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[oti]

German is the reason why I laugh when native English speakers go on about how hard English is to learn. I learnt both at the same time (dropped German when I moved to NZ though), but German was way harder. The English pronunciation is nonsensical but at least the grammar and conjugation are simple.

I never get when people tell me English is tough to learn. As a native German speaker I do have an advantage over others though. My Greek friends can't speak English at all, it's so different from Greek that it must be really tough for them.

Compared to Japanese and French, English is like "Language for Babies 101". It's easy and that's what's great about it,

What the fuck is that?

"Ich hatte ihm geschrieben gehabt" - that sounds like you are an idiot. Stop giving me a headache please. This can't be real, nobody talks like that. That's nothing you learn in school or should ever learn as a non-native speaker.

Ja Ja! Let the German consume your soul! Jawohl! Ja gut gut.

 

[szaromir]

yeah this. We germans usually love to shit on our own language. I am a big fan of it tho...I usually don't state that anymore because people look at me like I'm crazy but honestly it is a language suited for writing novels and poems. Just look at Goethe god damnit. I love a good Faust reading.

for science I would always use english tho.

Haha I'm quite the opposite. I'm not a big fan of the language but it works really well in the context of physics, the best courses of theoretical physics are written by German authors, the works of Fließbach, Nolting and Greiner are amazing and a part of it is how concisely they formulate their thoughts.

 

[sohois]

I presume you're using the duolingo mobile app, since you mention a commute. If you're unaware, login on a desktop and many of the levels will have additional 'notes' which go into more detail on grammar and stuff. For some bizarre reason it's not possible to find these on the app.

You'll still want to get a textbook or something to learn grammar properly though. When I was learning Spanish I used a book, duolingo and memorise courses at the same time

 

[Raist]

Just go for something easier and much more beautiful.

Like, French.

I'm not biased at all.

I never get when people tell me English is tough to learn. As a native German speaker I do have an advantage over others though. My Greek friends can't speak English at all, it's so different from Greek that it must be really tough for them.

Compared to Japanese and French, English is like "Language for Babies 101". It's easy and that's what's great about it,

Well, english is mostly a germanic language, sooo yeah...
Still, it's really easy to pick up, but going into being actually fluent is a bit trickier. Especially if your native language does not have germanic roots.

 

[Maedre]

To be honest, there's not a whole lot of German quality content around but some good ones include:

Movies:
Victoria
Das Leben der Anderen
Der Untergang
Die Welle
Good Bye Lenin
Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex

TV series:
Deutschland 83
Der Tatortreiniger
Stromberg (the German version of The Office)
Pastewka
Morgen hör' ich auf

No idea about YouTube.

Good list. Especially "Der Tatortreiniger" is very very good. German is a very precise language. But without mentioning Der, Die, Das it should be very easy for someone who is an native English speaker.

 

[Gorlak]

Ja Ja! Let the German consume your soul! Jawohl! Ja gut gut.

Not sure if serious

Ernsthaft. Ich weigere mich zu glauben, dass Leute tatsächlich diesen Satz benutzen würden: "Ich hatte ihm geschrieben gehabt." ~ Jeder Deutschlehrer würde dir das in der Schule anstreichen. Was soll dieses zweite "haben" überhaupt bewirken?

 

[Maedre]

Not sure if serious

Ernsthaft. Ich weigere mich zu glauben, dass Leute tatsächlich diesen Satz benutzen würden: "Ich hatte ihm geschrieben gehabt." ~ Jeder Deutschlehrer würde dir das in der Schule anstreichen. Was soll dieses zweite "haben" überhaupt bewirken?

Dieses zweite "haben" in Form von "gehabt" wird sehr oft im Pot genutzt. Ich will mit jedes Mal die Haare aus dem Kopf reißen wenn ich das höre.

 

[mjAUT]

well, if you want to learn real German, you can watch:

Muttertag
Indien
Der Metzger (geht fremd/muss nachsitzen)
Komm, süßer Tod/Der Knochenmann/Silentium/Das ewige Leben

and there's also

Das Weisse Band
Die Fälscher
Hasenjagd

And with real, you mean Austrian German? I agree that these are good movies, but they might cause OP to give up on learning German alltogether

 

[oti]

Just go for something easier and much more beautiful.

Like, French.

I'm not biased at all.



Well, english is mostly a germanic language, sooo yeah...
Still, it's really easy to pick up, but going into being actually fluent is a bit trickier. Especially if your native language does not have germanic roots.

I know. BTW: Did you know the Greeks have a French fetish? I don't know why but they do. Tell them something like "pain au chocolat" and they melt away. French music is also pretty huge in Greece.

My French is really rusty.

Not sure if serious

Ernsthaft. Ich weigere mich zu glauben, dass Leute tatsächlich diesen Satz benutzen würden: "Ich hatte ihm geschrieben gehabt." ~ Jeder Deutschlehrer würde dir das in der Schule anstreichen. Was soll dieses zweite "haben" überhaupt bewirken?

Doesn't every langugage have something like this though? Doesn't mean we actually use it. Heck, Americans don't care about very basic grammar rules themselves. Double negative, don't instead of doesn't, who instead of whom and so on.

 

[Violet_0]

And with real, you mean Austrian German? I agree that these are good movies, but they might cause OP to give up on learning German alltogether

imo the only true way to learn German is the hard way

 

[Haemi]

You don't really have to watch german TV stuff. Germans dub everything. Just watch whatever you like with german dubbing. A lot of german say our dubbing is really bad, but they are just hypersensitive.

Not sure if serious

Ernsthaft. Ich weigere mich zu glauben, dass Leute tatsächlich diesen Satz benutzen würden: "Ich hatte ihm geschrieben gehabt." ~ Jeder Deutschlehrer würde dir das in der Schule anstreichen. Was soll dieses zweite "haben" überhaupt bewirken?

Wird benutzt bei Dingen die bereits in der Vergangenheit abgeschlossen waren.

 

[mjAUT]

imo the only true way to learn German is the hard way

I wü jo nix sogn, oba nochdem uns teilweis jo ned amoi die Deitschn vastehn kinnt des für an Ami do a bissi zu vü wean.

Spoiler

Ich will ja nichts sagen, aber nachdem uns teilweise nicht einmal die Deutschen verstehen, könnte das für einen Amerikaner ein wenig zu viel werden.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Doesn't every language have something like this though? Doesn't mean we actually use it.

Yeah, french don't even speak francais standard and they still have an additional for literature.


German dubbing is awful, everyone addresses each other politely ', jokes don't make sense half the time,...

Again OP, don't trust Austrians. You should listen to them arguing with each other though. It sounds adorable.

Should we be judging germans by Pifken, ne?

 

[oti]

I wü jo nix sogn, oba nochdem uns teilweis jo ned amoi die Deitschn vastehn kinnt des für an Ami do a bissi zu vü wean.

Spoiler

Ich will ja nichts sagen, aber nachdem uns teilweise nicht einmal die Deutschen verstehen, könnte das für einen Amerikaner ein wenig zu viel werden.

Again OP, don't trust Austrians. You should listen to them arguing with each other though. It sounds adorable.

 

[Raist]

I know. BTW: Did you know the Greeks have a French fetish? I don't know why but they do. Tell them something like "pain au chocolat" and they melt away. French music is also pretty huge in Greece.

My French is really rusty.

Everyone has a french fetish. We're just way too sexy~

 

[Endorphineforeverybody]

I wü jo nix sogn, oba nochdem uns teilweis jo ned amoi die Deitschn vastehn kinnt des für an Ami do a bissi zu vü wean.

Spoiler

Ich will ja nichts sagen, aber nachdem uns teilweise nicht einmal die Deutschen verstehen, könnte das für einen Amerikaner ein wenig zu viel werden.

Jup, wü I a sagn, kim uma trink ma a paar haibe, dann wirds scho werden. Des beste is aiwei des ganze glei gscheid bei uns zu lerna und ned so long umazdaun.

Seriously, if you want to learn german, make a course for the basics, watch a lot of TV with subtitles, and don't get mixed up with the dialects. Sometimes we don't even know what our own people are saying.

So und jetzt gibt's amai a eitrige mit am krokodü.
Servas

 

[Palculator]

 

[Little Mons†er]

My favourite German word is just randomly shouting JAWOHL out loud to my German friends and mum

JAWOHL!!!!!

 

[Starfield]

Good Luck OP. German is really really a tough language to learn x.x can't even speak it properly myself

 

[Diprosalic]

Compared to Japanese and French, English is like "Language for Babies 101". It's easy and that's what's great about it.

French is hard? that's the first time i've heard that.
it's "Language for Babies 102".

 

[Auctopus]

Such strange replies in this thread. OP, German is a brilliant language and sounds amazing when spoken properly.

It's very mathematical and literal when words are put together so it's satisfying trying to learn/figure out new words.

At least you're not learning French, now that's a bitch of a language.

 

[oti]

French is hard? that's the first time i've heard that.

avoir/être
adjectives
du or not to du
il/elle

etc.

Than you read the t if there's an e after it, sometimes

etc.

 

[KHlover]

Have fun with conjugation tables.

 

[Diprosalic]

avoir/être
adjectives
du or not to du
il/elle

etc.

Than you read the t if there's an e after it, sometimes

etc.

meh.
i just googled it and everybody puts it in the easy category.
¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Have fun with conjugation tables.

Do people not learn latin?

 

[oti]

Do people not learn latin?

Why would anyone learn Latin.

 

[Palculator]

Such strange replies in this thread. OP, German is a brilliant language and sounds amazing when spoken properly.

It's very mathematical and literal when words are put together so it's satisfying trying to learn/figure out new words.

This. Nonsensicalness of noun genders aside, I think it's great and I wish English had compound nouns because they're super useful. And you can go mental with it like Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbierbarbärbel.

 

[KHlover]

Do people not learn latin?

Latin: Have EVEN MORE fun with conjugation tables. I actually learned Latin for 5 years. Nothing sticked and my grades only started skyrocketing once we were allowed dictionaries in the exam and grammar questions were removed from the exam.

Getting a 95% correct translation of Ceasar's "De Bello Gallico" by looking up words and guesstimating grammar ftw

 

[nampad]

I am a native speaker and not a language teacher in any way so my opinion might not be the best but I think the way Duolingo is trying to teach you German isn't that bad. Learning phrases for daily uses instead of slamming you with the grammar, which I am sure can be quite a bitch to learn for a non native speaker.

I remember quite well how learning to conjugate and declinate sucked when I learned other languages. Even in German, I would have a hard time to recall the conjugation for some tenses on the spot but have no problem speaking it at all.

 

[hemo memo]

I don't know about German but if you need help in Arabic let me know.

 

[oti]

Latin: Have EVEN MORE fun with conjugation tables. I actually learned Latin for 5 years. Nothing sticked and my grades only started skyrocketing once we were allowed dictionaries in the exam and grammar questions were removed from the exam.

Getting a 95% correct translation of Ceasar's "De Bello Gallico" by looking up words and guesstimating grammar ftw

This is why I hate Latin/Ancient Greek. Wasted time.

 

[KHlover]

This is why I hate Latin/Ancient Greek. Wasted time.

Indeed. Thought the Latinum might be nice to have for university, but in the end I became an engineer so ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[Greddleok]

This thread is exactly why I don't want to learn German. The disconnect is astounding "if you're living somewhere learn the language" and "you'll never learn the language" with the occasional "oh you're learning the weird dialect from Baden-Württemberg? Why bother?"

Compound that with the fact I've never had to learn what different tenses are called, other than past, present and future, I have no clue what someone's referring to when they ask for the infinitive or the past participle.

On the bright side, it looks like reading German won't be too hard. I can guess what a lot of words mean from their similarity to English.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Why would anyone learn Latin.

Because it's useful in pretty much any scientific field. Which I presume everyone wants to be in after all.

 

[oti]

This thread is exactly why I don't want to learn German. The disconnect is astounding "if you're living somewhere learn the language" and "you'll never learn the language" with the occasional "oh you're learning the weird dialect from Baden-Württemberg? Why bother?"

Compound that with the fact I've never had to learn what different tenses are called, other than past, present and future, I have no clue what someone's referring to when they ask for the infinitive or the past participle.

On the bright side, it looks like reading German won't be too hard. I can guess what a lot of words mean from their similarity to English.

Your view on language seems to be very limited. Just start, man. Widen your horizon.

 

[Pluto]

edit: DIE nutella btw .. i even have to fight my girlfried over this

no. NO. DIE. DIE NUTELLA. I'll fight you. >_>

DAS Nutella. Die Nutella is madness, who speaks like that?

Doesn't every langugage have something like this though? Doesn't mean we actually use it. Heck, Americans don't care about very basic grammar rules themselves. Double negative, don't instead of doesn't, who instead of whom and so on.

Would of instead of would have. That's the one thing that drives me absolutely crazy,mif I were an english teacher I'd give everyone who writes "would of" and F.

 

[KHlover]

This thread is exactly why I don't want to learn German. The disconnect is astounding "if you're living somewhere learn the language" and "you'll never learn the language" with the occasional "oh you're learning the weird dialect from Baden-Württemberg? Why bother?"

Compound that with the fact I've never had to learn what different tenses are called, other than past, present and future, I have no clue what someone's referring to when they ask for the infinitive or the past participle.

On the bright side, it looks like reading German won't be too hard. I can guess what a lot of words mean from their similarity to English.

Well, there's a reason not to start with the hardcore dialects. If someone actually speaks those (and I mean speaks, not just incorporates a few words into their 'normal' German) they might as well be different languages for the purpose of learning German.

 

[Palculator]

Because it's useful in pretty much any scientific field. Which I presume everyone wants to be in after all.

It has been entirely useless in Informatik, I can tell you that.

 

[KHlover]

It has been entirely useless in Informatik, I can tell you that.

Useless in Engineering, too. If there's any Latin-based Fachbegriffe you just learn those, no need to know the Language itself.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Useless in Engineering, too. If there's any Latin-based Fachbegriffe you just learn those, no need to know the Language itself.

It has been entirely useless in Informatik, I can tell you that.

To quote Sheldon Cooper, nah I won't. It's like it's essential but it has its uses.

It's not like Geography, which is its own course here.

 

[Palculator]

Useless in Engineering, too. If there's any Latin-based Fachbegriffe you just learn those, no need to know the Language itself.

Yeah, much like I didn't have to know Greek to know what "Informatik" is, lol.

Also it's "die Nutella," you maniacs. The thing it stands for (Nuss-Nougatcreme) is feminine and it even ends in an "a."

Spoiler

It's "die Colgate" too.

 

[oti]

To quote Sheldon Cooper, nah I won't. It's like it's essential but it has its uses.

It's not like Geography, which is its own course here.

It's dead for a reason.

 

[PdotMichael]

Latin is only "useful" in fields like philosophy or history to get your hands on primary sources.

 

[Jenenser]

Du bist schon tot.jpeg

Latin is only "useful" in fields like philosophy or history to get your hands on primary sources.

its also helpful to understand your doctors.

 

[Anarion07]

 

[theusedversion]

Just say Alice Cooper when you want to wish someone a Happy Birthday.

 

[Forkball]

 

[Palculator]

Haha, that's great.

Spoiler

I love correcting native English speakers on their grammar ( ≖‿&#8790

Anyone who makes the joke they're thinking of right now gets a kick in the teeth, I swear.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

German is the dumbest language in the world.

The sun? Well, the sun is obviously female, better remember that.
The moon though? Well, that's a male thing if I've ever seen one dummy.
A swimming pool? Well....nobody knows really. It might be a male? But it could also be neutral though, now that I think about it.

Have fun learning.

 

[waveuponwave]

To be honest, there's not a whole lot of German quality content around but some good ones include:

Movies:
Victoria
Das Leben der Anderen
Der Untergang
Die Welle
Good Bye Lenin
Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex

TV series:
Deutschland 83
Der Tatortreiniger
Stromberg (the German version of The Office)
Pastewka
Morgen hör' ich auf

No idea about YouTube.

You could throw in some Fatih Akin films (Turkish-German director, many of his films focus on the Turkish community in Germany)

Gegen die Wand - Sibel Kekilli's breakout film (Shae in Game of Thrones)
Auf der anderen Seite
Soul Kitchen

Some others:
Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage
Lola rennt
Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei
Das Wunder von Bern