Your first goal can be small: introduce yourself, order a drink or ask the way. Learn a few phrases that belong together.
The idea
Begin with a situation, not a word list. A sentence gives a new word a job and gives you something to say before you know much grammar. Learn nouns with their articles, verbs inside short sentences, and give listening its own time. Asking Noch einmal, bitte or Langsamer, bitte is part of using the language, not a sign of failure.
Your first conversation
Mia: Hallo! Ich heiße Mia. Und du?
Hello! My name is Mia. And you?
Alex: Hallo! Ich heiße Alex. Ich lerne Deutsch.
Hello! My name is Alex. I am learning German.
Mia: Woher kommst du?
Where are you from?
Alex: Noch einmal, bitte. Langsamer, bitte.
Once more, please. More slowly, please.
Mia: Woher … kommst … du?
Where … are you … from?
Alex: Ich komme aus Polen. Danke schön!
I come from Poland. Thank you very much!
A gentle first-week plan
Day 1: introduce yourself with Hallo! and Ich heiße …, and add Ich komme aus … with your country. Day 2: listen to a short recording with a transcript three times: without the text, with it, and with the text covered again.
Day 3: order one thing with Einen Kaffee, bitte, then swap in Tee. Day 4: learn a few nouns as article pairs: der Bahnhof, die Straße, das Café. Day 5: ask Entschuldigung, wo ist …? about three places on a map.
Day 6: try a small task in German, such as a simple menu or a short dialogue, and notice a phrase you already know. Day 7: say your introduction and café order from memory, keep what works, revisit what does not and choose next week's situation.
Three habits worth keeping
Learn nouns with their articles, learn verbs inside short sentences and give listening its own time. These habits keep pronunciation, grammar and meaning connected from the start.
Keep the routine short enough to repeat. Ten focused minutes is a useful experiment, not a rule; on a busy day, recalling three phrases is still a useful visit to the language.
Examples
- Hallo!
- Ich heiße Alex.
- Ich komme aus Polen.
- Ich lerne Deutsch.
- Noch einmal, bitte.
- Langsamer, bitte.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Recognising a phrase on the page is not the same as saying it: cover the German and retrieve it from the meaning before you move on.
Try it yourself
Ich ___ Alex. (heißen)
Show answer or example answer
heiße
With ich, heißen becomes heiße: Ich heiße Alex.
Ich ___ Deutsch. (lernen)
Show answer or example answer
lerne
With ich, lernen becomes lerne: Ich lerne Deutsch.
Noch ___, bitte.
Show answer or example answer
einmal
Noch einmal, bitte asks for a repetition: once more, please.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Ich ___ Alex. (heißen)
Ich ___ Deutsch. (lernen)
Noch ___, bitte.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Introduce yourself, say that you are learning German, then ask someone to repeat something more slowly. Try all three without looking at the examples.