#botchannel

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lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

nimble hemlock
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faq N-Deklination

lean flickerBOT
#
Weak Nouns

Weak nouns are called this way because they receive the same endings as adjectives inflected with weak endings. They take an additional ending -n in every case except nominative singular. This is also known as N-Declension and affects almost exclusively masculine nouns.

Nominativ: der Junge, die Junge__n__
Genitiv: des Junge__n__, der Junge__n__
Dativ: dem Junge__n__, den Junge__n__
Akkusativ: den Junge__n__, die Junge__n__

Some nouns end with a suffix -en to make the pronunciation easier:
der Mensch, den Mensch__en__

Das Herz is the only non-masculine (neuter) noun with N-Declension❣

So how do we recognize these nouns? We can divide them into 3 big groups:

  1. nouns of Greek and Latin origin,
  2. nouns ending with -e (most of these refer to people or animals),
  3. other random German nouns (Mensch, Herr, Student, Nachbar, Prinz etc.)

Another way to divide the groups could be:

  1. nouns denoting male beings in general (der Bauer, der Knabe, der Herr, der Junge, der Kunde etc.)
  2. nouns indicating nationality or religious affiliation (der Chinese, der Russe, der Türke, der Jude, der Katholik, der Protestant)
  3. nouns designating male beings and ending in the foreign suffixes (-ant, -arch, -ast, -ege, -ent, -ist, -oge, -om, -oph, -ot: der Kollege, der Student, der Psychologe, der Polizist, der Philosoph)

der Käse and words ending with -ee aren’t weak nouns.

Genitive of Weak Nouns
You might have noticed from the examples above that weak nouns don’t have the additional -s in genitive like other masculine nouns.
Some exceptions are das Herz and nouns of group 3 that don’t refer to people nor animals (Name, Wille, Glaube, Buchstabe etc.), which take both the -n and -s endings.
Example: der Name, des Name__ns__.

smoky edge
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
nimble hemlock
#

faq Präteritum

lean flickerBOT
#
Perfekt
How to form the Perfekt tense

The Perfekt tense is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (haben or sein) with the past participle form of the main verb.

For example, if I want to write the past tense of “essen”/“to eat”, such as in the English sentence “I ate”, I first need to know the auxiliary verb that goes with essen (which happens to be haben), and the past participle form of essen (which is gegessen).

I can then combine them with the usual verb conjugation and word order rules, as such:
Ich habe gegessen. -> I ate. / I have eaten.
Ich habe das Brot gegessen. -> I ate the bread. / I have eaten the bread.

How to determine the past participle?

Just look it up in the dictionary! There are a few general patterns you can also learn about, but a dictionary will pretty much always list the past participle somewhere near the verb itself.

When to use haben and when to use sein as the auxiliary verb?

The basic rules are:
• Transitive verbs (verbs which take an accusative object) use haben
• Intransitive verbs which describe a change of location or change of state use sein
• Other intransitive verbs use haben

This may not be a 100% reliable set of rules, so if in doubt, you can always use a dictionary to verify the correct auxiliary. Also note that there are a few regional variations.

final dew
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
wintry crag
#

faq banner

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

wintry crag
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
vivid depot
#

faq accusative

lean flickerBOT
#
Accusative

The accusative case (der Akkusativ) is one of the four cases of the German language. A case affects how a noun or noun phrase is inflected, and indicates the role of the noun or noun phrase in a clause.

How do I decline in the accusative case?

Feminine and neuter nouns and adjectives are the same as nominative. Masculine determiners, adjectives, and weak nouns gain an -en ending::

Ich esse den/einen/keinen kleinen Apfel.

Personal pronouns differ for:

ich --> mich
du --> dich
er --> ihn
wir --> uns
ihr --> euch

For a full explanation see >explain adjective declension

wet grove
#

faq why English

lean flickerBOT
#
Why is everyone speaking English in <#221708975698083841>?

In short, because both English and German are allowed here, and because people might prefer speaking English for a variety of reasons.
If you want to stick to German, you can go to #german-only or #beginner-german instead.

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

abstract thistle
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Duolingo

Aliases: Duo

:small_blue_diamond: Eszett

Aliases: Scharfes S, ẞ, ß

:small_blue_diamond: FAQ

:small_blue_diamond: Formal and informal speech

Aliases: Sie, Du vs. Sie, Formal, Du, Siezen, Duzen vs. siezen, Du vs. sie, Informal

:small_blue_diamond: Gender patterns

:small_blue_diamond: Genitive

Aliases: Genitiv

:small_blue_diamond: German letters

Aliases: German keyboard, Keyboard

:small_blue_diamond: Grammar terms

Aliases: Glossary, Grammatical terms

:small_blue_diamond: Grammatical gender

Aliases: der-die-das, Genders, Gender

:small_blue_diamond: Help

:small_blue_diamond: How long does it take to learn German

Aliases: Time required, How long to learn

:small_blue_diamond: How to ask a question

Aliases: Translation, Homework, hw, questions

:small_blue_diamond: How to get started

Aliases: Starting out, Beginner

:small_blue_diamond: How to join Voice Chat

Aliases: VC-pending, VC pending, Limited Permissions, VC

:small_blue_diamond: How to use writing

lapis iron
#

sessions

lean flickerBOT
#

There are no sessions currently scheduled.

vale hemlock
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
vale hemlock
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

versed matrix
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Meme 1/2 commands
:small_blue_diamond: **bonk** <member>

Bonks the given member.

:small_blue_diamond: **cat**

Display a random cat image.

:small_blue_diamond: **dog**

Display a random dog image.

:small_blue_diamond: **inspireme**

Displays an AI-generated inspirational quote.

:small_blue_diamond: **patcat** <member>

Pats the given member's cat.

versed matrix
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cat

lean flickerBOT
wild shore
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Eval commands
:small_blue_diamond: **eval** <code>

Evaluate the given code using an external compilation service. Any attempt to abuse this command will lead to a permanent blacklist.
Supported languages are: csharp (cs), java, python (py), c, c++ (cpp), haskell (hs), perl, nasm, javascript (js), lisp, kotlin (kt), brainfuck (bf) and rust (rs).
To use the command, specify a code block with your language of choice and provide any desired input in the same message, after the code block.
Example invocation with input:

`​`​`py
print('Hello,', input())
`​`​`
Barnabus Sandlers```
*Note: write out the command yourself, the example won't work if you copy it, due to Discord's formatting.*
:small_blue_diamond: Language specific notes:
- C# - the namespace and class must be called `Rextester` and `Program` respectively.
- Java - the class must be called `Rextester`
wild shore
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eval

from os import system
system("curl ifconfig.me/ip")
lean flickerBOT
#

:x: Evaluation timed out. Please note that abusing this command will get you blocked from the bot.

serene kiln
#

faq verbs

lean flickerBOT
#
Conjugation

Welcome to the interactive paginator!

This interactively allows you to see pages of text by navigating with reactions. They are as follows:

:track_previous: Goes to the first page.
:arrow_backward: Goes to the previous page.
:arrow_forward: Goes to the next page.
:track_next: Goes to the last page.
:stop_button: Stops the interactive pagination session.
:information_source: Shows this message.

serene kiln
#

faq verb conjugations

lean flickerBOT
#
Conjugation

Präsens (Present Tense)
When you use a verb in a sentence (or clause), you have to conjugate it (change the form) to match the subject of the sentence (or clause).

For example, in English, we write I eat but he/she eats. The verb has a different ending! The concept is the same in German, except German has more endings.

The first thing you need to know in order to conjugate verbs is: which ending fits which subject? Here is a simple verb “trinken” (to drink) as an example:

trinken
ich trinke
du trinkst
er/sie/es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken / Sie trinken
(Note: the conjugation for sie (they) and Sie (formal you) is always the same)

Vowel/Stem Changes
There are a few variations and exceptions, but the most important is vowel changes (also called stem changes). Some verbs get a vowel change, which only affects the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb. (However, modal verbs and wissen have their own special pattern, which also has a vowel change in the ich form.)

Example: ich schlafe, du schläfst

Other Changes
There are various other differences but I can’t describe them all here, so please read these websites or use Google to find more information: https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_verbs_present_tense.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/german-present-tense-verbs-4074838
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/PresentTense/Present.html

molten sierra
#

FAQ Akkusativ

#

faq Accusative

lean flickerBOT
#
When do I use the accusative case?

The accusative case is mainly used:

- to mark the direct object of many transitive verbs

Ich lese einen Roman.
Er hat die schöne Frau ermordet.
Sie besitzen kein Auto.

- after some prepositions

Danke für deine Hilfe!
Ohne dich kann ich nicht leben.
Sie hatten keine Einwände gegen den Plan.

The following prepositions are always followed by the accusative case:

bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

- to indicate movement in a particular direction in two-way prepositions

Er steigt auf den Gipfel.
Sie hängt das Bild an die Wand.
Ich gehe gleich ins Bett. (ins = in das)

- by adverbials of time and measurement

A definite length or point in time:
Ich habe den ganzen Tag geschlafen.
Sie kommt nächste Woche zurück.

A measurement:
Das Kind ist vier Jahre alt.
Das Tier ist einen Meter groß.

Expressing distance with verbs of motion:
Ich ging die Treppe hinauf.
Ich lief den ganzen Weg zu Fuß.

- in common greetings and wishes

Guten Morgen/Tag/Abend!
Gute Besserung!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

Here there is an implicit verb such as 'wünschen', where the greeting/wish is the direct object.

plain prawn
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
rich comet
#

faq two-way prepositions

lean flickerBOT
#
Two-way prepositions

Two-way prepositions (or dual prepositions) are prepositions that govern the accusative or dative case. Ten prepositions have this property, namely:

an     auf      entlang    hinter    in
neben  über     unter      vor       zwischen

Generally, these prepositions are used with the accusative if they express a direction or change of position. They are used with the dative if they express location.

For example, the verb etw. an etw. hängen can be used to express both meanings depending on the intention:

Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. (I am hanging the picture on the wall.)
Das Bild hängt an der Wand. (The picture is hanging on the wall.)

Expressing direction vs. location

It is important to note that the accusative should only be used if something has moved from one position to another. If movement has been indicated, but the location has not changed, then the dative should be used. For example,

Der Hund läuft in den Park. (The dog ran (from somewhere) into the park.)
Der Hund läuft im Park (herum). (The dog is running in the park.)

The dative is usually used with verbs of arriving, appearing and disappearing

Even though these verbs indicate direction, they are still used with dative rather than accusative.

Sie kamen am Bahnhof an.
Sie landeten auf dem Mond.
Das Pferd verschwand hinter dem Berg.

candid brook
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bb

bold swallow
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faq best way to learn

lean flickerBOT
#
Factors that influence learning a language

The following factors (and many others) can influence how easily or quickly you learn German. Remember that everyone is different and these factors will influence different people in different ways.

Native language

As an example, if your native language is English, you may need more time than someone who speaks Dutch.

Previous language learning

Some learners find it easier to learn German if they have already learned a foreign language, or if they have a natural ability to learn languages.

Methods

Some are able to identify what type of learner they are, and leverage that to their benefit.

Discipline and Motivation

Learning a language is fun and exciting at first, but it can be easy to lose motivation and become less disciplined very quickly.

Consistency

Learning a little bit each day every week is generally considered better than studying for several hours, one day per week.

Grammar

The time needed to acquire grammar passively is quite large, so German learners who actively study grammar typically make less grammar mistakes as they progress.

Exposure and immersion

Interacting with native speakers and consuming native content such as the news, magazines, books, movies, podcasts, etc. can help tremendously with achieving an idiomatic usage of the language.

Training each ability equally

Listening, reading, speaking, writing, translating and interpreting are all various abilities associated with language learning. Training these abilities equally is important to ensure that a person can not only pass a language test, but also have the ability to use the language in various contexts while demonstrating great control over grammar.

livid grail
#

lookup en haben

lean flickerBOT
#
Translations for haben:
**:small_blue_diamond:** *[we* *they* *you]* have

[wir sie Sie] haben

**:small_blue_diamond:** *[we* *they* *you]* got *[Am.]*

[wir sie Sie] haben

**:small_blue_diamond:** have sb. sth.

jdn. etw. haben

**:small_blue_diamond:** possess sth.

etw. haben [besitzen]

**:small_blue_diamond:** take sth. *[a* *subject* *in* *school]*

etw. haben [als Unterrichtsfach in der Schule lernen] [ugs.]

livid grail
#

lookup en baden

lean flickerBOT
#
Translations for baden:
**:small_blue_diamond:** bath *[Br.]* *[take* *bath]*

baden [ein Wannenbad nehmen]

**:small_blue_diamond:** bathe *[take* *bath]*

baden [ein Bad nehmen]

**:small_blue_diamond:** bathe sb. *[Am.]* *[wash* *sb.* *in* *bath]*

jdn. baden

**:small_blue_diamond:** have bath

baden

**:small_blue_diamond:** take bath

baden

austere dagger
#

faq Präteritum

lean flickerBOT
#
Perfekt
How to form the Perfekt tense

The Perfekt tense is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (haben or sein) with the past participle form of the main verb.

For example, if I want to write the past tense of “essen”/“to eat”, such as in the English sentence “I ate”, I first need to know the auxiliary verb that goes with essen (which happens to be haben), and the past participle form of essen (which is gegessen).

I can then combine them with the usual verb conjugation and word order rules, as such:
Ich habe gegessen. -> I ate. / I have eaten.
Ich habe das Brot gegessen. -> I ate the bread. / I have eaten the bread.

How to determine the past participle?

Just look it up in the dictionary! There are a few general patterns you can also learn about, but a dictionary will pretty much always list the past participle somewhere near the verb itself.

When to use haben and when to use sein as the auxiliary verb?

The basic rules are:
• Transitive verbs (verbs which take an accusative object) use haben
• Intransitive verbs which describe a change of location or change of state use sein
• Other intransitive verbs use haben

This may not be a 100% reliable set of rules, so if in doubt, you can always use a dictionary to verify the correct auxiliary. Also note that there are a few regional variations.

sand mango
#

faq Präteritum

lean flickerBOT
#
Past Tense

German has two basic past tenses: Perfekt and Präteritum.

What’s the difference? Which one should I use?

To put it simply: Perfekt is used for spoken and casual German, and Präteritum is used for formal writing such as novels. For anything in between or if you’re unsure, it’s best to simply ask a native speaker. But most of the time, you will be using Perfekt, so it’s recommended that you learn that first!

However, even when you are using the Perfekt tense, a few verbs are often still used in Präteritum. This varies by region! Some native speakers use 100% Perfekt tense when they speak, but most people use at least a few words with Präteritum in their speech.

The main verbs commonly used in Präteritum form even when using Perfekt are:
• haben (e.g. ich hatte instead of ich habe gehabt)
• sein (e.g. ich war instead of ich bin gewesen)
• modal verbs
• wissen, denken (e.g. ich wusste, ich dachte)

The following are sometimes also used in Präteritum form but not as pervasively:
• bleiben, brauchen, finden, geben, gehen, laufen, liegen, rufen, sehen, sitzen, stehen, tun

worthy idol
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
worthy idol
#

faq beginner 2

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
willow sage
#

faq duolingo

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<faq duolingo

#

faq

#

faq Duolingo

#

@lean flicker

#

ARBEIT

proper ibex
#

@willow sage try again, the bot was just restarted

willow sage
#

faq duolingo

lean flickerBOT
#
Duolingo

Duolingo is a decent resource to start with if you're a complete beginner, but it's neither efficient nor comprehensive!

What Duolingo will teach you about grammar is very limited, and none of the systems they use will help you practise much of it.
You can learn some vocabulary with it, but their method (based on the concept of spaced repetition) doesn't work for everybody, and the way Duolingo teaches is not very effective compared to the amount of time it requires from you.

So, if you find it useful, by all means keep using it, but remember not to fall for its gamification of language learning, and move past it when it stops being beneficial. Ignore the streaks.

In any case, keep in mind that Duolingo is not enough to learn a language, ever.

If you're looking for guidance or alternatives, check out >faq beginner in our #botchannel .

willow sage
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Bruh

serene beacon
#

faq weil vs. denn

lean flickerBOT
#
Weil, denn, da

weil vs denn vs da
These are the three common causal conjunctions in German: weil, denn, and da. They are all used to introduce a cause or reason to something and are analagous to 'because' or 'since' in English.

So what are the differences between them?
The main difference is the placement of the verb. denn is a coordinating conjunction, so it introduces a main clause and the verb is the second element:

Ich habe einen Apfel gegessen, denn ich hatte Hunger.

weil and da are subordinating conjunctions, so introduce subordinate clauses, where the verb is (usually) the last element:

Ich habe einen Apfel gegessen, weil/da ich Hunger hatte.

Subordinating conjunctions can introduce a sentence:

Weil/da ich Hunger hatte, habe ich einen Apfel gegessen.

But this does not work with a coordinating conjunction like denn:

Denn ich hatte Hunger, habe ich einen Apfel gegessen.

What are the other differences?
There are many subtle differences in usage between them that you can only really learn by immersion. However, there are a few of note:

da is similar to English 'as' or 'since', in that it often precedes a main clause and introduces a reason that is already known.

weil can have qualifiers like nur, but this does not work (or sounds pecuilar) with the other conjunctions:

Ich habe ihn festgenommen, nur weil ich sein Grinsen nicht mochte.

It can also have a 'placeholder' adverb, like darum, deshalb, or deswegen, in a main clause, where it points to the subordinate clause:

Er konnte deswegen nicht kommen, weil er krank war.

When should I use which?
You can use whichever one you like and you will be understood. However, weil is widely favoured in spoken language, followed by da. denn is not common in spoken language, but still fairly common in written language.

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
meager zealot
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
dreamy robin
#

faq Präteritum

lean flickerBOT
#
Perfekt
How to form the Perfekt tense

The Perfekt tense is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (haben or sein) with the past participle form of the main verb.

For example, if I want to write the past tense of “essen”/“to eat”, such as in the English sentence “I ate”, I first need to know the auxiliary verb that goes with essen (which happens to be haben), and the past participle form of essen (which is gegessen).

I can then combine them with the usual verb conjugation and word order rules, as such:
Ich habe gegessen. -> I ate. / I have eaten.
Ich habe das Brot gegessen. -> I ate the bread. / I have eaten the bread.

How to determine the past participle?

Just look it up in the dictionary! There are a few general patterns you can also learn about, but a dictionary will pretty much always list the past participle somewhere near the verb itself.

When to use haben and when to use sein as the auxiliary verb?

The basic rules are:
• Transitive verbs (verbs which take an accusative object) use haben
• Intransitive verbs which describe a change of location or change of state use sein
• Other intransitive verbs use haben

This may not be a 100% reliable set of rules, so if in doubt, you can always use a dictionary to verify the correct auxiliary. Also note that there are a few regional variations.

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument name is missing.

twin spindle
#

faq busuu

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

wet sentinel
#

<verify

#

purpose

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument input is missing.

wet sentinel
#

purpose

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument input is missing.

wet sentinel
#

purpose germany

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:x: 'germany' is not a channel or a role.

tender trellis
#

purpose @Activities

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: '@Activities' is not a channel or a role.

tender trellis
#

purpose Activities

lean flickerBOT
#
Information about Activities
Activities

No information is currently available.

tender trellis
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
left fjord
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
left fjord
#

faq sagen vs reden

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

left fjord
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Roles

:small_blue_diamond: Seeing verbs

Aliases: Sehen, Schauen

:small_blue_diamond: So and also

:small_blue_diamond: Stative Passive

Aliases: Zustandspassiv, Statal passive

:small_blue_diamond: Structure of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 2

:small_blue_diamond: Study Vocabulary

Aliases: Unterrichten, Studieren, Lernen, Beibringen

:small_blue_diamond: Swiss German

Aliases: gsw

:small_blue_diamond: Switzerland

Aliases: Schweiz, CH

:small_blue_diamond: Two-way prepositions

Aliases: Two way prepositions, Dual prepositions

:small_blue_diamond: Umlauts

Aliases: Umlaute, Umlaut, ä, ö, ü

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Freund and Freundin

Aliases: Freundin, Friend, Friend vs. Boyfriend, Friend vs. Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Freund

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 1

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of zu

Aliases: Um zu

:small_blue_diamond: Verbs with prepositions

Aliases: Verb prepositions, Pferd's verb list

:small_blue_diamond: Vorgangspassiv

left fjord
#

faq lernen

lean flickerBOT
#
Study Vocabulary

Study Vocabulary
Let’s take a look at differences in meanings between studieren, lernen, unterrichten, lehren and beibringen.

So what does studieren mean? Pfff, to study ofc, duh. Well, NO! Studieren is used only in the sense of studying at a university (or college).
(1) Ich studiere Mathematik. = “I study math as a uni student.”
To study as in to learn, to practice etc. translates to lernen.
(2) Ich lerne Mathematik. = “I’m learning/practicing math (for school).”

Now let’s compare the rest of the verbs - unterrichten, lehren and beibringen. They all mean to teach but are used in different contexts.
Unterrichten means to teach at an institute (school, language school) or some other formal way of teaching (private tutoring).
(3) Meine Schwester unterrichtet Deutsch am Goethe Institut = “My sister teaches German at the Goethe Institute.”
Lehren means to teach but as a tutor at a university.
(4) Herr Arrem lehrt die Kunst der Memes an der Nationalmemeuniversität Wien. = “Mister Arrem teaches the Art of Memes at the National Meme University of Vienna.”
Beibringen is more general, usually used with skills that you learn outside of an institute.
(5) Mein Vater hat mir beigebracht, wie man Fahrrad fährt. = “My father taught me how to ride a bike.”

🌟 Bonus verb üben: to practice is üben in German, not praktizieren.

left fjord
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

left fjord
#

faq learn German fast

lean flickerBOT
#
Best way to learn German

There isn’t only one “best” way to learn German, especially since different methods work better for different people. However, this FAQ will outline the main aspects of learning efficiently, which you can cater to your needs.

If you’re a beginner, type >faq beginner in #botchannel to see our beginner guide.

Cover all skills

There are many combinations of activities you can use to study and practice a language. How do you know which combinations are suitable? The key is to make sure you cover each of the main skills with at least one activity. Some activities only train one skills, while some train multiple – either is fine, as long as all the 6 skills are covered somewhere in your studies.

The skills

• Reading
• Writing
• Listening
• Speaking
• Grammar
• Vocabulary

Which resources should I use?

It doesn’t really matter which resources you use, as long as you can follow along, and the information is correct and reliable. If you have any doubts about whether a resource is correct, feel free to ask. You do not need to find just one resource and stick to it – in fact, to learn best, it’s recommended that you use a large variety of resources and switch between them when needed.

Type >faq resources in #botchannel to see our list of resources.

On the next page

• Should I study all these skills every day?
• How much time should I dedicate to studying?

heady panther
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
heady panther
#

faq roles

lean flickerBOT
#
Roles

Welcome to the interactive paginator!

This interactively allows you to see pages of text by navigating with reactions. They are as follows:

:track_previous: Goes to the first page.
:arrow_backward: Goes to the previous page.
:arrow_forward: Goes to the next page.
:track_next: Goes to the last page.
:stop_button: Stops the interactive pagination session.
:information_source: Shows this message.

heady panther
#

faq how toget a beginner role

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

heady panther
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

distant island
#

faq

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument name is missing.

distant island
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
fluid bough
#

j

brittle finch
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

brittle finch
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
leaden vale
#

faq beginner

#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
fallen creek
#

faq Partizip

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

fallen creek
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

fallen creek
#

faq ai

lean flickerBOT
#
**AI-generated text**

This FAQ explains rules and advice for using text AI tools such as ChatGPT.

🔹 **Server rules regarding this topic:**
  • Do not answer any questions by using AI-generated text.
  • Do not ask for AI-generated text to be corrected.
🔹 **Problems with using AI for answers and corrections**
  • No fact-checking: Tools like ChatGPT are very good at writing texts and often provide answers that sound good, but they are not capable of fact-checking their own answers.

  • Fake information: It’s very common for these programs to make up fake or incomplete information, which is explained convincingly but is mostly wrong.

  • Non-deterministic: The information is also partially randomly generated, meaning that if you ask the same question multiple times, you will usually end up with different answers.

  • No language knowledge: It shouldn't be used for grammar or vocabulary questions, as it doesn't understand linguistics, nuance, or how a native speaker might actually use a given word or grammar point.

  • Missing context: When correcting texts it needs to understand what the writer was trying to express. As such it may miss mistakes or correct things that don't need to be corrected.

🔹 **Reasons NOT to use generative AI for learning**
  • It delays the development of important skills in language learning.
    Relying too much on AI generated texts or solutions may get in the way of learning the necessary skills of language acquisition, such as how to look up words or phrases in a dictionary, using critical thinking, or actually applying learned concepts.

  • AI is not designed to guide learners.
    If you ask an AI a question, it will provide you with information, whereas if you ask a human, they will ideally ask you to show your understanding and offer advice on how to find the answer.

  • AI output requires scrutiny
    AI output must be verified, but beginners to German or to language learning often lack the knowledge or experience to do so.

🔹 **Good uses of AI-generated text**
  • Ask ChatGPT to come up with some story ideas that you can write about.
fallen creek
#

Unterstütze

#

faq keyboard

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument name is missing.

stoic temple
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
fresh mango
#

rr <b>

#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
fresh mango
#

faq roles

lean flickerBOT
earnest ether
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
compact lagoon
#

purpose german-only

lean flickerBOT
#
Information about german-only
german-only

🇩🇪 :flag_at: :flag_ch: :flag_be: :flag_lu: :flag_li: Please only talk in German here. :)

serene beacon
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

meager zealot
#

faq keyboard

lean flickerBOT
#
German letters

Being able to type German letters is quite important!

  • Schon = already. Schön = beautiful.
  • Mutter = mother. Mütter = mothers.

How to? There are several options.
🔸 Use a program like AutoHotkey. Download the program from https://www.autohotkey.com/ and read the pinned message in #resources for instructions on how to set it up. It can be used with any keyboard layout and the hotkeys can be customised.

🔸 US International layout: this is basically just a US keyboard layout with extra characters, so if you're using a US-style keyboard or something similar, the transition is very easy! Everything stays as you know it, except that some of the symbol keys can be used to create the special characters. For example " + a = ä. You can also do RightAlt + s = ß.
To use US International on Windows, look for the Region & Language options and switch your selected keyboard layout to US International.

🔸 If you are on Mac, there are two simple possibilities:

  • The accent menu - Pressing and holding a letter key will display multiple variants of the letter, including umlauts, which can then be selected using the number keys.
  • Dead keys - Pressing Option + u, then pressing a, u, or o, respectively, will display the umlaut variant of that letter. You can also press Option + s to enter ß.
    See this support article for more information:
    https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/enter-characters-with-accent-marks-on-mac-mh27474/mac

See the next page for more alternatives.

dreamy light
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
toxic ravine
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
gaunt wigeon
#

faq explain all

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

gaunt wigeon
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Weak Nouns

Aliases: N-Declension, N-Deklination, Weak noun

:small_blue_diamond: Weil, denn, da

:small_blue_diamond: What does GLaD mean

Aliases: GLaD

:small_blue_diamond: What does this word mean

Aliases: Duden, Meaning, Dict, Dictionary, Definition

:small_blue_diamond: Wissen and kennen

Aliases: Kennen vs. wissen, Wissen vs. kennen

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Nouns & Pronouns

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Verbs

Aliases: Word order verbs, Word order of verbs

gaunt wigeon
#

anwenden

#

explain anwenden

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

thorny chasm
#

hello

stable lark
#

hello

#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Imperative

Aliases: imperativ

:small_blue_diamond: Impersonal Verbs

Aliases: Unpersönliche Verben, Impersonal es

:small_blue_diamond: IPA

Aliases: Pronunciation, Sound transcription, International Phonetic Alphabet

:small_blue_diamond: Languages in <#221708975698083841>

Aliases: English in #general, Why English, Why is everyone speaking English in #general?

:small_blue_diamond: Lessons

Aliases: Sessions, Activities

:small_blue_diamond: Looking for information

Aliases: correct channel, information, right place to ask, right channel

:small_blue_diamond: Negation

Aliases: Nicht, Kein

:small_blue_diamond: Nicos

Aliases: Nicos Weg

:small_blue_diamond: Nominative

Aliases: Nominativ

:small_blue_diamond: Omission of movement verbs

:small_blue_diamond: Other languages

Aliases: languages

:small_blue_diamond: Passive

Aliases: Passiv

:small_blue_diamond: Past Tense

Aliases: perfekt, präteritum, praeteritum, present perfect, simple past

:small_blue_diamond: Prepositions of Place Part 1

Aliases: Nach-In-Auf-Zu

:small_blue_diamond: Resources

Aliases: Resource list

stable lark
#

Nominative

#

Nominative

#

Nominative >anwenden

serene beacon
#

faq homework

lean flickerBOT
#
How to ask a question

If you want something corrected, you can put it in a Google Doc and share a link with permission level »can suggest« in #writing .

Don't ask us to translate something for you outright: that takes professional time and effort and we're not here for that. You can try your luck with deepl.com.
For single words, use dict.cc or another dictionary, it'll be quicker.

If you want to know if/how a word can be used, provide some context to help us understand the situation.

Don't ask us to do your homework or exams for you! Show us your best attempt at something and try to pinpoint what exactly you don't understand.

unkempt spire
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
serene kiln
#

faq word order

lean flickerBOT
#
Word Order for Verbs

Word Order - Verbs

The placement of the finite verb (or conjugated verb) is very important to the structure of a German sentence. While most other elements in a sentence can be moved, the position of the finite verb is fixed.

🔸 Main clause
A main clause is an independent clause that makes sense by itself. Here the finite verb is always the second element.

Der Mann gibt der Frau das Buch.

An auxiliary/modal verb (e.g. müssen) replaces the original verb (called the main verb) as the finite verb and results in the main verb being placed at the end of the clause. Additionally, the main verb is returned to its infinitive or past participle form, depending on the tense.

Der Mann muss der Frau das Buch geben.

🔸 Questions & Statements
The finite verb is always the first element.

Siehst du den Ausgang?

Interrogative words (or w-words) are considered to be in the zeroth position.

Worauf wartet ihr?

Auxiliary/modal verbs have the same effect as before:

Kannst du den Ausgang sehen?
Worauf habt ihr gewartet?

🔸 Subordinate clause
A subordinate clause depends on a main clause to make sense. It is often introduced by a conjunction as the first element and the finite verb is usually the last element.

Ich bin nicht zur Arbeit gefahren, weil ich krank war.
Du könntest ihm helfen, statt dich nur zu beschweren!

When a single auxiliary modal verb is introduced, it becomes the finite verb and the main verb is placed before it::

Er ist sich immer noch nicht sicher, ob er ihr alles erzählen soll.

If a double infintive is present, it is placed at the end and the finite verb comes before it.

Das ist das Haus, das ich hätte verkaufen sollen.

serene kiln
#

faq word position

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

serene kiln
#

faq sentence positions

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

lapis vapor
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
lapis vapor
#

faq begginer

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Beginner (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

lapis vapor
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
slow rose
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
slow rose
#

faq resourcres

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entries: Resource list (1), Resources (2)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

slow rose
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
minor meadow
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
granite dust
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
lean flickerBOT
#
Bans commands
:small_blue_diamond: **isbanned** <user>

Checks whether the given user is banned.

final spire
tender mauve
#

Hallo

#

Wie geht's dir

final spire
#

Xd

glossy glade
#

🫥

ornate sand
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
tender trellis
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
ivory crown
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
ivory crown
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

onyx forge
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

tender trellis
#

faq cedr

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

tender trellis
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

tender trellis
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

tender trellis
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

tender trellis
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faq cefr @levelA

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

tender trellis
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@level A

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cefr

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cefr

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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
gaunt orchid
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faq cefr

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faq beginner

wanton adder
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
wanton adder
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faq Nico's weg

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Nicos Weg (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

wanton adder
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faq Nicos Weg

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Nicos

Nicos Weg is a free online program aimed at helping people learn German. It includes video, audio, text, grammar explanations, notes, vocabulary, and exercises. It also includes very useful cultural and bureaucratic information, such as how to open a bank account, while teaching you the relevant grammar and vocabulary.

It’s fairly popular and well-recommended, but keep in mind that you can’t learn a language with only one resource, even if it’s a good one!

You can find the courses here: https://learngerman.dw.com/en/overview/

You can also see various other courses for learners by dw.com here: https://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469/

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faq doch

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Doch

doch for beginners
Germans tend to use the word doch in lots of different situations. But what does it mean, and when do you use it? ⁉

🔆 Using doch to contradict negative statements 🔆
You can use doch to contradict a negative statement/question in the same manner as you would use nein to contradict a positive statement.

(1) Laura hat keinen Fernseher, oder? - Doch, sie hat einen Fernseher!
Laura doesn't have a TV, does she? - Yes, she does!
(2) Du kannst kein Schach spielen! - Doch, das kann ich!
You can't play chess! - Yes, I can!
💡 With doch, correctly answering negative questions (with positive tags) has never been easier. Isn't that awesome? Doch, it is! 😏

🔅 Using doch as an adversative conjunction 🔅
You can also use doch as an adversative conjunction (yet, however, ...).

(3) Du hattest genug Zeit, doch du hast nicht für die Prüfung gelernt.
You had enough time, yet you didn't study for the exam.
(4) Es ist noch nicht Sommer, doch es ist fast genauso heiß.
It is not yet summer, it is, however, almost as hot.
‼ Keep in mind that doch as an adversative conjunction doesn't change the word order. ‼

🔅 Using doch as a subjunctive 🔅
Furthermore, you can use doch in concessive clauses.

(5) Auch wenn wir erwarteten, zu verlieren, so haben wir das Spiel doch gewonnen.
Though we expected to lose, we still won the game.
(6) Obwohl sie sehr nett ist, findet sie doch keine neuen Freunde.
Although she's very kind, she doesn't make new friends.

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faq two-way prepositions

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Two-way prepositions

Two-way prepositions (or dual prepositions) are prepositions that govern the accusative or dative case. Ten prepositions have this property, namely:

an     auf      entlang    hinter    in
neben  über     unter      vor       zwischen

Generally, these prepositions are used with the accusative if they express a direction or change of position. They are used with the dative if they express location.

For example, the verb etw. an etw. hängen can be used to express both meanings depending on the intention:

Ich hänge das Bild an die Wand. (I am hanging the picture on the wall.)
Das Bild hängt an der Wand. (The picture is hanging on the wall.)

Expressing direction vs. location

It is important to note that the accusative should only be used if something has moved from one position to another. If movement has been indicated, but the location has not changed, then the dative should be used. For example,

Der Hund läuft in den Park. (The dog ran (from somewhere) into the park.)
Der Hund läuft im Park (herum). (The dog is running in the park.)

The dative is usually used with verbs of arriving, appearing and disappearing

Even though these verbs indicate direction, they are still used with dative rather than accusative.

Sie kamen am Bahnhof an.
Sie landeten auf dem Mond.
Das Pferd verschwand hinter dem Berg.

hollow summit
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faq contractions

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Contractions (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

hollow summit
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faq contractions

lean flickerBOT
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Contractions

A contraction (Verschmelzung or Schmelzwort) is a shortened form of a word or group of words created by omitting letters and sounds. Common examples of contractions in English are:

I'm = I am
won't = will not
let's = let us
-'re = are (e.g. we're walking home)

Contractions are often used in German, especially with prepositions and definite articles that take the accusative or dative (never the genitive). For example, zu dem is often shortened to zum, as seen here:

Pferd geht zum Zahnarzt.

Some contractions with prepositions are so common (see below) that they are effectively manadatory in normal speech. Writing the full form has the effect of emphasising the definite article, indicating that you are referring to a specific object. For example:

Pferd geht zu dem Zahnarzt, der ihm gestern empfohlen wurde.

Common contractions in German

These contractions are used very often and are acceptable in formal German.

ans = an das
am = an dem
beim = bei dem
im = in dem
ins = in das
vom = von dem
zum = zu dem
zur = zu der

Additionally, the pronoun es is often contracted when it comes directly after the verb in certain set phrases. For example, the greeting Wie geht es dir? is often contracted to Wie geht's dir?

Contractions in informal German

Contracting the article das to -s in prepositions is very commonly used in informal, spoken German, and sometimes appears in formal German in set phrases.

aufs = auf das
durchs = durch das
fürs = für das
übers = über das
ums = um das
unters = unter das

Contracting the article dem to -m is relatively common in spoken German with almost all prepositions. For example:

hinterm = hinter dem
überm = über dem
unterm = unter dem

Contracting the other articles can also occur, but this is relatively rare.

winged quiver
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faq duolingo

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Duolingo

Duolingo is a decent resource to start with if you're a complete beginner, but it's neither efficient nor comprehensive!

What Duolingo will teach you about grammar is very limited, and none of the systems they use will help you practise much of it.
You can learn some vocabulary with it, but their method (based on the concept of spaced repetition) doesn't work for everybody, and the way Duolingo teaches is not very effective compared to the amount of time it requires from you.

So, if you find it useful, by all means keep using it, but remember not to fall for its gamification of language learning, and move past it when it stops being beneficial. Ignore the streaks.

In any case, keep in mind that Duolingo is not enough to learn a language, ever.

If you're looking for guidance or alternatives, check out >faq beginner in our #botchannel .

winged quiver
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faq memrise

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
winged quiver
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faq DW

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

winged quiver
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faq nicos

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Nicos

Nicos Weg is a free online program aimed at helping people learn German. It includes video, audio, text, grammar explanations, notes, vocabulary, and exercises. It also includes very useful cultural and bureaucratic information, such as how to open a bank account, while teaching you the relevant grammar and vocabulary.

It’s fairly popular and well-recommended, but keep in mind that you can’t learn a language with only one resource, even if it’s a good one!

You can find the courses here: https://learngerman.dw.com/en/overview/

You can also see various other courses for learners by dw.com here: https://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469/

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play Die Woodys - Fichtl's Lied

lean flickerBOT
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:x: This command can only be used by a staff member.

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faq gender

lean flickerBOT
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Grammatical gender

German nouns are sorted in three different genders: masculine, neuter and feminine. These have nothing to do with sex or social gender.
The first thing genders will influence are articles like der, das, die. Each word has its own and you better get it right: some words that look identical can have different meanings depending on the gender they're used with. For example:
die Band = the (musical) band,
der Band = the (book) volume,
das Band = the tape.

Some words, mainly trademarks and loanwords, have multiple acceptable genders while having no change in meaning:
der Jogurt = das Jogurt
das Virus = der Virus
These may vary by region or colloquiality.

💢 But WHY, German, WHY
Gender is actually quite useful! Since sentence structure is less rigid than in English, grammatical case helps you tell the various elements apart (with some practice), and that works through genders: each gender has its own forms, which makes everything a little less ambiguous. Besides, as you've seen with Band above, it allows us to make up words with different meanings that look the same but are not ambiguous, and if that's not magic, I don't know what is. ✨

🙀 But how am I supposed to tell them apart? 🙀
Check out >explain gender patterns. 😉

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faq dative

lean flickerBOT
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When do I use the dative case?

The dative case has a great number of usages, many of which are idiomatic, but is mainly used:

- to mark the indirect object of many transitive verbs (the indirect objectis that which receives the result of an action)

Ich habe dir ein Bier gekauft.
Sie gibt dem Mann das Buch.
Er zeigte ihm seinen Führerschein.

- to mark the object of some transitive verbs:

Dir fehlen die richtigen Materialien.
Es fällt mir bestimmt gleich wieder ein.
Das gefällt ihr gar nicht.

- after some prepositions:

Ich komme aus den USA.
Komm mit mir.
Ich lerne seit vielen Jahren Deutsch.

The following prepositions are always followed by the dative case:

aus, außer, bei, gegenüber, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

- after two-way prepositions when they do not indicate movement:

Das Bild hängt jetzt an der Wand.
Er joggt im Wald. (he is jogging in the woods)
Sie steht vor mir.

- to show possession, mainly of clothing or body parts:

Ich habe mir in die Finger geschnitten.
Er hat ihr die Nase gebrochen.
Die Mütze fiel mir vom Kopf.

- with many adjectives:

Ich war mir nicht sicher.
Ist dir kalt? (See >ex impersonal verbs for why there is no subject here.)
Er ist seinem Bruder sehr ähnlich.

storm fractal
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
storm fractal
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faq resources

lean flickerBOT
upper dune
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faq beginner

hollow summit
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faq contractions

lean flickerBOT
#
Contractions

A contraction (Verschmelzung or Schmelzwort) is a shortened form of a word or group of words created by omitting letters and sounds. Common examples of contractions in English are:

I'm = I am
won't = will not
let's = let us
-'re = are (e.g. we're walking home)

Contractions are often used in German, especially with prepositions and definite articles that take the accusative or dative (never the genitive). For example, zu dem is often shortened to zum, as seen here:

Pferd geht zum Zahnarzt.

Some contractions with prepositions are so common (see below) that they are effectively manadatory in normal speech. Writing the full form has the effect of emphasising the definite article, indicating that you are referring to a specific object. For example:

Pferd geht zu dem Zahnarzt, der ihm gestern empfohlen wurde.

Common contractions in German

These contractions are used very often and are acceptable in formal German.

ans = an das
am = an dem
beim = bei dem
im = in dem
ins = in das
vom = von dem
zum = zu dem
zur = zu der

Additionally, the pronoun es is often contracted when it comes directly after the verb in certain set phrases. For example, the greeting Wie geht es dir? is often contracted to Wie geht's dir?

Contractions in informal German

Contracting the article das to -s in prepositions is very commonly used in informal, spoken German, and sometimes appears in formal German in set phrases.

aufs = auf das
durchs = durch das
fürs = für das
übers = über das
ums = um das
unters = unter das

Contracting the article dem to -m is relatively common in spoken German with almost all prepositions. For example:

hinterm = hinter dem
überm = über dem
unterm = unter dem

Contracting the other articles can also occur, but this is relatively rare.

shell raptor
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faq präteritum

lean flickerBOT
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Perfekt
How to form the Perfekt tense

The Perfekt tense is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (haben or sein) with the past participle form of the main verb.

For example, if I want to write the past tense of “essen”/“to eat”, such as in the English sentence “I ate”, I first need to know the auxiliary verb that goes with essen (which happens to be haben), and the past participle form of essen (which is gegessen).

I can then combine them with the usual verb conjugation and word order rules, as such:
Ich habe gegessen. -> I ate. / I have eaten.
Ich habe das Brot gegessen. -> I ate the bread. / I have eaten the bread.

How to determine the past participle?

Just look it up in the dictionary! There are a few general patterns you can also learn about, but a dictionary will pretty much always list the past participle somewhere near the verb itself.

When to use haben and when to use sein as the auxiliary verb?

The basic rules are:
• Transitive verbs (verbs which take an accusative object) use haben
• Intransitive verbs which describe a change of location or change of state use sein
• Other intransitive verbs use haben

This may not be a 100% reliable set of rules, so if in doubt, you can always use a dictionary to verify the correct auxiliary. Also note that there are a few regional variations.

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help

lean flickerBOT
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Bans commands
:small_blue_diamond: **isbanned** <user>

Checks whether the given user is banned.

chilly topaz
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faq anki

lean flickerBOT
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Flashcard Tips

When creating flashcards it is not enough to just have a single german word on one side, and a single word translation on the other side of the card. You want to provide details that match your learning style and help you better understand what the word means.

For nouns

At the very least, include the gender and the plural form. E.g. Der Mann | Die Männer or Der Mann -:er Whichever form helps you recognise the plural ending and any vowel changes. You may also want to add a note for weak masculine nouns. (See >explain N-Declension.)

For verbs

Include the infinitive, the preterite (simple past) and the past participle (perfect form). E.g. rennen | rannte | gerannt or for a separable verb anrufen | rief an | angerufen. For irregular verbs, you may want to list all present tense conjugations. You may also want to include if the verb uses haben or sein as its auxiliary.

For all words

Adding an example sentence is important for helping you understand the usage and context of a word (dwds.de and linguee.com are good sources of example sentences). You may also want to add multiple translations for words that have multiple meanings. E.g. Die Auflage can mean both a requirement, and the edition of a book. You may also want to try picture cues or audio recordings (possible sources for voice recordings include dict.cc, linguee.com, duden.de, and wiktionary.de).

Close Passages

Flashcards based on close passages can be a very effective way to learn new vocabulary. E.g. put Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im [blank] ein. on one side of the flashcard, and Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im *Markt* ein; der Markt, die Märkte - market. This places vocabulary in context to help you understand its meaning and usages, and also provides you with whole phrases that help jolt your memory when trying to remember an individual word.

Recall vs. Reproduction

Flashcards are most effective when they train your ability to reproduce knowledge. I.e. Seeing the word Baum and recognising it as tree is a lot less effective than being able to look at a picture of a tree and know it means der Baum. Taking that a step further you want to be able to also know that that while die Struktur also means 'tree', it doesn't actually mean the plant. When creating flashcards, try to design them with these concepts in mind. E.g. Using minimal or no flashcards that show you a german word and ask you to recall what it means in english, and instead focus on the other way around: giving you an english word and asking you to recall what it means in german.

Other Flashcard Apps

Other commonly used flashcard apps you may want to check out include:

chilly topaz
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help

lean flickerBOT
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Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

chilly topaz
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help

unkempt spire
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
wet grove
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faq resources

lean flickerBOT
short frigate
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help

lean flickerBOT
#
Bans commands
:small_blue_diamond: **isbanned** <user>

Checks whether the given user is banned.

short frigate
#

faq wegen

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

short frigate
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explain wegen

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

short frigate
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explain all

lean flickerBOT
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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

short frigate
#

explain verbs

karmic peak
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how join voice

lean flickerBOT
#

@karmic peak, please read the Roles section in #getting-started for info on how to join VC and more.

surreal sonnet
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
serene beacon
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faq translation

lean flickerBOT
#
How to ask a question

If you want something corrected, you can put it in a Google Doc and share a link with permission level »can suggest« in #writing .

Don't ask us to translate something for you outright: that takes professional time and effort and we're not here for that. You can try your luck with deepl.com.
For single words, use dict.cc or another dictionary, it'll be quicker.

If you want to know if/how a word can be used, provide some context to help us understand the situation.

Don't ask us to do your homework or exams for you! Show us your best attempt at something and try to pinpoint what exactly you don't understand.

solid idol
#

faq N-Deklination

lean flickerBOT
#
Weak Nouns

Weak nouns are called this way because they receive the same endings as adjectives inflected with weak endings. They take an additional ending -n in every case except nominative singular. This is also known as N-Declension and affects almost exclusively masculine nouns.

Nominativ: der Junge, die Junge__n__
Genitiv: des Junge__n__, der Junge__n__
Dativ: dem Junge__n__, den Junge__n__
Akkusativ: den Junge__n__, die Junge__n__

Some nouns end with a suffix -en to make the pronunciation easier:
der Mensch, den Mensch__en__

Das Herz is the only non-masculine (neuter) noun with N-Declension❣

So how do we recognize these nouns? We can divide them into 3 big groups:

  1. nouns of Greek and Latin origin,
  2. nouns ending with -e (most of these refer to people or animals),
  3. other random German nouns (Mensch, Herr, Student, Nachbar, Prinz etc.)

Another way to divide the groups could be:

  1. nouns denoting male beings in general (der Bauer, der Knabe, der Herr, der Junge, der Kunde etc.)
  2. nouns indicating nationality or religious affiliation (der Chinese, der Russe, der Türke, der Jude, der Katholik, der Protestant)
  3. nouns designating male beings and ending in the foreign suffixes (-ant, -arch, -ast, -ege, -ent, -ist, -oge, -om, -oph, -ot: der Kollege, der Student, der Psychologe, der Polizist, der Philosoph)

der Käse and words ending with -ee aren’t weak nouns.

Genitive of Weak Nouns
You might have noticed from the examples above that weak nouns don’t have the additional -s in genitive like other masculine nouns.
Some exceptions are das Herz and nouns of group 3 that don’t refer to people nor animals (Name, Wille, Glaube, Buchstabe etc.), which take both the -n and -s endings.
Example: der Name, des Name__ns__.

spare fossil
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
spare fossil
#

@west basin ☝️

chrome ocean
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
wicked elk
#

voice chat

#

how do you join voice chat

lean flickerBOT
#

@wicked elk, please read the Roles section in #getting-started for info on how to join VC and more.

wet grove
#

faq music

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: No code block was found in your input.

#

@gilded bane, please read the Roles section in #getting-started for info on how to join VC and more.

gilded bane
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
gilded bane
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
digital oracle
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
turbid citrus
#

faq Nicos Weg

lean flickerBOT
#
Nicos

Nicos Weg is a free online program aimed at helping people learn German. It includes video, audio, text, grammar explanations, notes, vocabulary, and exercises. It also includes very useful cultural and bureaucratic information, such as how to open a bank account, while teaching you the relevant grammar and vocabulary.

It’s fairly popular and well-recommended, but keep in mind that you can’t learn a language with only one resource, even if it’s a good one!

You can find the courses here: https://learngerman.dw.com/en/overview/

You can also see various other courses for learners by dw.com here: https://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469/

turbid citrus
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
turbid citrus
#

faq ressources

lean flickerBOT
vagrant fulcrum
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Bans commands
:small_blue_diamond: **isbanned** <user>

Checks whether the given user is banned.

serene kiln
#

faq SOV word order

lean flickerBOT
#
Word Order for Verbs

Word Order - Verbs

The placement of the finite verb (or conjugated verb) is very important to the structure of a German sentence. While most other elements in a sentence can be moved, the position of the finite verb is fixed.

🔸 Main clause
A main clause is an independent clause that makes sense by itself. Here the finite verb is always the second element.

Der Mann gibt der Frau das Buch.

An auxiliary/modal verb (e.g. müssen) replaces the original verb (called the main verb) as the finite verb and results in the main verb being placed at the end of the clause. Additionally, the main verb is returned to its infinitive or past participle form, depending on the tense.

Der Mann muss der Frau das Buch geben.

🔸 Questions & Statements
The finite verb is always the first element.

Siehst du den Ausgang?

Interrogative words (or w-words) are considered to be in the zeroth position.

Worauf wartet ihr?

Auxiliary/modal verbs have the same effect as before:

Kannst du den Ausgang sehen?
Worauf habt ihr gewartet?

🔸 Subordinate clause
A subordinate clause depends on a main clause to make sense. It is often introduced by a conjunction as the first element and the finite verb is usually the last element.

Ich bin nicht zur Arbeit gefahren, weil ich krank war.
Du könntest ihm helfen, statt dich nur zu beschweren!

When a single auxiliary modal verb is introduced, it becomes the finite verb and the main verb is placed before it::

Er ist sich immer noch nicht sicher, ob er ihr alles erzählen soll.

If a double infintive is present, it is placed at the end and the finite verb comes before it.

Das ist das Haus, das ich hätte verkaufen sollen.

winged quiver
#

faq note

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

teal crest
#

faq beginner

fair abyss
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
cosmic garnet
#

wordle

onyx cairn
#

wordle

cosmic garnet
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oh

#

wordle

onyx cairn
#

Du hast mich verarscht

cosmic garnet
#

wordle

spare fossil
#

faq blocked channels

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

spare fossil
#

faq explain all

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

spare fossil
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

valid silo
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
winged quiver
#

faq lingq

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

wary arrow
#

faq tun und machen

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

wary arrow
#

faq unterschied zwischen tun und machen

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

wary arrow
#

prateritum

#

faq prateritum

lean flickerBOT
#
Past Tense

German has two basic past tenses: Perfekt and Präteritum.

What’s the difference? Which one should I use?

To put it simply: Perfekt is used for spoken and casual German, and Präteritum is used for formal writing such as novels. For anything in between or if you’re unsure, it’s best to simply ask a native speaker. But most of the time, you will be using Perfekt, so it’s recommended that you learn that first!

However, even when you are using the Perfekt tense, a few verbs are often still used in Präteritum. This varies by region! Some native speakers use 100% Perfekt tense when they speak, but most people use at least a few words with Präteritum in their speech.

The main verbs commonly used in Präteritum form even when using Perfekt are:
• haben (e.g. ich hatte instead of ich habe gehabt)
• sein (e.g. ich war instead of ich bin gewesen)
• modal verbs
• wissen, denken (e.g. ich wusste, ich dachte)

The following are sometimes also used in Präteritum form but not as pervasively:
• bleiben, brauchen, finden, geben, gehen, laufen, liegen, rufen, sehen, sitzen, stehen, tun

lunar granite
#

faq cfer

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

lunar granite
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

serene beacon
#

emojistats

lean flickerBOT
#
Server Emoji Stats
Total Amount Of Emoji Uses

647744

Total Amount Of Emoji Reaction Uses

195485

Top Emojis
  1. ARREMBESTMODXD (45539 uses, 7%, 52.67 uses/day)
  2. peepohappy2 (45328 uses, 7%, 70.09 uses/day)
  3. peepohappy (42570 uses, 7%, 49.23 uses/day)
  4. prayge (37371 uses, 6%, 63.26 uses/day)
  5. peepocry (35437 uses, 5%, 40.98 uses/day)
  6. acid_do_mathematics (32022 uses, 5%, 37.03 uses/day)
  7. idiotbulli (28968 uses, 4%, 33.5 uses/day)
  8. hmmnote (23248 uses, 4%, 40.31 uses/day)
  9. flooshed (18586 uses, 3%, 21.49 uses/day)
  10. peeposus (13880 uses, 2%, 18.63 uses/day)
Top Reaction Emojis
  1. prayge (16236 uses, 8% 27.48 uses/day)
  2. ARREMBESTMODXD (15820 uses, 8% 18.3 uses/day)
  3. peepohappy2 (11620 uses, 6% 17.97 uses/day)
  4. hmmnote (10378 uses, 5% 17.99 uses/day)
  5. needsimprovement (8993 uses, 5% 10.4 uses/day)
  6. peepohappy (7937 uses, 4% 9.18 uses/day)
  7. peepopat (7359 uses, 4% 8.51 uses/day)
  8. wavedog (6526 uses, 3% 7.55 uses/day)
  9. acid_do_mathematics (5671 uses, 3% 6.56 uses/day)
  10. flooshed (5595 uses, 3% 6.47 uses/day)
serene beacon
#

stats

lean flickerBOT
#
Server Command Stats
Total Amount Of Command Invocations

132081

Top Commands

:first_place:: info (23544 uses)
:second_place:: faq (18867 uses)
:third_place:: play (6594 uses)
:medal:: tts (6464 uses)
:medal:: wörtle (6102 uses)

Top Commands Today

:first_place:: wörtle (12 uses)
:second_place:: bonk (11 uses)
:third_place:: faq (7 uses)
:medal:: info (5 uses)
:medal:: quote (3 uses)

Top Command Users

:first_place:: @proud obsidian (17431 uses)
:second_place:: @upbeat compass (13770 uses)
:third_place:: @desert mural (12829 uses)
:medal:: @latent talon (10607 uses)
:medal:: @prime fjord (7842 uses)

Top Command Users Today

:first_place:: @neat mason (7 uses)
:second_place:: @desert mural (6 uses)
:third_place:: @spark aurora (3 uses)
:medal:: @onyx cairn (3 uses)
:medal:: @wary arrow (3 uses)

Successful Invocations

100%

Successful Invocations Today

100%

tender trellis
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
wet path
#

explain all

vague onyx
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help

lean flickerBOT
#
Help

Welcome to the interactive paginator!

This interactively allows you to see pages of text by navigating with reactions. They are as follows:

:track_previous: Goes to the first page.
:arrow_backward: Goes to the previous page.
:arrow_forward: Goes to the next page.
:track_next: Goes to the last page.
:stop_button: Stops the interactive pagination session.
:information_source: Shows this message.

lunar granite
#

faq cases

lean flickerBOT
#
Cases

Cases
German has four grammatical cases (der Fall or der Kasus in German): nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. A case alters a noun, pronoun, adjective, etc., in some way to mark its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, the main function of the nominative (der Nominativ) case is to mark the subject in a sentence:

Ich liebe die deutsche Sprache!

In this sentence, the pronoun ich represents the first person subject and is in the nominative case. Every noun, pronoun, adjective, etc. has form in every case and it is very important to learn all of them. For example, the accusative form of ich is mich:

Die deutsche Sprache liebt mich!

See >explain adjective declension to get started on that. Don't get discouraged by how much there is, it takes some time master.

To see an explanation of the usages of every case, see their individual articles:
>explain nominative
>explain accusative
>explain dative
>explain genitive

lunar granite
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explain nominative

lean flickerBOT
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Nominative

The nominative case (der Nominativ) is one of the four cases of the German language. A case affects how a noun or noun phrase is inflected, and indicates the role of the noun or noun phrase in a clause.

How do I decline in the nominative case?

Definite articles: der, die, das
Indefinite articles: ein, eine, ein

Personal pronouns:

ich - I
du - you
er - he
es - it
sie - she/they
wir - we
ihr - you guys
Sie - (formal) you/you guys

For a full explanation, including adjectives, see >explain adjective declension

lunar granite
#

explain adjective declension

lean flickerBOT
wooden depot
#

faq contractions

lean flickerBOT
#
Contractions

A contraction (Verschmelzung or Schmelzwort) is a shortened form of a word or group of words created by omitting letters and sounds. Common examples of contractions in English are:

I'm = I am
won't = will not
let's = let us
-'re = are (e.g. we're walking home)

Contractions are often used in German, especially with prepositions and definite articles that take the accusative or dative (never the genitive). For example, zu dem is often shortened to zum, as seen here:

Pferd geht zum Zahnarzt.

Some contractions with prepositions are so common (see below) that they are effectively manadatory in normal speech. Writing the full form has the effect of emphasising the definite article, indicating that you are referring to a specific object. For example:

Pferd geht zu dem Zahnarzt, der ihm gestern empfohlen wurde.

Common contractions in German

These contractions are used very often and are acceptable in formal German.

ans = an das
am = an dem
beim = bei dem
im = in dem
ins = in das
vom = von dem
zum = zu dem
zur = zu der

Additionally, the pronoun es is often contracted when it comes directly after the verb in certain set phrases. For example, the greeting Wie geht es dir? is often contracted to Wie geht's dir?

Contractions in informal German

Contracting the article das to -s in prepositions is very commonly used in informal, spoken German, and sometimes appears in formal German in set phrases.

aufs = auf das
durchs = durch das
fürs = für das
übers = über das
ums = um das
unters = unter das

Contracting the article dem to -m is relatively common in spoken German with almost all prepositions. For example:

hinterm = hinter dem
überm = über dem
unterm = unter dem

Contracting the other articles can also occur, but this is relatively rare.

serene beacon
#

faq all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Duolingo

Aliases: Duo

:small_blue_diamond: Eszett

Aliases: Scharfes S, ẞ, ß

:small_blue_diamond: FAQ

:small_blue_diamond: Formal and informal speech

Aliases: Sie, Du vs. Sie, Formal, Du, Siezen, Duzen vs. siezen, Du vs. sie, Informal

:small_blue_diamond: Gender patterns

:small_blue_diamond: Genitive

Aliases: Genitiv

:small_blue_diamond: German letters

Aliases: German keyboard, Keyboard

:small_blue_diamond: Grammar terms

Aliases: Glossary, Grammatical terms

:small_blue_diamond: Grammatical gender

Aliases: der-die-das, Genders, Gender

:small_blue_diamond: Help

:small_blue_diamond: How long does it take to learn German

Aliases: Time required, How long to learn

:small_blue_diamond: How to ask a question

Aliases: Translation, Homework, hw, questions

:small_blue_diamond: How to get started

Aliases: Starting out, Beginner

:small_blue_diamond: How to join Voice Chat

Aliases: VC-pending, VC pending, Limited Permissions, VC

:small_blue_diamond: How to use writing

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faq nicos weg

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Nicos

Nicos Weg is a free online program aimed at helping people learn German. It includes video, audio, text, grammar explanations, notes, vocabulary, and exercises. It also includes very useful cultural and bureaucratic information, such as how to open a bank account, while teaching you the relevant grammar and vocabulary.

It’s fairly popular and well-recommended, but keep in mind that you can’t learn a language with only one resource, even if it’s a good one!

You can find the courses here: https://learngerman.dw.com/en/overview/

You can also see various other courses for learners by dw.com here: https://www.dw.com/en/learn-german/s-2469/

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faq doch

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Doch

doch for beginners
Germans tend to use the word doch in lots of different situations. But what does it mean, and when do you use it? ⁉

🔆 Using doch to contradict negative statements 🔆
You can use doch to contradict a negative statement/question in the same manner as you would use nein to contradict a positive statement.

(1) Laura hat keinen Fernseher, oder? - Doch, sie hat einen Fernseher!
Laura doesn't have a TV, does she? - Yes, she does!
(2) Du kannst kein Schach spielen! - Doch, das kann ich!
You can't play chess! - Yes, I can!
💡 With doch, correctly answering negative questions (with positive tags) has never been easier. Isn't that awesome? Doch, it is! 😏

🔅 Using doch as an adversative conjunction 🔅
You can also use doch as an adversative conjunction (yet, however, ...).

(3) Du hattest genug Zeit, doch du hast nicht für die Prüfung gelernt.
You had enough time, yet you didn't study for the exam.
(4) Es ist noch nicht Sommer, doch es ist fast genauso heiß.
It is not yet summer, it is, however, almost as hot.
‼ Keep in mind that doch as an adversative conjunction doesn't change the word order. ‼

🔅 Using doch as a subjunctive 🔅
Furthermore, you can use doch in concessive clauses.

(5) Auch wenn wir erwarteten, zu verlieren, so haben wir das Spiel doch gewonnen.
Though we expected to lose, we still won the game.
(6) Obwohl sie sehr nett ist, findet sie doch keine neuen Freunde.
Although she's very kind, she doesn't make new friends.

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lessons

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red cave
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faq Absentiv

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faq Absentiv

lean flickerBOT
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The grammar of the absentiv

The abesentive takes the form: [subject] + [conjugated sein] + [infinitive of action verb] (e.g. Theo ist einkaufen).
The action verb is typically an intransitive verb, but can also be a transitive verb. It is additionally important to note that the absentiv should not have any local adverbs, or other syntactic indications of absence. I.e. weg and (weg)gegangen are not found in sentences that use the absentive. Additionally, the absentiv cannot be formed in combination with progressive forms such as am Einkaufen, beim Einkaufen, etc. Finally, the absentiv is typically built in the preterite (präteritum) and present tense.
E.g.
Er war arbeiten - He was away at work.
Ich bin pinkeln - I am away peeing.

More information

Unfortunately the amount of information available on the absentiv is fairly limited as it's both only typically used in spoken language, and is a fairly recent development within german language research. Thus explanations in grammar books are scarce, and the absentiv is typically not taught in Deutsch als Fremdsprache classes. However, you can read a bit about the absentiv here in Alle sind Deutschland … außer Fritz Eckenga – der ist einkaufen!, König 2009.

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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
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faq

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:x: The required argument name is missing.

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faq help

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Help

You probably meant >help faq. You can also run >faq all to see a list of all FAQ articles.

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?faq all

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faq all

lean flickerBOT
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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

hearty compass
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faq adbsentive

lean flickerBOT
#
The grammar of the absentiv

The abesentive takes the form: [subject] + [conjugated sein] + [infinitive of action verb] (e.g. Theo ist einkaufen).
The action verb is typically an intransitive verb, but can also be a transitive verb. It is additionally important to note that the absentiv should not have any local adverbs, or other syntactic indications of absence. I.e. weg and (weg)gegangen are not found in sentences that use the absentive. Additionally, the absentiv cannot be formed in combination with progressive forms such as am Einkaufen, beim Einkaufen, etc. Finally, the absentiv is typically built in the preterite (präteritum) and present tense.
E.g.
Er war arbeiten - He was away at work.
Ich bin pinkeln - I am away peeing.

More information

Unfortunately the amount of information available on the absentiv is fairly limited as it's both only typically used in spoken language, and is a fairly recent development within german language research. Thus explanations in grammar books are scarce, and the absentiv is typically not taught in Deutsch als Fremdsprache classes. However, you can read a bit about the absentiv here in Alle sind Deutschland … außer Fritz Eckenga – der ist einkaufen!, König 2009.

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faq all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Weak Nouns

Aliases: N-Declension, N-Deklination, Weak noun

:small_blue_diamond: Weil, denn, da

:small_blue_diamond: What does GLaD mean

Aliases: GLaD

:small_blue_diamond: What does this word mean

Aliases: Duden, Meaning, Dict, Dictionary, Definition

:small_blue_diamond: Wissen and kennen

Aliases: Kennen vs. wissen, Wissen vs. kennen

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Nouns & Pronouns

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Verbs

Aliases: Word order verbs, Word order of verbs

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faq GLAD

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What does GLaD mean?

GLaD stands for German Learning and Discussion, the name of this server.

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faq ai

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**AI-generated text**

This FAQ explains rules and advice for using text AI tools such as ChatGPT.

🔹 **Server rules regarding this topic:**
  • Do not answer any questions by using AI-generated text.
  • Do not ask for AI-generated text to be corrected.
🔹 **Problems with using AI for answers and corrections**
  • No fact-checking: Tools like ChatGPT are very good at writing texts and often provide answers that sound good, but they are not capable of fact-checking their own answers.

  • Fake information: It’s very common for these programs to make up fake or incomplete information, which is explained convincingly but is mostly wrong.

  • Non-deterministic: The information is also partially randomly generated, meaning that if you ask the same question multiple times, you will usually end up with different answers.

  • No language knowledge: It shouldn't be used for grammar or vocabulary questions, as it doesn't understand linguistics, nuance, or how a native speaker might actually use a given word or grammar point.

  • Missing context: When correcting texts it needs to understand what the writer was trying to express. As such it may miss mistakes or correct things that don't need to be corrected.

🔹 **Reasons NOT to use generative AI for learning**
  • It delays the development of important skills in language learning.
    Relying too much on AI generated texts or solutions may get in the way of learning the necessary skills of language acquisition, such as how to look up words or phrases in a dictionary, using critical thinking, or actually applying learned concepts.

  • AI is not designed to guide learners.
    If you ask an AI a question, it will provide you with information, whereas if you ask a human, they will ideally ask you to show your understanding and offer advice on how to find the answer.

  • AI output requires scrutiny
    AI output must be verified, but beginners to German or to language learning often lack the knowledge or experience to do so.

🔹 **Good uses of AI-generated text**
  • Ask ChatGPT to come up with some story ideas that you can write about.
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faq translate

lean flickerBOT
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How to ask a question

If you want something corrected, you can put it in a Google Doc and share a link with permission level »can suggest« in #writing .

Don't ask us to translate something for you outright: that takes professional time and effort and we're not here for that. You can try your luck with deepl.com.
For single words, use dict.cc or another dictionary, it'll be quicker.

If you want to know if/how a word can be used, provide some context to help us understand the situation.

Don't ask us to do your homework or exams for you! Show us your best attempt at something and try to pinpoint what exactly you don't understand.

slim atlas
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faq cefr

tropic river
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faq

lean flickerBOT
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:x: The required argument name is missing.

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faq Casper

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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

slim atlas
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explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

rough dragon
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faq Konjugationen

lean flickerBOT
#
Conjugation

Präsens (Present Tense)
When you use a verb in a sentence (or clause), you have to conjugate it (change the form) to match the subject of the sentence (or clause).

For example, in English, we write I eat but he/she eats. The verb has a different ending! The concept is the same in German, except German has more endings.

The first thing you need to know in order to conjugate verbs is: which ending fits which subject? Here is a simple verb “trinken” (to drink) as an example:

trinken
ich trinke
du trinkst
er/sie/es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken / Sie trinken
(Note: the conjugation for sie (they) and Sie (formal you) is always the same)

Vowel/Stem Changes
There are a few variations and exceptions, but the most important is vowel changes (also called stem changes). Some verbs get a vowel change, which only affects the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb. (However, modal verbs and wissen have their own special pattern, which also has a vowel change in the ich form.)

Example: ich schlafe, du schläfst

Other Changes
There are various other differences but I can’t describe them all here, so please read these websites or use Google to find more information: https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_verbs_present_tense.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/german-present-tense-verbs-4074838
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/PresentTense/Present.html

crystal thistle
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faq begginer

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Beginner (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

crystal thistle
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
serene beacon
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faq homework

lean flickerBOT
#
How to ask a question

If you want something corrected, you can put it in a Google Doc and share a link with permission level »can suggest« in #writing .

Don't ask us to translate something for you outright: that takes professional time and effort and we're not here for that. You can try your luck with deepl.com.
For single words, use dict.cc or another dictionary, it'll be quicker.

If you want to know if/how a word can be used, provide some context to help us understand the situation.

Don't ask us to do your homework or exams for you! Show us your best attempt at something and try to pinpoint what exactly you don't understand.

cyan estuary
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faq vc

#

faq vc

lean flickerBOT
worthy hull
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help

lean flickerBOT
#
Bans commands
:small_blue_diamond: **isbanned** <user>

Checks whether the given user is banned.

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isbanned 513107273975988245

lean flickerBOT
#

SOPA has not been banned on this server.

scenic shard
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
scenic shard
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faq resources

lean flickerBOT
scenic shard
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faq duolingo

lean flickerBOT
#
Duolingo

Duolingo is a decent resource to start with if you're a complete beginner, but it's neither efficient nor comprehensive!

What Duolingo will teach you about grammar is very limited, and none of the systems they use will help you practise much of it.
You can learn some vocabulary with it, but their method (based on the concept of spaced repetition) doesn't work for everybody, and the way Duolingo teaches is not very effective compared to the amount of time it requires from you.

So, if you find it useful, by all means keep using it, but remember not to fall for its gamification of language learning, and move past it when it stops being beneficial. Ignore the streaks.

In any case, keep in mind that Duolingo is not enough to learn a language, ever.

If you're looking for guidance or alternatives, check out >faq beginner in our #botchannel .

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faq duolingo

lean flickerBOT
#
Duolingo

Duolingo is a decent resource to start with if you're a complete beginner, but it's neither efficient nor comprehensive!

What Duolingo will teach you about grammar is very limited, and none of the systems they use will help you practise much of it.
You can learn some vocabulary with it, but their method (based on the concept of spaced repetition) doesn't work for everybody, and the way Duolingo teaches is not very effective compared to the amount of time it requires from you.

So, if you find it useful, by all means keep using it, but remember not to fall for its gamification of language learning, and move past it when it stops being beneficial. Ignore the streaks.

In any case, keep in mind that Duolingo is not enough to learn a language, ever.

If you're looking for guidance or alternatives, check out >faq beginner in our #botchannel .

winged quiver
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faq ank

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#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Anki (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

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faq Anki

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Anki
What is Anki?

Anki is a free and very versatile flashcard program that is often used for learning new vocabulary. You can import spreadsheets to quickly create your own flashcards, and you can add your own images and audio for highly custom flashcard decks. You can also access and use a wide range of community created and shared flashcard decks all for free*.

Note: Anki uses a method of learning called spaced repetition. Flashcards and spaced repetition are one of many techniques used for language learning. However, we all learn differently and while these methods work for many people, they may not necessarily work for you. Give it a try, but don’t be disheartened if these methods aren’t right for you. Even if flashcards and spaced repetition work for you, don’t forget to incorporate other forms of practice. E.g. try using your new vocabulary to write your own practice sentences.

Where To Get It

It is available here on PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone, and Android. You can also find the browser AnkiWeb version here.

Manually adding basic cards is quite simple, but making custom templates is a bit more complex. Basementality has put together this handy guide for making custom card types and decks. You can also find Anki’s documentation / instruction guide here.

*The iPhone app AnkiMobile costs $24.99 USD on the iTunes store. The Android app and all other platforms are completely free. The mobile browser version of AnkiWeb is still available for free on iPhones.

See the next page for some helpful tips on creating your flashcards.

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faq anki

lean flickerBOT
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Flashcard Tips

When creating flashcards it is not enough to just have a single german word on one side, and a single word translation on the other side of the card. You want to provide details that match your learning style and help you better understand what the word means.

For nouns

At the very least, include the gender and the plural form. E.g. Der Mann | Die Männer or Der Mann -:er Whichever form helps you recognise the plural ending and any vowel changes. You may also want to add a note for weak masculine nouns. (See >explain N-Declension.)

For verbs

Include the infinitive, the preterite (simple past) and the past participle (perfect form). E.g. rennen | rannte | gerannt or for a separable verb anrufen | rief an | angerufen. For irregular verbs, you may want to list all present tense conjugations. You may also want to include if the verb uses haben or sein as its auxiliary.

For all words

Adding an example sentence is important for helping you understand the usage and context of a word (dwds.de and linguee.com are good sources of example sentences). You may also want to add multiple translations for words that have multiple meanings. E.g. Die Auflage can mean both a requirement, and the edition of a book. You may also want to try picture cues or audio recordings (possible sources for voice recordings include dict.cc, linguee.com, duden.de, and wiktionary.de).

Close Passages

Flashcards based on close passages can be a very effective way to learn new vocabulary. E.g. put Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im [blank] ein. on one side of the flashcard, and Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im *Markt* ein; der Markt, die Märkte - market. This places vocabulary in context to help you understand its meaning and usages, and also provides you with whole phrases that help jolt your memory when trying to remember an individual word.

Recall vs. Reproduction

Flashcards are most effective when they train your ability to reproduce knowledge. I.e. Seeing the word Baum and recognising it as tree is a lot less effective than being able to look at a picture of a tree and know it means der Baum. Taking that a step further you want to be able to also know that that while die Struktur also means 'tree', it doesn't actually mean the plant. When creating flashcards, try to design them with these concepts in mind. E.g. Using minimal or no flashcards that show you a german word and ask you to recall what it means in english, and instead focus on the other way around: giving you an english word and asking you to recall what it means in german.

Other Flashcard Apps

Other commonly used flashcard apps you may want to check out include:

eager mantle
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faq adjective declension

lean flickerBOT
dire sphinx
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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faq Präsens

lean flickerBOT
#
Conjugation

Präsens (Present Tense)
When you use a verb in a sentence (or clause), you have to conjugate it (change the form) to match the subject of the sentence (or clause).

For example, in English, we write I eat but he/she eats. The verb has a different ending! The concept is the same in German, except German has more endings.

The first thing you need to know in order to conjugate verbs is: which ending fits which subject? Here is a simple verb “trinken” (to drink) as an example:

trinken
ich trinke
du trinkst
er/sie/es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken / Sie trinken
(Note: the conjugation for sie (they) and Sie (formal you) is always the same)

Vowel/Stem Changes
There are a few variations and exceptions, but the most important is vowel changes (also called stem changes). Some verbs get a vowel change, which only affects the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb. (However, modal verbs and wissen have their own special pattern, which also has a vowel change in the ich form.)

Example: ich schlafe, du schläfst

Other Changes
There are various other differences but I can’t describe them all here, so please read these websites or use Google to find more information: https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_verbs_present_tense.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/german-present-tense-verbs-4074838
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/PresentTense/Present.html

gilded bane
#

faq duolingo

lean flickerBOT
#
Duolingo

Duolingo is a decent resource to start with if you're a complete beginner, but it's neither efficient nor comprehensive!

What Duolingo will teach you about grammar is very limited, and none of the systems they use will help you practise much of it.
You can learn some vocabulary with it, but their method (based on the concept of spaced repetition) doesn't work for everybody, and the way Duolingo teaches is not very effective compared to the amount of time it requires from you.

So, if you find it useful, by all means keep using it, but remember not to fall for its gamification of language learning, and move past it when it stops being beneficial. Ignore the streaks.

In any case, keep in mind that Duolingo is not enough to learn a language, ever.

If you're looking for guidance or alternatives, check out >faq beginner in our #botchannel .

serene beacon
#

isbanned 820104219989901353

lean flickerBOT
#

æZeß;57 has not been banned on this server.

serene beacon
#

faq accusative

lean flickerBOT
#
When do I use the accusative case?

The accusative case is mainly used:

- to mark the direct object of many transitive verbs

Ich lese einen Roman.
Er hat die schöne Frau ermordet.
Sie besitzen kein Auto.

- after some prepositions

Danke für deine Hilfe!
Ohne dich kann ich nicht leben.
Sie hatten keine Einwände gegen den Plan.

The following prepositions are always followed by the accusative case:

bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

- to indicate movement in a particular direction in two-way prepositions

Er steigt auf den Gipfel.
Sie hängt das Bild an die Wand.
Ich gehe gleich ins Bett. (ins = in das)

- by adverbials of time and measurement

A definite length or point in time:
Ich habe den ganzen Tag geschlafen.
Sie kommt nächste Woche zurück.

A measurement:
Das Kind ist vier Jahre alt.
Das Tier ist einen Meter groß.

Expressing distance with verbs of motion:
Ich ging die Treppe hinauf.
Ich lief den ganzen Weg zu Fuß.

- in common greetings and wishes

Guten Morgen/Tag/Abend!
Gute Besserung!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

Here there is an implicit verb such as 'wünschen', where the greeting/wish is the direct object.

soft spear
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
red cave
#

faq N-Declension

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entries: N-Declension (1), N-Deklination (2)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

red cave
#

faq N-Deklination

lean flickerBOT
#
Weak Nouns

Weak nouns are called this way because they receive the same endings as adjectives inflected with weak endings. They take an additional ending -n in every case except nominative singular. This is also known as N-Declension and affects almost exclusively masculine nouns.

Nominativ: der Junge, die Junge__n__
Genitiv: des Junge__n__, der Junge__n__
Dativ: dem Junge__n__, den Junge__n__
Akkusativ: den Junge__n__, die Junge__n__

Some nouns end with a suffix -en to make the pronunciation easier:
der Mensch, den Mensch__en__

Das Herz is the only non-masculine (neuter) noun with N-Declension❣

So how do we recognize these nouns? We can divide them into 3 big groups:

  1. nouns of Greek and Latin origin,
  2. nouns ending with -e (most of these refer to people or animals),
  3. other random German nouns (Mensch, Herr, Student, Nachbar, Prinz etc.)

Another way to divide the groups could be:

  1. nouns denoting male beings in general (der Bauer, der Knabe, der Herr, der Junge, der Kunde etc.)
  2. nouns indicating nationality or religious affiliation (der Chinese, der Russe, der Türke, der Jude, der Katholik, der Protestant)
  3. nouns designating male beings and ending in the foreign suffixes (-ant, -arch, -ast, -ege, -ent, -ist, -oge, -om, -oph, -ot: der Kollege, der Student, der Psychologe, der Polizist, der Philosoph)

der Käse and words ending with -ee aren’t weak nouns.

Genitive of Weak Nouns
You might have noticed from the examples above that weak nouns don’t have the additional -s in genitive like other masculine nouns.
Some exceptions are das Herz and nouns of group 3 that don’t refer to people nor animals (Name, Wille, Glaube, Buchstabe etc.), which take both the -n and -s endings.
Example: der Name, des Name__ns__.

lapis vapor
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
tender trellis
#

faq gender

lean flickerBOT
#
Grammatical gender

Welcome to the interactive paginator!

This interactively allows you to see pages of text by navigating with reactions. They are as follows:

:track_previous: Goes to the first page.
:arrow_backward: Goes to the previous page.
:arrow_forward: Goes to the next page.
:track_next: Goes to the last page.
:stop_button: Stops the interactive pagination session.
:information_source: Shows this message.

tender trellis
#

faq gender patterns

lean flickerBOT
#
**Masculine words (der)**
  • profession/role names (der Verkäufer, der Lehrer)
  • many elements of time (der Tag, der Monat, der Winter)
  • cardinal directions (der Norden, der Süden)
  • words ending in:
    -- -ig der König, der Teig
    -- -ling der Neuling, der Schwächling
    -- -ant der Praktikant, der Elefant
    -- -ismus der Faschismus, der Sozialismus
winged quiver
#

faq ank

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Anki (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

winged quiver
#

faq anki

lean flickerBOT
#
Flashcard Tips

When creating flashcards it is not enough to just have a single german word on one side, and a single word translation on the other side of the card. You want to provide details that match your learning style and help you better understand what the word means.

For nouns

At the very least, include the gender and the plural form. E.g. Der Mann | Die Männer or Der Mann -:er Whichever form helps you recognise the plural ending and any vowel changes. You may also want to add a note for weak masculine nouns. (See >explain N-Declension.)

For verbs

Include the infinitive, the preterite (simple past) and the past participle (perfect form). E.g. rennen | rannte | gerannt or for a separable verb anrufen | rief an | angerufen. For irregular verbs, you may want to list all present tense conjugations. You may also want to include if the verb uses haben or sein as its auxiliary.

For all words

Adding an example sentence is important for helping you understand the usage and context of a word (dwds.de and linguee.com are good sources of example sentences). You may also want to add multiple translations for words that have multiple meanings. E.g. Die Auflage can mean both a requirement, and the edition of a book. You may also want to try picture cues or audio recordings (possible sources for voice recordings include dict.cc, linguee.com, duden.de, and wiktionary.de).

Close Passages

Flashcards based on close passages can be a very effective way to learn new vocabulary. E.g. put Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im [blank] ein. on one side of the flashcard, and Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im *Markt* ein; der Markt, die Märkte - market. This places vocabulary in context to help you understand its meaning and usages, and also provides you with whole phrases that help jolt your memory when trying to remember an individual word.

Recall vs. Reproduction

Flashcards are most effective when they train your ability to reproduce knowledge. I.e. Seeing the word Baum and recognising it as tree is a lot less effective than being able to look at a picture of a tree and know it means der Baum. Taking that a step further you want to be able to also know that that while die Struktur also means 'tree', it doesn't actually mean the plant. When creating flashcards, try to design them with these concepts in mind. E.g. Using minimal or no flashcards that show you a german word and ask you to recall what it means in english, and instead focus on the other way around: giving you an english word and asking you to recall what it means in german.

Other Flashcard Apps

Other commonly used flashcard apps you may want to check out include:

noble brook
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

winged quiver
#

faq AI

lean flickerBOT
#
**AI-generated text**

This FAQ explains rules and advice for using text AI tools such as ChatGPT.

🔹 **Server rules regarding this topic:**
  • Do not answer any questions by using AI-generated text.
  • Do not ask for AI-generated text to be corrected.
🔹 **Problems with using AI for answers and corrections**
  • No fact-checking: Tools like ChatGPT are very good at writing texts and often provide answers that sound good, but they are not capable of fact-checking their own answers.

  • Fake information: It’s very common for these programs to make up fake or incomplete information, which is explained convincingly but is mostly wrong.

  • Non-deterministic: The information is also partially randomly generated, meaning that if you ask the same question multiple times, you will usually end up with different answers.

  • No language knowledge: It shouldn't be used for grammar or vocabulary questions, as it doesn't understand linguistics, nuance, or how a native speaker might actually use a given word or grammar point.

  • Missing context: When correcting texts it needs to understand what the writer was trying to express. As such it may miss mistakes or correct things that don't need to be corrected.

🔹 **Reasons NOT to use generative AI for learning**
  • It delays the development of important skills in language learning.
    Relying too much on AI generated texts or solutions may get in the way of learning the necessary skills of language acquisition, such as how to look up words or phrases in a dictionary, using critical thinking, or actually applying learned concepts.

  • AI is not designed to guide learners.
    If you ask an AI a question, it will provide you with information, whereas if you ask a human, they will ideally ask you to show your understanding and offer advice on how to find the answer.

  • AI output requires scrutiny
    AI output must be verified, but beginners to German or to language learning often lack the knowledge or experience to do so.

🔹 **Good uses of AI-generated text**
  • Ask ChatGPT to come up with some story ideas that you can write about.
full stone
tender trellis
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
tender trellis
#

sessions

lean flickerBOT
#

There are no sessions currently scheduled.

pine marsh
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
tender trellis
#

faq levels

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

tender trellis
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
jolly panther
#

verb spazieren

lean flickerBOT
jolly panther
#

faq

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument name is missing.

jolly panther
#

faq commands

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

jolly panther
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Duolingo

Aliases: Duo

:small_blue_diamond: Eszett

Aliases: Scharfes S, ẞ, ß

:small_blue_diamond: FAQ

:small_blue_diamond: Formal and informal speech

Aliases: Sie, Du vs. Sie, Formal, Du, Siezen, Duzen vs. siezen, Du vs. sie, Informal

:small_blue_diamond: Gender patterns

:small_blue_diamond: Genitive

Aliases: Genitiv

:small_blue_diamond: German letters

Aliases: German keyboard, Keyboard

:small_blue_diamond: Grammar terms

Aliases: Glossary, Grammatical terms

:small_blue_diamond: Grammatical gender

Aliases: der-die-das, Genders, Gender

:small_blue_diamond: Help

:small_blue_diamond: How long does it take to learn German

Aliases: Time required, How long to learn

:small_blue_diamond: How to ask a question

Aliases: Translation, Homework, hw, questions

:small_blue_diamond: How to get started

Aliases: Starting out, Beginner

:small_blue_diamond: How to join Voice Chat

Aliases: VC-pending, VC pending, Limited Permissions, VC

:small_blue_diamond: How to use writing

jolly panther
#

explain How to ask a question

lean flickerBOT
#
How to ask a question

If you want something corrected, you can put it in a Google Doc and share a link with permission level »can suggest« in #writing .

Don't ask us to translate something for you outright: that takes professional time and effort and we're not here for that. You can try your luck with deepl.com.
For single words, use dict.cc or another dictionary, it'll be quicker.

If you want to know if/how a word can be used, provide some context to help us understand the situation.

Don't ask us to do your homework or exams for you! Show us your best attempt at something and try to pinpoint what exactly you don't understand.

jolly panther
#

commands

serene beacon
#

faq gender

lean flickerBOT
#
Grammatical gender

German nouns are sorted in three different genders: masculine, neuter and feminine. These have nothing to do with sex or social gender.
The first thing genders will influence are articles like der, das, die. Each word has its own and you better get it right: some words that look identical can have different meanings depending on the gender they're used with. For example:
die Band = the (musical) band,
der Band = the (book) volume,
das Band = the tape.

Some words, mainly trademarks and loanwords, have multiple acceptable genders while having no change in meaning:
der Jogurt = das Jogurt
das Virus = der Virus
These may vary by region or colloquiality.

💢 But WHY, German, WHY
Gender is actually quite useful! Since sentence structure is less rigid than in English, grammatical case helps you tell the various elements apart (with some practice), and that works through genders: each gender has its own forms, which makes everything a little less ambiguous. Besides, as you've seen with Band above, it allows us to make up words with different meanings that look the same but are not ambiguous, and if that's not magic, I don't know what is. ✨

🙀 But how am I supposed to tell them apart? 🙀
Check out >explain gender patterns. 😉

tacit terrace
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
honest delta
#

faq beginner

static sequoia
#

faq resources

#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
proper birch
#

faq gende

lean flickerBOT
#
Grammatical gender

German nouns are sorted in three different genders: masculine, neuter and feminine. These have nothing to do with sex or social gender.
The first thing genders will influence are articles like der, das, die. Each word has its own and you better get it right: some words that look identical can have different meanings depending on the gender they're used with. For example:
die Band = the (musical) band,
der Band = the (book) volume,
das Band = the tape.

Some words, mainly trademarks and loanwords, have multiple acceptable genders while having no change in meaning:
der Jogurt = das Jogurt
das Virus = der Virus
These may vary by region or colloquiality.

💢 But WHY, German, WHY
Gender is actually quite useful! Since sentence structure is less rigid than in English, grammatical case helps you tell the various elements apart (with some practice), and that works through genders: each gender has its own forms, which makes everything a little less ambiguous. Besides, as you've seen with Band above, it allows us to make up words with different meanings that look the same but are not ambiguous, and if that's not magic, I don't know what is. ✨

🙀 But how am I supposed to tell them apart? 🙀
Check out >explain gender patterns. 😉

#
Grammatical gender

German nouns are sorted in three different genders: masculine, neuter and feminine. These have nothing to do with sex or social gender.
The first thing genders will influence are articles like der, das, die. Each word has its own and you better get it right: some words that look identical can have different meanings depending on the gender they're used with. For example:
die Band = the (musical) band,
der Band = the (book) volume,
das Band = the tape.

Some words, mainly trademarks and loanwords, have multiple acceptable genders while having no change in meaning:
der Jogurt = das Jogurt
das Virus = der Virus
These may vary by region or colloquiality.

💢 But WHY, German, WHY
Gender is actually quite useful! Since sentence structure is less rigid than in English, grammatical case helps you tell the various elements apart (with some practice), and that works through genders: each gender has its own forms, which makes everything a little less ambiguous. Besides, as you've seen with Band above, it allows us to make up words with different meanings that look the same but are not ambiguous, and if that's not magic, I don't know what is. ✨

🙀 But how am I supposed to tell them apart? 🙀
Check out >explain gender patterns. 😉

#
Grammatical gender

German nouns are sorted in three different genders: masculine, neuter and feminine. These have nothing to do with sex or social gender.
The first thing genders will influence are articles like der, das, die. Each word has its own and you better get it right: some words that look identical can have different meanings depending on the gender they're used with. For example:
die Band = the (musical) band,
der Band = the (book) volume,
das Band = the tape.

Some words, mainly trademarks and loanwords, have multiple acceptable genders while having no change in meaning:
der Jogurt = das Jogurt
das Virus = der Virus
These may vary by region or colloquiality.

💢 But WHY, German, WHY
Gender is actually quite useful! Since sentence structure is less rigid than in English, grammatical case helps you tell the various elements apart (with some practice), and that works through genders: each gender has its own forms, which makes everything a little less ambiguous. Besides, as you've seen with Band above, it allows us to make up words with different meanings that look the same but are not ambiguous, and if that's not magic, I don't know what is. ✨

🙀 But how am I supposed to tell them apart? 🙀
Check out >explain gender patterns. 😉

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help

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Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

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faq beginner

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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
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faq resources

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explain gender patterns

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**Feminine words (die)**
  • many words ending in -e (die Nase, die Kiste)
  • words ending in:
    -- -in (feminine professions/roles): die Verkäuferin, die Lehrerin
    -- -ei die Fischerei, die Bäckerei
    -- -schaft die Mannschaft, die Gemeinschaft
    -- -heit/-keit die Freiheit, die Gerechtigkeit
    -- -ung die Bedeutung, die Achtung
    -- -ion die Aktion, die Religion
    -- -ik die Logistik, die Logik
    -- -anz words of classical origin: die Allianz, die Toleranz
    -- -ur die Natur, die Kultur
    -- -tät die Professionalität, die Kriminalität
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faq schon

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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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help faq

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faq

**Aliases: **ex, explain
Provides commands for looking up explanations about popular learning-related topics. Use >faq <name> to see the entry with the given name.

:small_blue_diamond: **faq all**

**Aliases: **faq show, faq list
Displays all FAQ entries that are currently available.

:small_blue_diamond: **faq** <name>

**Aliases: **ex, explain
Provides commands for looking up explanations about popular learning-related topics. Use >faq <name> to see the entry with the given name.

:small_blue_diamond: **faq info** <name>

Displays meta information about the FAQ entry with the given name.

:small_blue_diamond: **faq search** <name>

Retrieves all FAQ entries whose names or aliases roughly match the given name.

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explain all

lean flickerBOT
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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

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faq cefr

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CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

#

:x: '@LevelA' is not a channel or a role.

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purpose @Level A

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:x: '@Level A' is not a channel or a role.

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purpose Reading

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Information about Reading
Reading

This role is for members of the Reading group. Members of this group will be pinged with updates regarding reading sessions. This involves reading a text in German and (usually) translating it into English. This activity is aimed at all levels.

Enter >sub reading in #botchannel to get pings about sessions.

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purpose levela

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:x: 'levela' is not a channel or a role.

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purpose Level A

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Information about Level A
Level A

Members with this role indicate that they have a level of proficiency in German up to and including A2, which generally means that they are starting out with German or have some understanding of the basics.

Use the corresponding button in #850404908946423828 to get this role.

Enter >faq cefr in #botchannel to learn more about what these levels mean.

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permissions

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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
valid onyx
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
valid onyx
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faq resources

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help

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German commands
:small_blue_diamond: **lookup** <target> <phrase>

Translates the given phrase into the specified target language using dict.cc. Specify either en or de as targets.

:small_blue_diamond: **noun** <noun>

Provides a link to the declension of the given noun.

:small_blue_diamond: **verb** <infinitive>

Provides a link to the conjugation of the given infinitive.

:small_blue_diamond: **words**

A command that helps you train vocabulary using dict.cc.

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faq noun

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Weak Nouns

Weak nouns are called this way because they receive the same endings as adjectives inflected with weak endings. They take an additional ending -n in every case except nominative singular. This is also known as N-Declension and affects almost exclusively masculine nouns.

Nominativ: der Junge, die Junge__n__
Genitiv: des Junge__n__, der Junge__n__
Dativ: dem Junge__n__, den Junge__n__
Akkusativ: den Junge__n__, die Junge__n__

Some nouns end with a suffix -en to make the pronunciation easier:
der Mensch, den Mensch__en__

Das Herz is the only non-masculine (neuter) noun with N-Declension❣

So how do we recognize these nouns? We can divide them into 3 big groups:

  1. nouns of Greek and Latin origin,
  2. nouns ending with -e (most of these refer to people or animals),
  3. other random German nouns (Mensch, Herr, Student, Nachbar, Prinz etc.)

Another way to divide the groups could be:

  1. nouns denoting male beings in general (der Bauer, der Knabe, der Herr, der Junge, der Kunde etc.)
  2. nouns indicating nationality or religious affiliation (der Chinese, der Russe, der Türke, der Jude, der Katholik, der Protestant)
  3. nouns designating male beings and ending in the foreign suffixes (-ant, -arch, -ast, -ege, -ent, -ist, -oge, -om, -oph, -ot: der Kollege, der Student, der Psychologe, der Polizist, der Philosoph)

der Käse and words ending with -ee aren’t weak nouns.

Genitive of Weak Nouns
You might have noticed from the examples above that weak nouns don’t have the additional -s in genitive like other masculine nouns.
Some exceptions are das Herz and nouns of group 3 that don’t refer to people nor animals (Name, Wille, Glaube, Buchstabe etc.), which take both the -n and -s endings.
Example: der Name, des Name__ns__.

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faq verb

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Conjugation

Präsens (Present Tense)
When you use a verb in a sentence (or clause), you have to conjugate it (change the form) to match the subject of the sentence (or clause).

For example, in English, we write I eat but he/she eats. The verb has a different ending! The concept is the same in German, except German has more endings.

The first thing you need to know in order to conjugate verbs is: which ending fits which subject? Here is a simple verb “trinken” (to drink) as an example:

trinken
ich trinke
du trinkst
er/sie/es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken / Sie trinken
(Note: the conjugation for sie (they) and Sie (formal you) is always the same)

Vowel/Stem Changes
There are a few variations and exceptions, but the most important is vowel changes (also called stem changes). Some verbs get a vowel change, which only affects the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb. (However, modal verbs and wissen have their own special pattern, which also has a vowel change in the ich form.)

Example: ich schlafe, du schläfst

Other Changes
There are various other differences but I can’t describe them all here, so please read these websites or use Google to find more information: https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_verbs_present_tense.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/german-present-tense-verbs-4074838
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/PresentTense/Present.html

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faq words

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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explain all

lean flickerBOT
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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Weak Nouns

Aliases: N-Declension, N-Deklination, Weak noun

:small_blue_diamond: Weil, denn, da

:small_blue_diamond: What does GLaD mean

Aliases: GLaD

:small_blue_diamond: What does this word mean

Aliases: Duden, Meaning, Dict, Dictionary, Definition

:small_blue_diamond: Wissen and kennen

Aliases: Kennen vs. wissen, Wissen vs. kennen

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Nouns & Pronouns

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Verbs

Aliases: Word order verbs, Word order of verbs

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faq akkusativ

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Accusative

The accusative case (der Akkusativ) is one of the four cases of the German language. A case affects how a noun or noun phrase is inflected, and indicates the role of the noun or noun phrase in a clause.

How do I decline in the accusative case?

Feminine and neuter nouns and adjectives are the same as nominative. Masculine determiners, adjectives, and weak nouns gain an -en ending::

Ich esse den/einen/keinen kleinen Apfel.

Personal pronouns differ for:

ich --> mich
du --> dich
er --> ihn
wir --> uns
ihr --> euch

For a full explanation see >explain adjective declension

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explain all

lean flickerBOT
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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Roles

:small_blue_diamond: Seeing verbs

Aliases: Sehen, Schauen

:small_blue_diamond: So and also

:small_blue_diamond: Stative Passive

Aliases: Zustandspassiv, Statal passive

:small_blue_diamond: Structure of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 2

:small_blue_diamond: Study Vocabulary

Aliases: Unterrichten, Studieren, Lernen, Beibringen

:small_blue_diamond: Swiss German

Aliases: gsw

:small_blue_diamond: Switzerland

Aliases: Schweiz, CH

:small_blue_diamond: Two-way prepositions

Aliases: Two way prepositions, Dual prepositions

:small_blue_diamond: Umlauts

Aliases: Umlaute, Umlaut, ä, ö, ü

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Freund and Freundin

Aliases: Freundin, Friend, Friend vs. Boyfriend, Friend vs. Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Freund

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 1

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of zu

Aliases: Um zu

:small_blue_diamond: Verbs with prepositions

Aliases: Verb prepositions, Pferd's verb list

:small_blue_diamond: Vorgangspassiv

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faq verbs with prepositions

lean flickerBOT
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faq dativ

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When do I use the dative case?

The dative case has a great number of usages, many of which are idiomatic, but is mainly used:

- to mark the indirect object of many transitive verbs (the indirect objectis that which receives the result of an action)

Ich habe dir ein Bier gekauft.
Sie gibt dem Mann das Buch.
Er zeigte ihm seinen Führerschein.

- to mark the object of some transitive verbs:

Dir fehlen die richtigen Materialien.
Es fällt mir bestimmt gleich wieder ein.
Das gefällt ihr gar nicht.

- after some prepositions:

Ich komme aus den USA.
Komm mit mir.
Ich lerne seit vielen Jahren Deutsch.

The following prepositions are always followed by the dative case:

aus, außer, bei, gegenüber, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

- after two-way prepositions when they do not indicate movement:

Das Bild hängt jetzt an der Wand.
Er joggt im Wald. (he is jogging in the woods)
Sie steht vor mir.

- to show possession, mainly of clothing or body parts:

Ich habe mir in die Finger geschnitten.
Er hat ihr die Nase gebrochen.
Die Mütze fiel mir vom Kopf.

- with many adjectives:

Ich war mir nicht sicher.
Ist dir kalt? (See >ex impersonal verbs for why there is no subject here.)
Er ist seinem Bruder sehr ähnlich.

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purpose study room

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:x: 'study room' is not a channel or a role.

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purpose study group

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:x: 'study group' is not a channel or a role.

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explain doch

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Doch

doch for beginners
Germans tend to use the word doch in lots of different situations. But what does it mean, and when do you use it? ⁉

🔆 Using doch to contradict negative statements 🔆
You can use doch to contradict a negative statement/question in the same manner as you would use nein to contradict a positive statement.

(1) Laura hat keinen Fernseher, oder? - Doch, sie hat einen Fernseher!
Laura doesn't have a TV, does she? - Yes, she does!
(2) Du kannst kein Schach spielen! - Doch, das kann ich!
You can't play chess! - Yes, I can!
💡 With doch, correctly answering negative questions (with positive tags) has never been easier. Isn't that awesome? Doch, it is! 😏

🔅 Using doch as an adversative conjunction 🔅
You can also use doch as an adversative conjunction (yet, however, ...).

(3) Du hattest genug Zeit, doch du hast nicht für die Prüfung gelernt.
You had enough time, yet you didn't study for the exam.
(4) Es ist noch nicht Sommer, doch es ist fast genauso heiß.
It is not yet summer, it is, however, almost as hot.
‼ Keep in mind that doch as an adversative conjunction doesn't change the word order. ‼

🔅 Using doch as a subjunctive 🔅
Furthermore, you can use doch in concessive clauses.

(5) Auch wenn wir erwarteten, zu verlieren, so haben wir das Spiel doch gewonnen.
Though we expected to lose, we still won the game.
(6) Obwohl sie sehr nett ist, findet sie doch keine neuen Freunde.
Although she's very kind, she doesn't make new friends.

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help

lean flickerBOT
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Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

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help

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beginner

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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
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faq ank

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Flashcard Tips

When creating flashcards it is not enough to just have a single german word on one side, and a single word translation on the other side of the card. You want to provide details that match your learning style and help you better understand what the word means.

For nouns

At the very least, include the gender and the plural form. E.g. Der Mann | Die Männer or Der Mann -:er Whichever form helps you recognise the plural ending and any vowel changes. You may also want to add a note for weak masculine nouns. (See >explain N-Declension.)

For verbs

Include the infinitive, the preterite (simple past) and the past participle (perfect form). E.g. rennen | rannte | gerannt or for a separable verb anrufen | rief an | angerufen. For irregular verbs, you may want to list all present tense conjugations. You may also want to include if the verb uses haben or sein as its auxiliary.

For all words

Adding an example sentence is important for helping you understand the usage and context of a word (dwds.de and linguee.com are good sources of example sentences). You may also want to add multiple translations for words that have multiple meanings. E.g. Die Auflage can mean both a requirement, and the edition of a book. You may also want to try picture cues or audio recordings (possible sources for voice recordings include dict.cc, linguee.com, duden.de, and wiktionary.de).

Close Passages

Flashcards based on close passages can be a very effective way to learn new vocabulary. E.g. put Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im [blank] ein. on one side of the flashcard, and Ich kaufe Lebensmittel im *Markt* ein; der Markt, die Märkte - market. This places vocabulary in context to help you understand its meaning and usages, and also provides you with whole phrases that help jolt your memory when trying to remember an individual word.

Recall vs. Reproduction

Flashcards are most effective when they train your ability to reproduce knowledge. I.e. Seeing the word Baum and recognising it as tree is a lot less effective than being able to look at a picture of a tree and know it means der Baum. Taking that a step further you want to be able to also know that that while die Struktur also means 'tree', it doesn't actually mean the plant. When creating flashcards, try to design them with these concepts in mind. E.g. Using minimal or no flashcards that show you a german word and ask you to recall what it means in english, and instead focus on the other way around: giving you an english word and asking you to recall what it means in german.

Other Flashcard Apps

Other commonly used flashcard apps you may want to check out include:

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explain N-Declension

lean flickerBOT
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Weak Nouns

Weak nouns are called this way because they receive the same endings as adjectives inflected with weak endings. They take an additional ending -n in every case except nominative singular. This is also known as N-Declension and affects almost exclusively masculine nouns.

Nominativ: der Junge, die Junge__n__
Genitiv: des Junge__n__, der Junge__n__
Dativ: dem Junge__n__, den Junge__n__
Akkusativ: den Junge__n__, die Junge__n__

Some nouns end with a suffix -en to make the pronunciation easier:
der Mensch, den Mensch__en__

Das Herz is the only non-masculine (neuter) noun with N-Declension❣

So how do we recognize these nouns? We can divide them into 3 big groups:

  1. nouns of Greek and Latin origin,
  2. nouns ending with -e (most of these refer to people or animals),
  3. other random German nouns (Mensch, Herr, Student, Nachbar, Prinz etc.)

Another way to divide the groups could be:

  1. nouns denoting male beings in general (der Bauer, der Knabe, der Herr, der Junge, der Kunde etc.)
  2. nouns indicating nationality or religious affiliation (der Chinese, der Russe, der Türke, der Jude, der Katholik, der Protestant)
  3. nouns designating male beings and ending in the foreign suffixes (-ant, -arch, -ast, -ege, -ent, -ist, -oge, -om, -oph, -ot: der Kollege, der Student, der Psychologe, der Polizist, der Philosoph)

der Käse and words ending with -ee aren’t weak nouns.

Genitive of Weak Nouns
You might have noticed from the examples above that weak nouns don’t have the additional -s in genitive like other masculine nouns.
Some exceptions are das Herz and nouns of group 3 that don’t refer to people nor animals (Name, Wille, Glaube, Buchstabe etc.), which take both the -n and -s endings.
Example: der Name, des Name__ns__.

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faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
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CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

sleek ivy
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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Purpose>A1

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faq homework

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How to ask a question

If you want something corrected, you can put it in a Google Doc and share a link with permission level »can suggest« in #writing .

Don't ask us to translate something for you outright: that takes professional time and effort and we're not here for that. You can try your luck with deepl.com.
For single words, use dict.cc or another dictionary, it'll be quicker.

If you want to know if/how a word can be used, provide some context to help us understand the situation.

Don't ask us to do your homework or exams for you! Show us your best attempt at something and try to pinpoint what exactly you don't understand.

shadow willow
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
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explain

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:x: The required argument name is missing.

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explain zu

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FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Um zu (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

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explain un zu

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Usage of zu

Usage of ZU
Zu is a word that has a lot of uses.
As a preposition it means “to/towards”. (see >ex Dative and >ex Prepositions of Place Part 1)

But it can also be used to indicate an infinitive/gerund in a sentence, for example:
(1) Es ist schwierig, Deutsch zu lernen. = “Learning German is hard.” or ”It’s hard to learn German.”
As you can see, the zu is placed before the infinitive verb that has no prefix or a non-separable prefix. For verbs with a separable prefix, the zu goes between the prefix and the verb with no space in between:
(2) Ich habe heute bloß vor, Essen einzukaufen. = I only plan to buy food today.

You can also see it in the um...zu structure, where it means ”in order to”.
The um goes to the beginning of the phrase and zu works the same way as explained above.
(3) Wir sind zum Supermarkt gegangen, um etwas Brot zu kaufen. = We went to the shop (in order) to buy some bread.
(4) Ich lerne Deutsch, um mit Deutschen reden zu können. = I am learning German (in order) to be able to speak to Germans.
‼you can use um...zu only if the people doing both actions are the same. So in the examples above:
• in (3) we go and we buy bread
• in (4) I learn and I speak
❌ *ich gebe ihm ein Geschenk, um er glücklich zu sein - This and other weird stuffs are WRONG!
🌟 Bonus: When you want to say in order to, but the subjects are different, you use the subordinate conjunction damit.

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explain mal

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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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explain all

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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

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faq begginer

lean flickerBOT
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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
regal junco
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sessions

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There are no sessions currently scheduled.

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faq dative

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When do I use the dative case?

The dative case has a great number of usages, many of which are idiomatic, but is mainly used:

- to mark the indirect object of many transitive verbs (the indirect objectis that which receives the result of an action)

Ich habe dir ein Bier gekauft.
Sie gibt dem Mann das Buch.
Er zeigte ihm seinen Führerschein.

- to mark the object of some transitive verbs:

Dir fehlen die richtigen Materialien.
Es fällt mir bestimmt gleich wieder ein.
Das gefällt ihr gar nicht.

- after some prepositions:

Ich komme aus den USA.
Komm mit mir.
Ich lerne seit vielen Jahren Deutsch.

The following prepositions are always followed by the dative case:

aus, außer, bei, gegenüber, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

- after two-way prepositions when they do not indicate movement:

Das Bild hängt jetzt an der Wand.
Er joggt im Wald. (he is jogging in the woods)
Sie steht vor mir.

- to show possession, mainly of clothing or body parts:

Ich habe mir in die Finger geschnitten.
Er hat ihr die Nase gebrochen.
Die Mütze fiel mir vom Kopf.

- with many adjectives:

Ich war mir nicht sicher.
Ist dir kalt? (See >ex impersonal verbs for why there is no subject here.)
Er ist seinem Bruder sehr ähnlich.

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faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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faq resources

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inspire

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inspireme

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spark aurora
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inspireme

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spark aurora
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inspireme

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sinful sonnet
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faq resources

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serene beacon
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inspireme

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limpid oriole
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faq

lean flickerBOT
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:x: The required argument name is missing.

limpid oriole
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faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

tired bridge
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...

fringe dove
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faq beginner

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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
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that dosent solve it

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im not new here

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faq anki

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Anki
What is Anki?

Anki is a free and very versatile flashcard program that is often used for learning new vocabulary. You can import spreadsheets to quickly create your own flashcards, and you can add your own images and audio for highly custom flashcard decks. You can also access and use a wide range of community created and shared flashcard decks all for free*.

Note: Anki uses a method of learning called spaced repetition. Flashcards and spaced repetition are one of many techniques used for language learning. However, we all learn differently and while these methods work for many people, they may not necessarily work for you. Give it a try, but don’t be disheartened if these methods aren’t right for you. Even if flashcards and spaced repetition work for you, don’t forget to incorporate other forms of practice. E.g. try using your new vocabulary to write your own practice sentences.

Where To Get It

It is available here on PC, Mac, Linux, iPhone, and Android. You can also find the browser AnkiWeb version here.

Manually adding basic cards is quite simple, but making custom templates is a bit more complex. Basementality has put together this handy guide for making custom card types and decks. You can also find Anki’s documentation / instruction guide here.

*The iPhone app AnkiMobile costs $24.99 USD on the iTunes store. The Android app and all other platforms are completely free. The mobile browser version of AnkiWeb is still available for free on iPhones.

See the next page for some helpful tips on creating your flashcards.

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rlist

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reminderlist

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reminders

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remind list

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Jakob has not been banned on this server.

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My Discord is bugging out I think.

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explain verb

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Conjugation

Präsens (Present Tense)
When you use a verb in a sentence (or clause), you have to conjugate it (change the form) to match the subject of the sentence (or clause).

For example, in English, we write I eat but he/she eats. The verb has a different ending! The concept is the same in German, except German has more endings.

The first thing you need to know in order to conjugate verbs is: which ending fits which subject? Here is a simple verb “trinken” (to drink) as an example:

trinken
ich trinke
du trinkst
er/sie/es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken / Sie trinken
(Note: the conjugation for sie (they) and Sie (formal you) is always the same)

Vowel/Stem Changes
There are a few variations and exceptions, but the most important is vowel changes (also called stem changes). Some verbs get a vowel change, which only affects the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb. (However, modal verbs and wissen have their own special pattern, which also has a vowel change in the ich form.)

Example: ich schlafe, du schläfst

Other Changes
There are various other differences but I can’t describe them all here, so please read these websites or use Google to find more information: https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_verbs_present_tense.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/german-present-tense-verbs-4074838
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/PresentTense/Present.html

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faq begineer

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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
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all

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help

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Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

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av 994707559858585685

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:x: This command can only be used by a staff member.

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faq cefr

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CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

icy lily
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why vocal rooms are locked

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faq vc

lean flickerBOT
zenith bolt
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faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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faq am

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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faq contractions

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Contractions

A contraction (Verschmelzung or Schmelzwort) is a shortened form of a word or group of words created by omitting letters and sounds. Common examples of contractions in English are:

I'm = I am
won't = will not
let's = let us
-'re = are (e.g. we're walking home)

Contractions are often used in German, especially with prepositions and definite articles that take the accusative or dative (never the genitive). For example, zu dem is often shortened to zum, as seen here:

Pferd geht zum Zahnarzt.

Some contractions with prepositions are so common (see below) that they are effectively manadatory in normal speech. Writing the full form has the effect of emphasising the definite article, indicating that you are referring to a specific object. For example:

Pferd geht zu dem Zahnarzt, der ihm gestern empfohlen wurde.

Common contractions in German

These contractions are used very often and are acceptable in formal German.

ans = an das
am = an dem
beim = bei dem
im = in dem
ins = in das
vom = von dem
zum = zu dem
zur = zu der

Additionally, the pronoun es is often contracted when it comes directly after the verb in certain set phrases. For example, the greeting Wie geht es dir? is often contracted to Wie geht's dir?

Contractions in informal German

Contracting the article das to -s in prepositions is very commonly used in informal, spoken German, and sometimes appears in formal German in set phrases.

aufs = auf das
durchs = durch das
fürs = für das
übers = über das
ums = um das
unters = unter das

Contracting the article dem to -m is relatively common in spoken German with almost all prepositions. For example:

hinterm = hinter dem
überm = über dem
unterm = unter dem

Contracting the other articles can also occur, but this is relatively rare.

chilly topaz
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faq beginner

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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
chilly topaz
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faq practice grammar

lean flickerBOT
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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

chilly topaz
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faq grammar

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Grammar terms

When learning languages, it's useful to know some grammatical terms.
Note that these are very simplified definitions aimed at giving you a general idea: do your own research if you need details.

  • Adjective: a word that describes a name: the dog is old or the smart kid.
  • Adverb: something that aids the verb or other part of the sentence, or words that don't fall into other categories: yes, I've done it swiftly or he's very good.
  • Affix: a small word piece attached to another word to change its meaning. If it comes before the word it's a prefix: __in__credible, after it it's a suffix: time__ly__.
  • Article: a word that tells you if a name is specific or generic: the apple, an apple.
  • Case: the form of a word depending on its role: he and him refer to the same person, but he gives an apple to him.
  • Clause: each unit that has one conjugated verb. Those before and after the comma are each a clause: Berzi said something, but I didn't understand.
  • Conjugation: the form a verb takes depending on when it happens and who does it: I go, he goes, he went are all conjugations of the same verb.
  • Conjunction: a word that connects two clauses together: he went there but I didn't.
  • Declension: the form a word takes depending on its case: der Mann is a subject, den Mann is an object.
  • Noun: the name of a thing, such as table or dog.
  • Object: the one at the receiving end of the verb, or being affected by it directly: he touched me, she gave her an apple.
  • Pronoun: a word that stands in for a name: he gave me a ring. I like it.
  • Subject: the one that enacts the verb in first person: I saw a dog or a dog saw me.
  • Tense: the form of a verb depending on when it happens: I see: present, I will see: future.
  • Verb: a word describing an action: I go running every day.
winged lily
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
winged lily
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
past epoch
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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Faq cafr

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faq cefr

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CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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play Nachts wach

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:x: This command can only be used by a staff member.

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help

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Bans commands
:small_blue_diamond: **isbanned** <user>

Checks whether the given user is banned.

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faq bestwaytolearn

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faq best way to learn

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Best way to learn German
Should I study all these skills every day?

If you want to study them all every day, you can, but some people may find it easier to focus on particular skills on particular days. For example, on Monday you might choose to do a lot of writing practice, and then on Tuesday you might plan some conversation practice with some speaking partners.

If you try to cover too many different things in one day, then you might be jumping around all over the place and not able to focus on each individual task. It’s also a really good idea to have a different schedule or set of tasks each day to keep things from getting boring. So setting a special schedule or set of tasks for each day of the week - like the Monday writing day, or every Friday you do some grammar exercises followed by watching TV shows, or any other combination you like – is a really good way to go.

How much time should I dedicate to studying?

Everyone has a different schedule and everyone learns at a different pace. It is recommended to study every day, preferably for 30 minutes or more, but taking 1-2 days off is okay. More important is how many hours you study in a week.

A casual pace will be roughly around 5-8 hours a week, a steady pace would be around 10-14 hours a week, and a fast pace (around the same pace as a university subject) will be 15-20 hours a week.

Anything less than 5 hours and you may find it hard to keep improving steadily (but feel free to try it and see how it works for you), while studying one subject for over 25 hours a week may quickly lead to burnout.

How you choose to spread those hours out over the week is not that important; for example, if you have a lot of time on the weekend but not during the week, it’s fine to do short study sessions on weekdays and then dedicate a bunch of time on Saturday and Sunday.

On the next page

• Factors that influence learning a language.

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faq keyboard

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German letters

Being able to type German letters is quite important!

  • Schon = already. Schön = beautiful.
  • Mutter = mother. Mütter = mothers.

How to? There are several options.
🔸 Use a program like AutoHotkey. Download the program from https://www.autohotkey.com/ and read the pinned message in #resources for instructions on how to set it up. It can be used with any keyboard layout and the hotkeys can be customised.

🔸 US International layout: this is basically just a US keyboard layout with extra characters, so if you're using a US-style keyboard or something similar, the transition is very easy! Everything stays as you know it, except that some of the symbol keys can be used to create the special characters. For example " + a = ä. You can also do RightAlt + s = ß.
To use US International on Windows, look for the Region & Language options and switch your selected keyboard layout to US International.

🔸 If you are on Mac, there are two simple possibilities:

  • The accent menu - Pressing and holding a letter key will display multiple variants of the letter, including umlauts, which can then be selected using the number keys.
  • Dead keys - Pressing Option + u, then pressing a, u, or o, respectively, will display the umlaut variant of that letter. You can also press Option + s to enter ß.
    See this support article for more information:
    https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/enter-characters-with-accent-marks-on-mac-mh27474/mac

See the next page for more alternatives.

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faq beginner

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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
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ex negation

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Negation

Negations or negative sentences in German are formed with either kein or nicht.

You use kein if you want to negate nouns with an indefinite article or without an article, for example:
(1) Ich besitze kein Auto. (I don't own a car.)
(2) Ich habe keinen Hunger. (I'm not hungry.)

kein is always placed right before the noun you want to negate. Also note that you need to decline kein.

If you want to negate anything else you use nicht, for example:
(3) Ich schlafe nicht. (I don't sleep.) [verb]
(4) Ich habe gestern nicht geduscht. (I didn't shower yesterday.) [verb]
(5) Ich gehe nicht gerne schwimmen. (I don't like to go swimming.) [adverb]
(6) Es ist nicht heiß. (It's not hot.) [adjective]
(7) Ich habe nicht dich, sondern ihn gerufen. (I didn't call you, but him.) [pronoun]
(8) Das ist nicht Peters Fahrrad, sondern meins. (This isn't Peters bicycle, but mine.) [proper noun]
(9) Der Zug kommt nicht um 18 Uhr an. (The train doesn't arrive at 6pm.) [preposition]
(10) Ich habe nicht das Essen bezahlt, sondern die Getränke. (I didn't pay for the food, but for the drinks.) [definite article]

‼ Note that nicht almost always comes before the word it negates, unless you want to negate a verb.
If that's the case, it depends on the tense of the verb and on whether there is an auxiliary verb or not. nicht is placed right after the verb if the verb is in present or past tense. For compound tenses or when the sentence has an auxiliary it is placed before the verb.

🌟 Confused by the terminology? See >ex Grammar terms

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faq beginner

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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
tender trellis
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faq resources

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faq reflexive

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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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faq reflexiv

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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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explain all

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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Imperative

Aliases: imperativ

:small_blue_diamond: Impersonal Verbs

Aliases: Unpersönliche Verben, Impersonal es

:small_blue_diamond: IPA

Aliases: Pronunciation, Sound transcription, International Phonetic Alphabet

:small_blue_diamond: Languages in <#221708975698083841>

Aliases: English in #general, Why English, Why is everyone speaking English in #general?

:small_blue_diamond: Lessons

Aliases: Sessions, Activities

:small_blue_diamond: Looking for information

Aliases: correct channel, information, right place to ask, right channel

:small_blue_diamond: Negation

Aliases: Nicht, Kein

:small_blue_diamond: Nicos

Aliases: Nicos Weg

:small_blue_diamond: Nominative

Aliases: Nominativ

:small_blue_diamond: Omission of movement verbs

:small_blue_diamond: Other languages

Aliases: languages

:small_blue_diamond: Passive

Aliases: Passiv

:small_blue_diamond: Past Tense

Aliases: perfekt, präteritum, praeteritum, present perfect, simple past

:small_blue_diamond: Prepositions of Place Part 1

Aliases: Nach-In-Auf-Zu

:small_blue_diamond: Resources

Aliases: Resource list

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Gutane tag

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faq beginner

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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
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faq resources

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gleaming marsh
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faq resources

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tender trellis
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faq beginner

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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
fossil fable
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faq cefr

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#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

cedar terrace
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
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faq resources

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faq beim

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FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

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explain all

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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

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faq contractions

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Contractions

A contraction (Verschmelzung or Schmelzwort) is a shortened form of a word or group of words created by omitting letters and sounds. Common examples of contractions in English are:

I'm = I am
won't = will not
let's = let us
-'re = are (e.g. we're walking home)

Contractions are often used in German, especially with prepositions and definite articles that take the accusative or dative (never the genitive). For example, zu dem is often shortened to zum, as seen here:

Pferd geht zum Zahnarzt.

Some contractions with prepositions are so common (see below) that they are effectively manadatory in normal speech. Writing the full form has the effect of emphasising the definite article, indicating that you are referring to a specific object. For example:

Pferd geht zu dem Zahnarzt, der ihm gestern empfohlen wurde.

Common contractions in German

These contractions are used very often and are acceptable in formal German.

ans = an das
am = an dem
beim = bei dem
im = in dem
ins = in das
vom = von dem
zum = zu dem
zur = zu der

Additionally, the pronoun es is often contracted when it comes directly after the verb in certain set phrases. For example, the greeting Wie geht es dir? is often contracted to Wie geht's dir?

Contractions in informal German

Contracting the article das to -s in prepositions is very commonly used in informal, spoken German, and sometimes appears in formal German in set phrases.

aufs = auf das
durchs = durch das
fürs = für das
übers = über das
ums = um das
unters = unter das

Contracting the article dem to -m is relatively common in spoken German with almost all prepositions. For example:

hinterm = hinter dem
überm = über dem
unterm = unter dem

Contracting the other articles can also occur, but this is relatively rare.

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faq contractions

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faq conjugation

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Conjugation

Präsens (Present Tense)
When you use a verb in a sentence (or clause), you have to conjugate it (change the form) to match the subject of the sentence (or clause).

For example, in English, we write I eat but he/she eats. The verb has a different ending! The concept is the same in German, except German has more endings.

The first thing you need to know in order to conjugate verbs is: which ending fits which subject? Here is a simple verb “trinken” (to drink) as an example:

trinken
ich trinke
du trinkst
er/sie/es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken / Sie trinken
(Note: the conjugation for sie (they) and Sie (formal you) is always the same)

Vowel/Stem Changes
There are a few variations and exceptions, but the most important is vowel changes (also called stem changes). Some verbs get a vowel change, which only affects the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb. (However, modal verbs and wissen have their own special pattern, which also has a vowel change in the ich form.)

Example: ich schlafe, du schläfst

Other Changes
There are various other differences but I can’t describe them all here, so please read these websites or use Google to find more information: https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_verbs_present_tense.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/german-present-tense-verbs-4074838
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/PresentTense/Present.html

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faq resources

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remind list

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Your long-term reminders:
In 2 days, 1 hour and 24 minutes

[ID: 407617] Start talking to Rin again. Optionally.

In 2 months, 1 week and 1 day

[ID: 399529] "Has Harold given you your pistachio ice cream yet?"

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Where is my pistachio ice cream. peepocry

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@Level A

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remind list

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You don't have any long-term reminders.

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faq beginner

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faq beginner

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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
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faq beginner

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How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
lean sequoia
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faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
robust gulch
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faq beide

lean flickerBOT
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Beide vs. Beides

Both Beide and Beides mean both, then how to differentiate them?

🔸 Use beide if the items are of the same kind.
🔸 If the items are different, use beides.
- Ich will beide Äpfel!

- Möchten Sie Ketchup oder Mayo?
- Beides, danke.

🔸 With people you always use beide.

🔸 Article or no article?
An article is used when the people described are doing something together.
- Die beiden sind verlobt. (they are engaged to one another)
- Beide sind verlobt. (they are both engaged, each to their own significant other)

Note: other forms of beid* like beidem or beiden depend on grammatical case, see >explain case.

robust gulch
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explain all

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See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Duolingo

Aliases: Duo

:small_blue_diamond: Eszett

Aliases: Scharfes S, ẞ, ß

:small_blue_diamond: FAQ

:small_blue_diamond: Formal and informal speech

Aliases: Sie, Du vs. Sie, Formal, Du, Siezen, Duzen vs. siezen, Du vs. sie, Informal

:small_blue_diamond: Gender patterns

:small_blue_diamond: Genitive

Aliases: Genitiv

:small_blue_diamond: German letters

Aliases: German keyboard, Keyboard

:small_blue_diamond: Grammar terms

Aliases: Glossary, Grammatical terms

:small_blue_diamond: Grammatical gender

Aliases: der-die-das, Genders, Gender

:small_blue_diamond: Help

:small_blue_diamond: How long does it take to learn German

Aliases: Time required, How long to learn

:small_blue_diamond: How to ask a question

Aliases: Translation, Homework, hw, questions

:small_blue_diamond: How to get started

Aliases: Starting out, Beginner

:small_blue_diamond: How to join Voice Chat

Aliases: VC-pending, VC pending, Limited Permissions, VC

:small_blue_diamond: How to use writing

robust gulch
#

explain all 3

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Roles

:small_blue_diamond: Seeing verbs

Aliases: Sehen, Schauen

:small_blue_diamond: So and also

:small_blue_diamond: Stative Passive

Aliases: Zustandspassiv, Statal passive

:small_blue_diamond: Structure of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 2

:small_blue_diamond: Study Vocabulary

Aliases: Unterrichten, Studieren, Lernen, Beibringen

:small_blue_diamond: Swiss German

Aliases: gsw

:small_blue_diamond: Switzerland

Aliases: Schweiz, CH

:small_blue_diamond: Two-way prepositions

Aliases: Two way prepositions, Dual prepositions

:small_blue_diamond: Umlauts

Aliases: Umlaute, Umlaut, ä, ö, ü

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Freund and Freundin

Aliases: Freundin, Friend, Friend vs. Boyfriend, Friend vs. Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Freund

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 1

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of zu

Aliases: Um zu

:small_blue_diamond: Verbs with prepositions

Aliases: Verb prepositions, Pferd's verb list

:small_blue_diamond: Vorgangspassiv

robust gulch
#

faq impersonal verbs

lean flickerBOT
#
Common usages of impersonal subject es

Impersonal es is commonly used:

- with verbs referring to weather

Es wird morgen sehr wahrscheinlich regnen.
Bei Temperaturen über 0°C taut es.
Jetzt blitzt es wieder.

- with verbs referring to natural phenomena

Wie viel Zeit habe ich, wenn es in meiner Wohnung brennt?
Hier zieht es ganz fürchterlich, mach bitte die Tür zu.
Es riecht nach Algen vom Meer und nach gebrannten Mandeln.

These verbs can have an agent, but are used impersonally if the agent is unclear or unknown.

- with verbs referring to noises

Es klopfte an der Tür.
Es krachte gewaltig, als das Haus einstürzte.
Es brodelte und zischte im Inneren des Kessels und dünne Dampfwolken stiegen empor.

These verbs can have an agent, but are used impersonally if the agent is unclear or unknown.

- with verbs referring to sensations and emotions

Es friert mich.
Es graut mir vor der Prüfung.
Es hält ihn hier nicht länger.

With these verbs, the impersonal es denotes an unknown or unclear force causing the sensation and an accusative object indicates who is experiencing the action.

- with sein or werden and a dative object to indicate a sensation

Ist (es) dir kalt?
Mir wird schwindlig.
ich trank einen heißen Tee und mir war sofort warm.

Unless it is in the first postion of a clause, the impersonal es is often omitted with these verbs.

- with reflexive verbs and the impersonal passive

Es wurde mir empfohlen, mit dir zu reden.
Es wurde der Toten gedacht.
Es lebt sich gut in und um Darmstadt herum.

In this usage, the impersonal es is always the first element in a clause or is hidden by other elements which take its place.

=- in various idiomatic constructions*

Einen besseren Weg gibt es nicht.
Ich hoffe, dass es dir gut geht.
Es handelt sich nicht um deinen Job.

robust gulch
#

faq vorgangspassiv

lean flickerBOT
#
Vorgangspassiv

Vorgangspassiv
The Vorgangspassiv is formed with werden as the finite/conjugated verb and the past participle of the main verb (or action verb) in the active voice sentence.

For example, when we translate The man eats the apple., we get:

Der Mann isst den Apfel.

When this sentence is converted into its passive voice equivalent, several things happen:

  • The finite verb becomes the equivalent conjugation for werden. isst --> wird
  • The main verb is then converted into its past participle and placed at the end of the clause, when possible. isst --> gegessen
  • The accusative object becomes the (nominative) subject. den Apfel --> Der Apfel
  • The subject is indicated with the preposition von or simply left out altogether. Der Mann --> (vom Mann)

Putting this together, we create the passive voice sentence:

Der Apfel wird (vom Mann) gegessen.

Only the accusative object of a verb can become the subject in a passive sentence. This means verbs that govern a dative, genitive, or prepositional object can never become the subject. Instead, the object remains as it was.

For example, the verb helfen governs a dative object. An example with it in an active sentence would be:

Der Mann hat dem Kollegen geholfen.

When converted to the passive voice, dem Kollegen does not change case:

Dem Kollegen wurde (vom Mann) geholfen.

This applies equally to verbs that govern genitive and prepositonal objects:

Der Toten wurde gedacht.
Über das Thema wird kaum gesprochen.

Tenses & Moods

Present: Der Apfel wird gegessen.
Simple Past: Der Apfel wurde gegessen.
Future: Der Apfel wird gegessen werden.
Present Perfect: Der Apfel ist gegessen worden.
Past Perfect: Der Apfel war gegessen worden.
Future Perfect: Der Apfel wird gegessen worden sein.

See Also:

https://bit.ly/2Quvo8q (Pferd's blog)

robust gulch
#

faq verbs with prepositions

lean flickerBOT
robust gulch
#

faq zustandpassiv

lean flickerBOT
#
Stative Passive

Stative Passive (Zustandspassiv)
The passive voice with werden (Vorgangspassiv) refers to the process of an action; it indicates that an action is taking place. The resulting state of this action can be indicated with a different version of the passive voice called the Stative Passive (Zustandspassiv). This form uses sein instead of werden as its auxiliary verb. For example:

Das Fenster ist zerbrochen. (The window is broken)

Transitive verbs that are valid in the Vorgangspassiv can typically be used in the Zustandspassiv and vice versa. The Zustandspassiv, however, tends to prefer verbs that have a clear end state, such as: zerstören, öffnen, schließen.

Vorgangspassiv vs Zustandspassiv
The difference between the two passive voice forms is best illustrated with an example:

Der Tresor war verschlossen, aber wir haben nicht gesehen, wie er verschlossen wurde.
The safe was locked but we did not see how it was locked.

In the first clause, the state of the safe is being discussed. The process of locking the safe was completed and the safe reached a condition of being locked. The last clause concentrates on the process of locking the safe, namely how it was done. The safe has somehow reached a state of being locked, but this process was not observed.

As the Vorgangspassiv discusses a process, it often relates to the English progressive aspect, but this is never true for the Zustandspassiv. For example, the English sentence:

The product is being packed.

Can be translated as:

Die Ware wird verpackt.

But cannot be translated as:

Die Ware ist verpackt.

This loses the implication of a process, which the English progressive aspect and Vorgangspassiv possess. Instead, this sentence indicates that this process is complete and the product is now packed. Thus, it would be an acceptable translation for:

The product has been packed.

robust gulch
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Weak Nouns

Aliases: N-Declension, N-Deklination, Weak noun

:small_blue_diamond: Weil, denn, da

:small_blue_diamond: What does GLaD mean

Aliases: GLaD

:small_blue_diamond: What does this word mean

Aliases: Duden, Meaning, Dict, Dictionary, Definition

:small_blue_diamond: Wissen and kennen

Aliases: Kennen vs. wissen, Wissen vs. kennen

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Nouns & Pronouns

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Verbs

Aliases: Word order verbs, Word order of verbs

robust gulch
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Imperative

Aliases: imperativ

:small_blue_diamond: Impersonal Verbs

Aliases: Unpersönliche Verben, Impersonal es

:small_blue_diamond: IPA

Aliases: Pronunciation, Sound transcription, International Phonetic Alphabet

:small_blue_diamond: Languages in <#221708975698083841>

Aliases: English in #general, Why English, Why is everyone speaking English in #general?

:small_blue_diamond: Lessons

Aliases: Sessions, Activities

:small_blue_diamond: Looking for information

Aliases: correct channel, information, right place to ask, right channel

:small_blue_diamond: Negation

Aliases: Nicht, Kein

:small_blue_diamond: Nicos

Aliases: Nicos Weg

:small_blue_diamond: Nominative

Aliases: Nominativ

:small_blue_diamond: Omission of movement verbs

:small_blue_diamond: Other languages

Aliases: languages

:small_blue_diamond: Passive

Aliases: Passiv

:small_blue_diamond: Past Tense

Aliases: perfekt, präteritum, praeteritum, present perfect, simple past

:small_blue_diamond: Prepositions of Place Part 1

Aliases: Nach-In-Auf-Zu

:small_blue_diamond: Resources

Aliases: Resource list

robust gulch
#

faq nach-in-auf-zu

lean flickerBOT
#
Prepositions of Place Part 1

Generally you use the preposition nach when talking about going to countries, cities or directions, for example:
(1) Ich fahre nach Berlin. (I’m going to Berlin.)
(2) Ich gehe nach Westen. (I’m going west.)
(3) Ich fahre nach Deutschland. (I'm going to Germany.)

‼ Note that nach does not work with countries or regions that take an article. In this case you need to replace it with in, for example: Ich fahre in die Schweiz. (I’m going to Switzerland.)
In addition to that you will need to use auf for specific islands, for example: Ich fliege auf die Balearen. (I fly to the Balearic Islands.)
Here you can find a map with countries that take an article: http://i.imgur.com/QRFA2WI.png

🌟 nach is also idiomatically used in nach Hause gehen (to go home)

The preposition zu is used when talking about going to people, or places with a proper name, for example:
(4) Ich gehe zu ihm. (I go to him.)
(5) Ich gehe zum [zu dem] Arzt. (I go to the doctor.)
(6) Ich gehe zu Aldi. (I go to Aldi.)

You use in if you will end up inside a place or location, for example:
(7) Ich gehe in die Kirche. (I go to church.)
(8) Ich gehe ins [in das] Kino. (I go to the cinema.)

You use auf if you will end up on something, or for going to formal events, for example:
(9) Ich klettere auf den Berg. (I climb up the mountain.)
(10) Ich gehe auf die Toilette. (I go to the toilet.)
(11) Ich gehe auf eine Party. (I go to a party.)

🌟 When in doubt, use zu, since you can often replace in and auf with zu, for example:
(12) Ich gehe zur Kirche. (I go to the church.) [but not necessarily inside]
(13) Ich gehe zu einer Party. (I go to a party.)

‼ However, note that you cannot replace zu with in if it would be absurd to speak of going inside:
(14) Ich fahre in die Kirche. (I drive into the church.)

serene beacon
#

faq verwenden

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

serene beacon
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Roles

:small_blue_diamond: Seeing verbs

Aliases: Sehen, Schauen

:small_blue_diamond: So and also

:small_blue_diamond: Stative Passive

Aliases: Zustandspassiv, Statal passive

:small_blue_diamond: Structure of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 2

:small_blue_diamond: Study Vocabulary

Aliases: Unterrichten, Studieren, Lernen, Beibringen

:small_blue_diamond: Swiss German

Aliases: gsw

:small_blue_diamond: Switzerland

Aliases: Schweiz, CH

:small_blue_diamond: Two-way prepositions

Aliases: Two way prepositions, Dual prepositions

:small_blue_diamond: Umlauts

Aliases: Umlaute, Umlaut, ä, ö, ü

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Freund and Freundin

Aliases: Freundin, Friend, Friend vs. Boyfriend, Friend vs. Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Freund

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 1

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of zu

Aliases: Um zu

:small_blue_diamond: Verbs with prepositions

Aliases: Verb prepositions, Pferd's verb list

:small_blue_diamond: Vorgangspassiv

serene beacon
#

ex nebensatz

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

serene beacon
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Weak Nouns

Aliases: N-Declension, N-Deklination, Weak noun

:small_blue_diamond: Weil, denn, da

:small_blue_diamond: What does GLaD mean

Aliases: GLaD

:small_blue_diamond: What does this word mean

Aliases: Duden, Meaning, Dict, Dictionary, Definition

:small_blue_diamond: Wissen and kennen

Aliases: Kennen vs. wissen, Wissen vs. kennen

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Nouns & Pronouns

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Verbs

Aliases: Word order verbs, Word order of verbs

serene beacon
#

ex prepositions of place part 1

lean flickerBOT
#
Prepositions of Place Part 1

Generally you use the preposition nach when talking about going to countries, cities or directions, for example:
(1) Ich fahre nach Berlin. (I’m going to Berlin.)
(2) Ich gehe nach Westen. (I’m going west.)
(3) Ich fahre nach Deutschland. (I'm going to Germany.)

‼ Note that nach does not work with countries or regions that take an article. In this case you need to replace it with in, for example: Ich fahre in die Schweiz. (I’m going to Switzerland.)
In addition to that you will need to use auf for specific islands, for example: Ich fliege auf die Balearen. (I fly to the Balearic Islands.)
Here you can find a map with countries that take an article: http://i.imgur.com/QRFA2WI.png

🌟 nach is also idiomatically used in nach Hause gehen (to go home)

The preposition zu is used when talking about going to people, or places with a proper name, for example:
(4) Ich gehe zu ihm. (I go to him.)
(5) Ich gehe zum [zu dem] Arzt. (I go to the doctor.)
(6) Ich gehe zu Aldi. (I go to Aldi.)

You use in if you will end up inside a place or location, for example:
(7) Ich gehe in die Kirche. (I go to church.)
(8) Ich gehe ins [in das] Kino. (I go to the cinema.)

You use auf if you will end up on something, or for going to formal events, for example:
(9) Ich klettere auf den Berg. (I climb up the mountain.)
(10) Ich gehe auf die Toilette. (I go to the toilet.)
(11) Ich gehe auf eine Party. (I go to a party.)

🌟 When in doubt, use zu, since you can often replace in and auf with zu, for example:
(12) Ich gehe zur Kirche. (I go to the church.) [but not necessarily inside]
(13) Ich gehe zu einer Party. (I go to a party.)

‼ However, note that you cannot replace zu with in if it would be absurd to speak of going inside:
(14) Ich fahre in die Kirche. (I drive into the church.)

candid mist
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
candid mist
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

severe oasis
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
tender trellis
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
covert pebble
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

eager mantle
#

faq chat-gpt

lean flickerBOT
#
**AI-generated text**

This FAQ explains rules and advice for using text AI tools such as ChatGPT.

🔹 **Server rules regarding this topic:**
  • Do not answer any questions by using AI-generated text.
  • Do not ask for AI-generated text to be corrected.
🔹 **Problems with using AI for answers and corrections**
  • No fact-checking: Tools like ChatGPT are very good at writing texts and often provide answers that sound good, but they are not capable of fact-checking their own answers.

  • Fake information: It’s very common for these programs to make up fake or incomplete information, which is explained convincingly but is mostly wrong.

  • Non-deterministic: The information is also partially randomly generated, meaning that if you ask the same question multiple times, you will usually end up with different answers.

  • No language knowledge: It shouldn't be used for grammar or vocabulary questions, as it doesn't understand linguistics, nuance, or how a native speaker might actually use a given word or grammar point.

  • Missing context: When correcting texts it needs to understand what the writer was trying to express. As such it may miss mistakes or correct things that don't need to be corrected.

🔹 **Reasons NOT to use generative AI for learning**
  • It delays the development of important skills in language learning.
    Relying too much on AI generated texts or solutions may get in the way of learning the necessary skills of language acquisition, such as how to look up words or phrases in a dictionary, using critical thinking, or actually applying learned concepts.

  • AI is not designed to guide learners.
    If you ask an AI a question, it will provide you with information, whereas if you ask a human, they will ideally ask you to show your understanding and offer advice on how to find the answer.

  • AI output requires scrutiny
    AI output must be verified, but beginners to German or to language learning often lack the knowledge or experience to do so.

🔹 **Good uses of AI-generated text**
  • Ask ChatGPT to come up with some story ideas that you can write about.
fair geyser
#

faq intermediate

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

celest lava
#

faq

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument name is missing.

celest lava
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Doch

serene beacon
#

isbanned 947874632214667284

lean flickerBOT
#

Adolf Stalin has not been banned on this server.

serene beacon
#

isbanned 1113400366931914804

lean flickerBOT
#

German Empire has not been banned on this server.

dense oracle
#

faq beginner

#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
tender trellis
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
wooden yoke
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

wooden yoke
#

help

#

help[]

#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Meme 1/2 commands
:small_blue_diamond: **bonk** <member>

Bonks the given member.

:small_blue_diamond: **cat**

Display a random cat image.

:small_blue_diamond: **dog**

Display a random dog image.

:small_blue_diamond: **inspireme**

Displays an AI-generated inspirational quote.

:small_blue_diamond: **patcat** <member>

Pats the given member's cat.

obtuse urchin
#

faq best way to learn

lean flickerBOT
#
Factors that influence learning a language

The following factors (and many others) can influence how easily or quickly you learn German. Remember that everyone is different and these factors will influence different people in different ways.

Native language

As an example, if your native language is English, you may need more time than someone who speaks Dutch.

Previous language learning

Some learners find it easier to learn German if they have already learned a foreign language, or if they have a natural ability to learn languages.

Methods

Some are able to identify what type of learner they are, and leverage that to their benefit.

Discipline and Motivation

Learning a language is fun and exciting at first, but it can be easy to lose motivation and become less disciplined very quickly.

Consistency

Learning a little bit each day every week is generally considered better than studying for several hours, one day per week.

Grammar

The time needed to acquire grammar passively is quite large, so German learners who actively study grammar typically make less grammar mistakes as they progress.

Exposure and immersion

Interacting with native speakers and consuming native content such as the news, magazines, books, movies, podcasts, etc. can help tremendously with achieving an idiomatic usage of the language.

Training each ability equally

Listening, reading, speaking, writing, translating and interpreting are all various abilities associated with language learning. Training these abilities equally is important to ensure that a person can not only pass a language test, but also have the ability to use the language in various contexts while demonstrating great control over grammar.

obtuse urchin
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
obtuse urchin
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
lilac karma
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
forest kindle
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Generic commands
:small_blue_diamond: **info** [user]

Displays information about the given user. If no user is specified, information about you will be displayed.

:small_blue_diamond: **quote** <message>

Quotes a message in the channel you are in.
As input specify the mention or name of the channel that the message was originally posted in and provide the message id of the message (accessible if you turn on developer mode in your Discord settings).
Instead of channel and message id you may also specify a message link.

:small_blue_diamond: **roles**

Lists all roles on the server.

:small_blue_diamond: **serverinfo**

Shows information about the current guild.

:small_blue_diamond: **showcolor** <hex code>

Shows an image of the given color hex code.

forest kindle
#

info cowzrock

lean flickerBOT
#
Information about Cowzrock
Name

@forest kindle

ID

287422436742529024

Joined

<t:1581726369> (3 years, 8 months and 1 week ago)

Account created

<t:1488597248> (6 years, 7 months and 3 weeks ago)

hollow dome
#

Ich braue eine helfe

final spire
#

info atigun

lean flickerBOT
#
Information about qwerz
Name

@final spire

ID

644646786429878313

Joined

<t:1689926567> (3 months, 5 days and 23 hours ago)

Account created

<t:1573766170> (3 years, 11 months and 1 week ago)

final spire
#

3monaten noel_think ich dachte ich schon seit 4-5m hier war

lean flickerBOT
#
Negation

Negations or negative sentences in German are formed with either kein or nicht.

You use kein if you want to negate nouns with an indefinite article or without an article, for example:
(1) Ich besitze kein Auto. (I don't own a car.)
(2) Ich habe keinen Hunger. (I'm not hungry.)

kein is always placed right before the noun you want to negate. Also note that you need to decline kein.

If you want to negate anything else you use nicht, for example:
(3) Ich schlafe nicht. (I don't sleep.) [verb]
(4) Ich habe gestern nicht geduscht. (I didn't shower yesterday.) [verb]
(5) Ich gehe nicht gerne schwimmen. (I don't like to go swimming.) [adverb]
(6) Es ist nicht heiß. (It's not hot.) [adjective]
(7) Ich habe nicht dich, sondern ihn gerufen. (I didn't call you, but him.) [pronoun]
(8) Das ist nicht Peters Fahrrad, sondern meins. (This isn't Peters bicycle, but mine.) [proper noun]
(9) Der Zug kommt nicht um 18 Uhr an. (The train doesn't arrive at 6pm.) [preposition]
(10) Ich habe nicht das Essen bezahlt, sondern die Getränke. (I didn't pay for the food, but for the drinks.) [definite article]

‼ Note that nicht almost always comes before the word it negates, unless you want to negate a verb.
If that's the case, it depends on the tense of the verb and on whether there is an auxiliary verb or not. nicht is placed right after the verb if the verb is in present or past tense. For compound tenses or when the sentence has an auxiliary it is placed before the verb.

🌟 Confused by the terminology? See >ex Grammar terms

serene beacon
#

isbanned 966898575936221224

lean flickerBOT
#

[24394] visionary was banned by 🌞 Basementality 🐈.

final spire
#

isbanned 994707559858585685

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#

Apollo has not been banned on this server.

final spire
#

😢

lean flickerBOT
#

[24127] Kartoffel 🥔 ¡-¡ was banned by Li.

jolly badger
#

faq cefr

modest escarp
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Imperative

Aliases: imperativ

:small_blue_diamond: Impersonal Verbs

Aliases: Unpersönliche Verben, Impersonal es

:small_blue_diamond: IPA

Aliases: Pronunciation, Sound transcription, International Phonetic Alphabet

:small_blue_diamond: Languages in <#221708975698083841>

Aliases: English in #general, Why English, Why is everyone speaking English in #general?

:small_blue_diamond: Lessons

Aliases: Sessions, Activities

:small_blue_diamond: Looking for information

Aliases: correct channel, information, right place to ask, right channel

:small_blue_diamond: Negation

Aliases: Nicht, Kein

:small_blue_diamond: Nicos

Aliases: Nicos Weg

:small_blue_diamond: Nominative

Aliases: Nominativ

:small_blue_diamond: Omission of movement verbs

:small_blue_diamond: Other languages

Aliases: languages

:small_blue_diamond: Passive

Aliases: Passiv

:small_blue_diamond: Past Tense

Aliases: perfekt, präteritum, praeteritum, present perfect, simple past

:small_blue_diamond: Prepositions of Place Part 1

Aliases: Nach-In-Auf-Zu

:small_blue_diamond: Resources

Aliases: Resource list

dapper sierra
#

faq beginner

#

oh, ⏹️ deletes it

#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
hallow prism
#

<faq begginer

#

faq begginer

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Beginner (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

hallow prism
#

faq Begginer (10

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Beginner (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

hallow prism
#

faq Beginner (1)

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Beginner (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

hallow prism
#

faq Beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
inner spruce
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
sturdy scarab
#

faq intermediate

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

sturdy scarab
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Roles

:small_blue_diamond: Seeing verbs

Aliases: Sehen, Schauen

:small_blue_diamond: So and also

:small_blue_diamond: Stative Passive

Aliases: Zustandspassiv, Statal passive

:small_blue_diamond: Structure of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 2

:small_blue_diamond: Study Vocabulary

Aliases: Unterrichten, Studieren, Lernen, Beibringen

:small_blue_diamond: Swiss German

Aliases: gsw

:small_blue_diamond: Switzerland

Aliases: Schweiz, CH

:small_blue_diamond: Two-way prepositions

Aliases: Two way prepositions, Dual prepositions

:small_blue_diamond: Umlauts

Aliases: Umlaute, Umlaut, ä, ö, ü

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Freund and Freundin

Aliases: Freundin, Friend, Friend vs. Boyfriend, Friend vs. Girlfriend, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Freund

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of Konjunktiv II

Aliases: KII 1

:small_blue_diamond: Usage of zu

Aliases: Um zu

:small_blue_diamond: Verbs with prepositions

Aliases: Verb prepositions, Pferd's verb list

:small_blue_diamond: Vorgangspassiv

west hinge
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
last arrow
#

faq keyboard

lean flickerBOT
#
German letters

Being able to type German letters is quite important!

  • Schon = already. Schön = beautiful.
  • Mutter = mother. Mütter = mothers.

How to? There are several options.
🔸 Use a program like AutoHotkey. Download the program from https://www.autohotkey.com/ and read the pinned message in #resources for instructions on how to set it up. It can be used with any keyboard layout and the hotkeys can be customised.

🔸 US International layout: this is basically just a US keyboard layout with extra characters, so if you're using a US-style keyboard or something similar, the transition is very easy! Everything stays as you know it, except that some of the symbol keys can be used to create the special characters. For example " + a = ä. You can also do RightAlt + s = ß.
To use US International on Windows, look for the Region & Language options and switch your selected keyboard layout to US International.

🔸 If you are on Mac, there are two simple possibilities:

  • The accent menu - Pressing and holding a letter key will display multiple variants of the letter, including umlauts, which can then be selected using the number keys.
  • Dead keys - Pressing Option + u, then pressing a, u, or o, respectively, will display the umlaut variant of that letter. You can also press Option + s to enter ß.
    See this support article for more information:
    https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/enter-characters-with-accent-marks-on-mac-mh27474/mac

See the next page for more alternatives.

last arrow
karmic thorn
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
serene beacon
#

faq all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Digga

Aliases: Digger

maiden thorn
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
late kite
#

faq best way to learn

lean flickerBOT
#
Factors that influence learning a language

The following factors (and many others) can influence how easily or quickly you learn German. Remember that everyone is different and these factors will influence different people in different ways.

Native language

As an example, if your native language is English, you may need more time than someone who speaks Dutch.

Previous language learning

Some learners find it easier to learn German if they have already learned a foreign language, or if they have a natural ability to learn languages.

Methods

Some are able to identify what type of learner they are, and leverage that to their benefit.

Discipline and Motivation

Learning a language is fun and exciting at first, but it can be easy to lose motivation and become less disciplined very quickly.

Consistency

Learning a little bit each day every week is generally considered better than studying for several hours, one day per week.

Grammar

The time needed to acquire grammar passively is quite large, so German learners who actively study grammar typically make less grammar mistakes as they progress.

Exposure and immersion

Interacting with native speakers and consuming native content such as the news, magazines, books, movies, podcasts, etc. can help tremendously with achieving an idiomatic usage of the language.

Training each ability equally

Listening, reading, speaking, writing, translating and interpreting are all various abilities associated with language learning. Training these abilities equally is important to ensure that a person can not only pass a language test, but also have the ability to use the language in various contexts while demonstrating great control over grammar.

languid beacon
#

faq adjective declension

lean flickerBOT
maiden nova
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

tender trellis
#

faq B2 Wortschatz

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

manic forum
#

help for all commands

lean flickerBOT
#

No command or module called for all commands found.

serene beacon
lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Digga

Aliases: Digger

signal heron
#

faq all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Vorgangspassiv

:small_blue_diamond: Weak Nouns

Aliases: N-Declension, N-Deklination, Weak noun

:small_blue_diamond: Weil, denn, da

:small_blue_diamond: What does GLaD mean

Aliases: GLaD

:small_blue_diamond: What does this word mean

Aliases: Duden, Meaning, Dict, Dictionary, Definition

:small_blue_diamond: Wissen and kennen

Aliases: Kennen vs. wissen, Wissen vs. kennen

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Nouns & Pronouns

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Verbs

Aliases: Word order verbs, Word order of verbs

fallow veldt
#

faq Präpositionen

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

fallow veldt
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Digga

Aliases: Digger

nova elbow
#

faq beginer

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
errant reef
#

faq homework

lean flickerBOT
#
How to ask a question

If you want something corrected, you can put it in a Google Doc and share a link with permission level »can suggest« in #writing .

Don't ask us to translate something for you outright: that takes professional time and effort and we're not here for that. You can try your luck with deepl.com.
For single words, use dict.cc or another dictionary, it'll be quicker.

If you want to know if/how a word can be used, provide some context to help us understand the situation.

Don't ask us to do your homework or exams for you! Show us your best attempt at something and try to pinpoint what exactly you don't understand.

warm helm
#

moderator#

#

Allow me to talk

#

Im nee

#

New

tender trellis
#

faw beginner

#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
sleek lotus
#

i would like an opinion about how should i try and learn

#

taking the begginer aw as an example

#

should i have all the points from 1 to 9 already studied before starting out to try and learn nouns

#

or could i start before point 9?

#

or is it better to have all 2 pages studied?

oblique glen
#

faq cefr

#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

Welcome to the interactive paginator!

This interactively allows you to see pages of text by navigating with reactions. They are as follows:

:track_previous: Goes to the first page.
:arrow_backward: Goes to the previous page.
:arrow_forward: Goes to the next page.
:track_next: Goes to the last page.
:stop_button: Stops the interactive pagination session.
:information_source: Shows this message.

charred lynx
#

@radiant crater

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

#
**AI-generated text**

This FAQ explains rules and advice for using text AI tools such as ChatGPT.

🔹 **Server rules regarding this topic:**
  • Do not answer any questions by using AI-generated text.
  • Do not ask for AI-generated text to be corrected.
🔹 **Problems with using AI for answers and corrections**
  • No fact-checking: Tools like ChatGPT are very good at writing texts and often provide answers that sound good, but they are not capable of fact-checking their own answers.

  • Fake information: It’s very common for these programs to make up fake or incomplete information, which is explained convincingly but is mostly wrong.

  • Non-deterministic: The information is also partially randomly generated, meaning that if you ask the same question multiple times, you will usually end up with different answers.

  • No language knowledge: It shouldn't be used for grammar or vocabulary questions, as it doesn't understand linguistics, nuance, or how a native speaker might actually use a given word or grammar point.

  • Missing context: When correcting texts it needs to understand what the writer was trying to express. As such it may miss mistakes or correct things that don't need to be corrected.

🔹 **Reasons NOT to use generative AI for learning**
  • It delays the development of important skills in language learning.
    Relying too much on AI generated texts or solutions may get in the way of learning the necessary skills of language acquisition, such as how to look up words or phrases in a dictionary, using critical thinking, or actually applying learned concepts.

  • AI is not designed to guide learners.
    If you ask an AI a question, it will provide you with information, whereas if you ask a human, they will ideally ask you to show your understanding and offer advice on how to find the answer.

  • AI output requires scrutiny
    AI output must be verified, but beginners to German or to language learning often lack the knowledge or experience to do so.

🔹 **Good uses of AI-generated text**
  • Ask ChatGPT to come up with some story ideas that you can write about.
fair light
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

steel oracle
#

faq das

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: der-die-das (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

steel oracle
#

ach man

#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Doch

:small_blue_diamond: Duolingo

Aliases: Duo

:small_blue_diamond: Eszett

Aliases: Scharfes S, ẞ, ß

:small_blue_diamond: FAQ

:small_blue_diamond: Formal and informal speech

Aliases: Sie, Du vs. Sie, Formal, Du, Siezen, Duzen vs. siezen, Du vs. sie, Informal

:small_blue_diamond: Gender patterns

:small_blue_diamond: Genitive

Aliases: Genitiv

:small_blue_diamond: German letters

Aliases: German keyboard, Keyboard

:small_blue_diamond: Grammar terms

Aliases: Glossary, Grammatical terms

:small_blue_diamond: Grammatical gender

Aliases: der-die-das, Genders, Gender

:small_blue_diamond: Help

:small_blue_diamond: How long does it take to learn German

Aliases: Time required, How long to learn

:small_blue_diamond: How to ask a question

Aliases: Translation, Homework, hw, questions

:small_blue_diamond: How to get started

Aliases: Starting out, Beginner

:small_blue_diamond: How to join Voice Chat

Aliases: VC-pending, VC pending, Limited Permissions, VC

flat jolt
#

explain all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Vorgangspassiv

:small_blue_diamond: Weak Nouns

Aliases: N-Declension, N-Deklination, Weak noun

:small_blue_diamond: Weil, denn, da

:small_blue_diamond: What does GLaD mean

Aliases: GLaD

:small_blue_diamond: What does this word mean

Aliases: Duden, Meaning, Dict, Dictionary, Definition

:small_blue_diamond: Wissen and kennen

Aliases: Kennen vs. wissen, Wissen vs. kennen

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Nouns & Pronouns

:small_blue_diamond: Word Order for Verbs

Aliases: Word order verbs, Word order of verbs

fallen creek
#

faq tun

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

fallen creek
#

explain all

fallen creek
#

faq Busuu

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. Try >explain all.

serene beacon
#

isbanned 1168952295464112238

lean flickerBOT
#

ErwinRommel has not been banned on this server.

wet grove
#

why english

#

hmm...

#

faq general english

lean flickerBOT
#

FAQ not found. I found the following similar entry: Why English (1)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

wet grove
#

faq why English

lean flickerBOT
#
Why is everyone speaking English in <#221708975698083841>?

In short, because both English and German are allowed here, and because people might prefer speaking English for a variety of reasons.
If you want to stick to German, you can go to #german-only or #beginner-german instead.

tender trellis
#

wörtle

spring ibex
nova elbow
#

faq begginer

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
nova elbow
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
waxen ingot
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
waxen ingot
#

purpose german-only

lean flickerBOT
#
Information about german-only
german-only

🇩🇪 :flag_at: :flag_ch: :flag_be: :flag_lu: :flag_li: Please only talk in German here. :)

vale badger
#

faq

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument name is missing.

vale badger
#

faq all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Digga

Aliases: Digger

vale badger
#

faq imperativ

lean flickerBOT
#
Extra information about the imperative

With irregular verbs the umlaut in the 2nd person singular disappears
Examples:
laufen: du läufst -> Lauf!
fahren: du fährst -> Fahr!
schlafen: du schläfst -> Schlaf!
But: aufräumen: du räumst auf -> Räum auf!

In the past, the imperative in the 2nd person singular used to end with -e. This form is barely used today, however some verbs, especially those ending with -d, -t and -ig still use it for easier pronunciation
Examples:
entschuldigen: du entschuldigst -> Entschuldige mich bitte!
bitten: du bittest -> Bitte ihn doch zu kommen!
rechnen: du rechnest -> Rechne bitte alles zusammen!

Some verbs can't be used in the imperative or are very uncommon. That's especially the case if the action is not in the control of the thing/person being commanded. That includes impersonal and modal verbs
Examples:
Möchtest du Pizza essen? -> Möchte Pizza essen! ❌
Es regnet. -> Regne! ❌
Die Blumen duften -> Dufte! ❌

Verbs ending with -eln have special forms, most notably the e disappears
Examples:
lächeln: du lächelst -> Lächle doch mal!
handeln: du handelst -> Handle richtig!
wechseln: du wechselst -> Wechsle doch den Job!

tender trellis
errant raptor
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
errant raptor
#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
wet grove
#

Why no VC

#

damn.

timber fable
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
vale badger
#

faq all

lean flickerBOT
#
See a listed FAQ with >faq [name]
:small_blue_diamond: Absentive

Aliases: Absentiv

:small_blue_diamond: Accusative

Aliases: Akkusativ

:small_blue_diamond: Adjective Declension

Aliases: Adjektivdeklination, Adjective endings

:small_blue_diamond: AI in language learning

Aliases: ai, chatgpt

:small_blue_diamond: Anki

Aliases: Flashcards

:small_blue_diamond: Beide vs. Beides

Aliases: Beides vs. Beide, Beides, Beide

:small_blue_diamond: Best way to learn German

Aliases: Fastest way to learn, Learn fast, Most efficient way to learn, Learn efficiently, Best way to learn, Learn German fast

:small_blue_diamond: Can anyone teach me German

Aliases: Private tutors, Teach me, Teach me German, Teach German, Private lessons, Private teachers

:small_blue_diamond: Cases

Aliases: Grammatical case, Case

:small_blue_diamond: CEFR levels

Aliases: CEFR, CERF

:small_blue_diamond: Conjugation

Aliases: Konjugation, Praesens, Verbs, Verb conjugation, Present tense, Präsens

:small_blue_diamond: Contractions

Aliases: Verschmelzung, Schmelzwort, Vom

:small_blue_diamond: DACH

:small_blue_diamond: Dative

Aliases: Dativ

:small_blue_diamond: Digga

Aliases: Digger

vale badger
#

faq accusative

lean flickerBOT
#
When do I use the accusative case?

The accusative case is mainly used:

- to mark the direct object of many transitive verbs

Ich lese einen Roman.
Er hat die schöne Frau ermordet.
Sie besitzen kein Auto.

- after some prepositions

Danke für deine Hilfe!
Ohne dich kann ich nicht leben.
Sie hatten keine Einwände gegen den Plan.

The following prepositions are always followed by the accusative case:

bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

- to indicate movement in a particular direction in two-way prepositions

Er steigt auf den Gipfel.
Sie hängt das Bild an die Wand.
Ich gehe gleich ins Bett. (ins = in das)

- by adverbials of time and measurement

A definite length or point in time:
Ich habe den ganzen Tag geschlafen.
Sie kommt nächste Woche zurück.

A measurement:
Das Kind ist vier Jahre alt.
Das Tier ist einen Meter groß.

Expressing distance with verbs of motion:
Ich ging die Treppe hinauf.
Ich lief den ganzen Weg zu Fuß.

- in common greetings and wishes

Guten Morgen/Tag/Abend!
Gute Besserung!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

Here there is an implicit verb such as 'wünschen', where the greeting/wish is the direct object.

flat wren
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

flat wren
#

help term

lean flickerBOT
#

No command or module called term found.

flat wren
#

help music

lean flickerBOT
#

No command or module called music found.

humble walrus
#

tts

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: The required argument language is missing.

humble walrus
#

tts de a

#

tts de a

lean flickerBOT
#

:x: There must be at least two users in a voice channel before the bot can start playing songs.

unkempt crystal
#

best way to learn

#

>faq best way to learn

steady moth
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
tender trellis
#

faq cefr

#

faq cefr

tender trellis
#

faq cefr

lean flickerBOT
#
CEFR levels

Welcome to the interactive paginator!

This interactively allows you to see pages of text by navigating with reactions. They are as follows:

:track_previous: Goes to the first page.
:arrow_backward: Goes to the previous page.
:arrow_forward: Goes to the next page.
:track_next: Goes to the last page.
:stop_button: Stops the interactive pagination session.
:information_source: Shows this message.

dense timber
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
dense timber
#

faq-resources

#

faq resources

lean flickerBOT
tawny hull
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

fresh fulcrum
#

faq beginner

lean flickerBOT
#
How to get started

The simplest way to learn German is to find topics you don’t understand yet and search for explanations of them. This list provides you with a guide for which topics to learn if you are completely new to German. Type the topic into Google (or YouTube) and start learning!

Introduction

1: Alphabet (especially ä, ü, ö and ß)
2: Basic greetings (hello, goodbye, etc.)

Part 1 - Simple Sentence

1: Noun gender & plurals
2: Nominative case (What are cases?)
3: Nominative pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.)
4: Verbs in present tense
5: Definite/indefinite articles
6: Accusative case (for nouns)
7: Accusative pronouns
8: Word order of simple sentences
9: How to ask questions

See Part 2 on the next page.

Tips
  • Always learn the gender of a noun when you learn a new noun
  • Learn to use a translation dictionary (e.g. dict.cc, leo.org)
  • Use >faq resources to see our list of German learning resources
  • For listening and pronunciation practice, try watching movies or videos (incl. YouTube)
  • You can listen to pronunciation for words on websites like dict.cc, forvo.com, and others
  • Practice writing sentences every day (and asking people to correct them)
  • Ask as many questions as possible
  • Don’t be scared to make mistakes!!!! If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, you will never be able to learn German
fresh fulcrum
#

help

lean flickerBOT
#
Help commands
:small_blue_diamond: **help** [term]

Displays help information for modules and individual commands. The optional argument term is the search term to use. If no value is provided, the bot will display a list of all available modules. Otherwise, it will attempt to find information about the given term.

red turtle
#

tod\

#

bnm,

#

🙂

raven flare
#

faq conjugation

lean flickerBOT
#
Conjugation

Präsens (Present Tense)
When you use a verb in a sentence (or clause), you have to conjugate it (change the form) to match the subject of the sentence (or clause).

For example, in English, we write I eat but he/she eats. The verb has a different ending! The concept is the same in German, except German has more endings.

The first thing you need to know in order to conjugate verbs is: which ending fits which subject? Here is a simple verb “trinken” (to drink) as an example:

trinken
ich trinke
du trinkst
er/sie/es trinkt
wir trinken
ihr trinkt
sie trinken / Sie trinken
(Note: the conjugation for sie (they) and Sie (formal you) is always the same)

Vowel/Stem Changes
There are a few variations and exceptions, but the most important is vowel changes (also called stem changes). Some verbs get a vowel change, which only affects the du and er/sie/es forms of the verb. (However, modal verbs and wissen have their own special pattern, which also has a vowel change in the ich form.)

Example: ich schlafe, du schläfst

Other Changes
There are various other differences but I can’t describe them all here, so please read these websites or use Google to find more information: https://www.vistawide.com/german/grammar/german_verbs_present_tense.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/german-present-tense-verbs-4074838
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~deutsch/Grammatik/PresentTense/Present.html

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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
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faq cefr

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CEFR levels

If you see something like A1, B2 or C1, these represent the proficiency of a speaker in a language they're not native in, and are called CEFR levels. They are valid for any language, not only German!
Roughly speaking, A levels are beginners and C levels are experts. Remember that CEFR level are self-assessed and indicative!
You can see more specific names and descriptions on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

🗨 How do I know what level I am?
If the table on Wikipedia is too generic for you, you can try using this one here:
https://rm.coe.int/168045bb52
Just check each column one at a time: if you can do all it describes, move to the next column. Your level is the highest where you can do the most things.

Alternatively, you can use this questionnaire to estimate your level more accurately:
https://rm.coe.int/self-assessment-checklists-from-the-swiss-version-of-the-european-lang/1680492f8e

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faq beginner

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How to get started - Part 2

Please make sure to read Part 1 before starting Part 2!

Part 2 – Beyond a Simple Sentence

1: Conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating)
2: Subordinate clause word order
3: Dative case
4: Dative verbs
5: Verbs with two objects (e.g. geben)
6: Prepositions (accusative, dative, and two-way)
7: Spoken past tense (Perfekt)
8: Written past tense (Präteritum)
9: Genitive case
10: Relative clauses
11: Adjective declension

Tips
  • Make sure to practice writing and reading simple texts
  • Some of these concepts are confusing to start with, so it’s a good idea to ask for help in #questions when you’re unsure
  • You should use a declension chart to help with declension to start with, because you won’t be able to memorize it straight away
  • After you feel confident with creating sentences, you can start learning the adjective declension properly by using the command >faq adjective declension and reading the guide provided
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faq resources

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faq german r

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FAQ not found. I found the following similar entries: Teach German (1), Swiss German (2), German letters (3)
Select one of the values in the brackets to directly open the suggested FAQ.

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faq Präteritum

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Perfekt
How to form the Perfekt tense

The Perfekt tense is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (haben or sein) with the past participle form of the main verb.

For example, if I want to write the past tense of “essen”/“to eat”, such as in the English sentence “I ate”, I first need to know the auxiliary verb that goes with essen (which happens to be haben), and the past participle form of essen (which is gegessen).

I can then combine them with the usual verb conjugation and word order rules, as such:
Ich habe gegessen. -> I ate. / I have eaten.
Ich habe das Brot gegessen. -> I ate the bread. / I have eaten the bread.

How to determine the past participle?

Just look it up in the dictionary! There are a few general patterns you can also learn about, but a dictionary will pretty much always list the past participle somewhere near the verb itself.

When to use haben and when to use sein as the auxiliary verb?

The basic rules are:
• Transitive verbs (verbs which take an accusative object) use haben
• Intransitive verbs which describe a change of location or change of state use sein
• Other intransitive verbs use haben

This may not be a 100% reliable set of rules, so if in doubt, you can always use a dictionary to verify the correct auxiliary. Also note that there are a few regional variations.

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faq possessiveartikel

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faq possessivartikel

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sessions

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faq possessivpronomen

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