 6 AM, and I take care of her while my girlfriend sleeps in until 10 AM.
• I feed her, change her, and get her settled for a morning nap.

🍼 7:30 AM – Baby in the Harness, German Time

• Around 7:30 AM, she’s in the baby carrier and usually falls asleep for an hour.
• This is prime study time—I stand at my desk and start my Memrise session.
• I allow myself one nicotine pouch (Snus/Zyn) only during German study, making me actively look forward to it every day.
• This is a massive dopamine hack—I’ve hardwired my brain to associate language learning with nicotine, which makes it feel rewarding instead of boring.

🧠 Step 1: Clear My Review Queue (Typing Tests Only)

• I never learn new words before clearing my review queue.
• Every word must be typed out perfectly with capitalization, umlauts, and no hints.

✍️ Step 2: Whiteboard Method for Hard Words (Real-Time Writing)

• If I get a word wrong, Memrise immediately shows me the correct answer.
• At that exact moment, I pivot and write the word on my whiteboard next to my desk.
• This creates an extra reinforcement layer—I see it again in Memrise later, but writing it immediately strengthens retention.
• The words stay on the board all day—sometimes I glance at them, but the real benefit is from physically writing them down in the moment.

📖 Step 3: Learn New Words (Two Scenarios Per Day)

• Once my review queue is clear, I start learning new words.
• Two full Memrise scenarios per day (~10-20 words per scenario).
• 476 scenarios total → ~5,300 words total.
• I say every word out loud as I type it, mimicking native pronunciation.

Speaking Practice – When & How?

Memrise is amazing for vocabulary but doesn’t instantly make you fluent in conversation.

Speaking Plan:

1. Brute-force vocab first (Memrise, goal: 3,000+ words).
2. Around 2,000 words in, start speaking 80–90% German at home with my girlfriend.
3. Last 3 months before the exam → no new words on Memrise, only review and switch focus to Cornelsen textbooks (Das Leben A1, A2, B1) for grammar fine-tuning.

Memrise teaches grammar passively, but the textbooks will fill in any gaps before the exam.

I want to use a flash card app for vocabularly that also includes an audio option, to listen to the pronounciation of the word. Since Anki doesn't have that what do you guys recommend?

It would also be nice if you could choose the set of the words you want to learn. For me since I'm a beginner I want to learn starting from the basics.

Hallo, ich denke daran, einige linguistische/literarische Forschungen zu lesen, um meine Forschungfähigkeiten zu verbessern. Dementsprechend kann ich das zu meiner für Lesen angegebenen Zeit zählen?

Und wie viele Stunden muss ich täglich deutsche Romane, Zeitschriften, etc.. im Allgemeinen lesen?
PS: Korrigiert mich bitte, wenn sich Schreibfehler befinden! Das würde mich freuen!

An dieser Stelle wird deutlich, wie eng das Bindungs- und das Autonomiebedürfnis miteinander verwoben sind: Sie bedingen einander sogar. Wer das Gefühl hat, um seiner selbst willen geliebt zu werden, hat auch das Gefühl, für seine Rechte eintreten zu dürfen und seinen eigenen, individuellen Lebensweg beschreiten zu können.

Aufgrund solch einfacher Glaubenssätze schätze ich ab, was ich von anderen Menschen erwarte. Sie geben mir die Antwort auf die grundlegendste aller Fragen: Was muss ich tun, um geliebt zu werden? Muss ich überhaupt etwas dafür tun oder werde ich um meiner selbst willen geliebt?

Quelle: Wer wir sind (ein Buch von Stephanie Stahl, Psychologie)

Die erste Frage: die Bedeutung. Da kann man die Bedeutung aus dem Kontext herauslesen, aber sonst würde ich diese Worte woanders nicht verstehen.

Auf redensarten-index.de steht: "ohne besonderen Grund; ohne erkennbaren Zweck; als Selbstzweck"

Auf Duden steht: um jemandes, einer Sache willen (jemandem, einer Sache zuliebe; mit Rücksicht auf jemanden, etwas; im Interesse einer Person, Sache)

Die zwei Erklärungen sind nicht gleich.

Die zweite Frage: Grammatik. Wieso ist "willen" kleingeschrieben? Ich hätte "Willen" erwartet. Wieso Genitiv? Dieser Ausdruck sieht für mich total durcheinander aus. Um + Genitiv (und nicht Akkusativ, wie sonst) + selbst (was bringt dieses Wort?) + kleingeschriebener Wille(n). Was ist denn hier los?

EDIT: Bitte auf Deutsch. Offensichtlich lese ich schon Bücher auf Deutsch. Ich bin nicht hier, um Englisch zu lernen :)

Mach dieser Satz Sinn? Was sind andere Wörter aus dem Haus dieses Adjektives ?

Ich suche für das Buch "DSH-Training: Text- und Übungsbuch zur Vorbereitung 2007" mit rotem Hintergrund. konnen sie mir die Links schicken? Danke

I'm looking at moving to Germany soon. I had planned to finish my degree in the states, but in light of recent events happening over here (Funding being cut off, crazy right wing policies, etc.), I may need to move sooner than expected. If I were to continue my education in Germany, are there any colleges that allow you to take a test to skip over courses? I'd rather not have to take basic math when I'm doing calculus already. Same goes for other subjects too. If I have to, I will. But I'd rather take an exam or something similar to skip over courses that I am already knowledgable on to shorten my time spent in Uni.

I’ve read that immersion is the best way to learn something so how about video games. What are some video games that are good for different levels of German learner ?

I’m asian but I was born and raised in Austria and used to live there until I graduated secondary school then I had to move to Canada when I was 13. I grew up speaking mainly standard German but I could also speak the Austrian/Bavarian dialect comfortably, as someone should who was born and raised in Austria I’d say. After living in the states I fell into deep depression but managed to study and work from home but I also stopped speaking German and English all together since I was communicating mainly through emails/text messages. I lived that way for almost 11 years. And you can imagine what the consequences are from living this way which I was already aware of somewhere along the way.

-speech disorder/impediment: I can’t talk nor think properly in German anymore. Of course I can have a thought or sentence in German but I just can’t fcking express myself in German when I start to talk. Perhaps of the lack of vocabulary and grammar that I’ve forgotten. I also lost that sense of „es klingt halt deutsch für mich“ feeling. Now I’m sometimes struggling with „für mich/dir, für Sie/ihr formal, ihn/ihm,“ or ending a sentence properly etc. Or like during school I didn’t really pay any attention during German lessons since it was „selbstverständlich“ for me to know it but now I’ve come to realise that I don’t know the technical terms like „Pronomen, konjugieren, deklinieren, imperativ, Indikativ“ etc. Ofc If I see a description and refresh it then I’ll know it again but still. The worst thing that I’ve experienced is when I was in Austria and Germany back in September that some people like only 3 people had said to me: „oh, dein Deutsch ist ja aber echt gut, wie lange lebst du schon in Ö/D?“. Back then when I heard that my eyes began to twitch I wasn’t mad not at all but something in me felt something idk what.

But my biggest problem that I want to get rid of asap is the way I speak. It doesn’t matter when I speak in German or English. I have literally forgotten or lost the ability to speak properly. And I’m not underexaggerating.
I have a lazy mouth. I don’t like to speak. I wish we can communicate by telepathy. That’s how lazy I am. But it makes sense for something that I haven’t used for literally 10 years I’m bound to not use my mouth properly. People won’t understand me 90% of the time. I’m too quite, slurring my words, stuttering and it’s just exhausting to speak now.

Why am I making this post? I got a job offer in Berlin from a professor who wants me to assist him but I’m simply scared and embarrassed… being judged as someone who can’t properly speak German or speak in general anymore who was born in a German speaking country.

He told me and assured me the way I talked is more than good but I know myself and I’m not lying to myself. I’ve noticed how much I deteriorated over the years. In mind and body well mainly for my mouth motor skills. I’m 24 now and my goal is to be able to talk normal again, converse with people without slurring, stuttering and without being scared or embarrassed to be judged the way I talk and thinking to themselves: „oh, he’s probably not from here but he speaks German very well“. I know people won’t judge but it has something to do with me. I know how I used to be able to speak German and honestly I’m scared that I won’t be able to revert but I’ll try get back how I used to be from today on out.

My question is: Is it possible for me to revert these damages within 1-2 years with INTENSIVE commitment? And I really mean it. If anyone knows experts or whatever please message me.

As for my closing statement? Oachkatzlschwoaf

I know the translations but I still get confused.

Hey guys, this month I'm gonna go to B2 exam in Goethe Institute. I have some problems with Hören. Lesen is not so hard, I take 80-85% in Modeltests. But Hören hardly ever goes upper 70%. So what do you guys can advice me? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hallo Leute!

Zuerst, sorry, mein Deutsch ist ziemlich schlecht!
Ich habe eine kleine fragen; tut "heiß" bedeutet "sexy" auch in Deutsch? Wie in English.