German FAQ¶

Welcome to the German FAQ. This is probably the most complete German FAQ you can find anywhere.

Due to the FAQ becoming ridiculously long, it can be hard to quickly find what you want. In that case, use the search bar or Ctrl+F.

Why this FAQ was made¶

This FAQ aims to assist you with your self study. When it comes to learning German, it is almost inevitable that you will often wonder about a lot of things. I’m not going to always be here to help you out, so I might as well dump all my knowledge here. I am sure your question will be answered in this FAQ. If not, I'm willing to answer any question you have if you sub to my Patreon.

How do I learn German?¶

Through massive amounts of input, in other words immersion. See the guide for more info.

Can you teach me German?¶

It is a common misconception that someone can just "teach" you the language and expect to make any meaningful progress, if at all. Learning a language requires personal study. You need to learn it yourself. Read my guide to get started.

Where can I find a German language tutor?¶

You don’t need one. Why? Because you can self study. Anyone can self study. It is not as hard as you think. It will actually be easier since you can go at your own pace and study with what you like such as movies. I think tutors/teachers will slow you down.

When will I be fluent?¶

It heavily depends on your method (how you are learning German) and how long you spend learning German per day. But assuming everything is done correctly, a generous estimate would be 4 years with 6 hours per day.

You say listen and read, but what should I listen to and read?¶

Unsubbed German Movies. In other words… NATIVE CONTENT: CONTENT MADE BY NATIVES, FOR NATIVES

When should I start using Anki?¶

You can start to use Anki whenever you want actually, you can even learn the kana with it. However I recommend you start using Anki when you already have a grasp of the kana and basic grammar, after that you can download and start working on the core vocab Anki deck. (Mining comes after)

When (what time of day) should I do Anki?¶

I recommend doing Anki the first thing in the morning. (As early as possible)

How long should I spend on Anki?¶

No more than 1 hour per day. Prioritise immersion time, not flashcards. They are only a supplement to your immersion.

About grammar, which grammar guide should I do? Pls answer¶

Do what works for you!

How do I look up words easier on webpages?¶

Yomitan. You can find it on the Chrome Web Store or whatever Firefox uses. Load dictionaries into it and hover over text while holding the Shift key. I went into more detail in Yomitan Guide , so check that out.

How do I look up words?¶

Using yomitan.

I am trying to learn grammar but I keep on forgetting the grammar points and I don’t understand the grammar points.¶

Try to rethink your approach to grammar. You need to immerse while following a grammar guide. Recommended grammar guides include Tae Kim and Cure Dolly. You can find these in Resources. Listen more. Read more.

Best dictionary for first-time monolingual users?¶

There is no single dictionary I can point to and say it's the best. Every dictionary has their weak points and strong points. Use every dictionary together. If you’re interested in my order of dictionaries in Yomichan, you can find that at Monolingual Guide

I don’t understand this sentence even though I know all the words.¶

Just forget about it for now. Listen more. Read more. It will come to you soon.

When I’m listening I don’t understand but when I looked at the subtitles/transcript I actually knew the words, why is this?¶

You need to listen more. Stop using subtitles.

When I’m reading I don’t understand, and I even looked up the words…¶

Increase reading speed???¶

Can I use German music to learn German?¶

By just listening to it? No. What you can do is look at the lyric sheet and look up the words.

I want to be able to speak with natives naturally, will your guide work?¶

Yes.

How long should I immerse per day?¶

As much as you can. The more German you do, the more gains you get.

This method seems too hardcore for me…¶

That’s ok. You don’t need to do it if you don’t want to.

How many words do I need to know to understand EVERYTHING?¶

Around 30k. You may think, but uh with 2k I can understand 80%? Yeah but it gets very steep after that. 10k is around 98%, 20k is around 99% and 30k is like 99.9% because I can’t guarantee that you can understand 100% with 30k. But it is definitely a good number to aim for. I don't understand everything in English so is it really worth the endeavour? That is your decision.

I don’t have that green + button like you do in Yomichan¶

Setup AnkiConnect. https://foosoft.net/projects/anki-connect/ Make sure you also have a proper card type and have filled in the fields correctly.

Reddit¶

Communities like Reddit are essentially crab buckets. They don't want you to succeed. Tell them you've accomplished something great? They'll all collectively say you're a special unicorn and no one else can expect to do what you do. Complain about German being impossible? 10k upvotes! Featured on the front page! People on Reddit love negativity.

I don’t have time to learn German¶

You may have more time than you think you do to learn German. Stop playing video games. Stop going on Reddit. Wake up early. Do your Anki reps in the morning. Stop talking on Discord. Stop consuming content in English. Or if you really don’t have any time and it isn’t just you saying “I’d rather spend my time doing other things.” then just try to squeeze in even the smallest amount of German into your day, it won’t be much but “barely any German” is better than “no German”

I am actively immersing, you say just pay attention to what they’re saying, can you go into more detail?¶

It depends on your comprehension I guess. If you’re below 40%, just listen out for what words you can pickout, try to guess the meaning of phrases, try to like, listen to the sounds. When you’re at like 80% comprehension, pay attention to the plot of the movies and try to just get the meaning of sentences but not necessarily how it was said specifically e.g. what form a verb was in.

Will re-watching shows I have already immersed with be useful?¶

Yes but once you get bored, switch!

Can I get fluent with only 1 hour of immersion?¶

Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time and dedication to get fluent at a language.

How do I learn how to read?¶

By looking up the words.

It's been a few months of learning. Why does it feel like nothing is clicking?¶

I think you need to up your active immersion. Make sure you are grading your Anki cards correctly. Make sure you are ACTIVELY immersing, not passive, ACTIVE immersion. If you feel demotivated try to watch the first thing you immersed with, so you can see how much more you can understand now versus when you first watched it. Look at your Anki stats, so you can see how much you have actually learned. You could just be in the intermediate blues stage where progress doesn't feel as noticeable as it was in the beginner stage but trust me, every minute spent with the language is always going to improve your skills.

I don't understand anything when immersing. Why is that? How long will it take for me to understand what I'm listening to?**¶

That’s cause you haven’t listened and read enough. Try looking up words you hear clearly enough. It will only take a few months of listening+looking up+german subtitles+anki to understand 80% of your immersion. That 20% is still the actual important details so you will still have a long way to go though. Hang in there.

I'm trying to translate German into English while immersing. Is this wrong?¶

Yes. But as a beginner it is hard to not translate to English. Try to use your willpower to try and not translate, overtime it will just go away and you will understand and think about German you hear, in German.

How often should I study and for how long?¶

Try to study everyday, so it will eventually become a habit. I don’t even need to think to open up Anki, click my deck and then click “Study Now”. It’s all inertia to me. Try to study as long as you can. If you have free time, try to use it for German.

What are the requirements for reading German? How long will it take for me to get there?¶

Like legit reading books and novels? You can start reading German after some listening immersion. How much? Let’s just say, 6 hours everyday for a month. Around 180 hours? Or maybe even less? After that you can get into reading.

What is good immersion material for beginners?¶

Just find what interests you. You just need to immerse with whatever interests you because that makes it fun.

How many new cards per day?¶

Just do 10. If you feel like it is too less, do 15 or 20. Please bear in mind that the more new cards you do, the more reviews you’ll get.

Mining Mentality: When to mine (add to Anki) or just to look up and carry on?¶

Honestly I've never worried about this because of my mining method. The only things I mine are from movies I have already seen, or from books I’ve already read. The point is that if you’re looking up, you will remember about maybe half of what you looked up, I can’t say for sure though. So you go back to the content you just watched/read and mine whatever you didn’t remember. I’ve been doing this for nearly 6 months and it has worked great for me, and I think it will do for you too.
EDIT uhh I just mine everything when i see it now no matter how ridiculous it is

What should I do when I come across a word I don’t know (in reading)?¶

See above. This is a better worded question than above.

What should I do when I come across a word I don’t know (in listening)?¶

It largely depends on how many words in the sentence you don’t know. If it has 2 words you don’t know, you can choose to look up one of the words. If it has 1 word you don’t know, definitely look it up. - This is a “low hanging fruit”. If any more than 2 words, don’t look up if you want to guarantee you remember them.

But can't I learn German by focusing on the audio while using the English subs as a guide?¶

It's complicated. You won't have the natural ability to parse full German sentences correctly without subtitles if you keep using English subs. It is true you can learn words with them at more advanced stages though. I can't recommend English subs to anyone that can't write a full length explanation to why each line was translated that way. So just use German subs or watch raw.

What if I can't find anything I enjoy immersing with?¶

keep on looking

Should I use German subs?¶

I might have already answered this but… not always. Only in the beginning. Split your time up between watching raw and in German subs. The reason you need to watch raw is so you get the best accent in the end and also because using subs all the time means you won't really be training your listening ability at all.

How much should I balance my listening and reading?¶

I think, when you’re at the stage where you can go on to reading without messing up your accent, you should read more than you listen. Why is this? Well, reading is probably the best way I currently know of to increase your vocabulary. These new vocabulary you acquired can easily transfer to your listening. Most of my vocabulary is what I learned from reading. Reading is a powerful tool. But don’t slack on the listening! That’s still very important. But, I can admit that reading for long hours is harder than listening for long hours so even if your reading hours are a little shorter than your listening hours (e.g. 4 listening hours 2.5 reading hours), you are still making some serious gains. Don’t see this as an excuse to slack reading though.

Should I study other languages along with German?¶

If you don’t want to get remotely good at any of the languages, then ok. But if you want to get good at German, then don’t study any other languages while studying German.

I am learning German with (n) textbook, is it bad?¶

Yes. Please follow the German Guide.

Is X textbook better than Y textbook?¶

Both aren't going to make you good at German.

I don’t want to believe anything you’re saying and I would rather stick with what I’m doing if that’s okay with you?¶

Okay

How do I switch from traditional methods to your method?¶

Let go!

How to deal with words with multiple meanings?¶

The answer is simple. You already know you should learn words in context and in sentences. The context+sentence is almost always enough for you to get which definition fits. If not, try a monolingual dictionary. If you can’t figure it out then just learn whatever. If you come across a usage of a word different to the one you learned, you don’t need to make a card for it, it will be easy to just learn this new usage.

Is it bad if I make a mistake when speaking?¶

No. As long as you are immersing everyday, don't worry about it! Is it bad? It depends how you see it. If you care what German people may think, then it is not bad at all. German people are very nice and kind and don't really care if you can't speak German good. If you want your German to be natural and "good", then you still don't need to worry about making mistakes, because making mistakes is not a problem as long as you are immersing everyday.

I can understand my immersion but I’m not fluent, what should I do?¶

You need more output and immersion. You might have immersed in German without ever thinking how you are going to use the words you are hearing yourself. You should start outputting NOW!

Thoughts on immersing while sleeping?¶

It's BS.

Will speaking a lot make me good?¶

Not exactly.

Then how do you get good?¶

Through input. Primarily listening for learning how to speak naturally and reading for increasing your vocabulary. Speaking is not learning. Listening and reading is learning. You are not learning anything when you’re not immersing. Speaking is just the icing on the cake.

Should I pronounce out loud new words?¶

No, I don't recommend it. You can get by just by reading it in your head.

Should I read out loud the sentence in my sentence cards?¶

No you don't need to. Absolutely fine if you just read it in your head.

Thoughts on passive immersion?¶

It depends. If you can’t understand like 90% of your immersion yet then it won't get you gains. If you understand over 90% then you can make gains when you listen in on it every now and then, but much less efficient than active immersion overall.

Thoughts on Duolingo, Busuu, LingoDeer, Memrise, Drops and other similar apps¶

Don’t even bother. Follow my guide for some real German gains Link

These two words have the same meaning!!¶

They have the same English meaning. English is not the best language to express German. German is the best language to express German. You need to use a G-G dictionary such as Duden to find out the difference. If you’re not good enough to read a G-G definition yet then don’t worry about it because you can also find out the difference through immersion.

Grading sentence cards¶

If you’re doing sentence cards then I’ll talk you through the review process. Let's think back to bilingual cards, how do you grade them? You should already know that the sentence that goes on the front is the thing you need to understand, and the on the back is the word along with its reading and definition is needed to understand the sentence. The process of reviewing sentence cards goes as follows: You read the sentence, reveal the backside of the card, read the definition that is on the back of the card, if the definition on the back made you understand the sentence better, then grade it as a Fail. If not, grade it as a Pass. In other words, you grade the card as a Pass if the extra information (the definition) on the card was not needed to comprehend the sentence. It’s basically the same for monolingual cards.

I don’t want to use Anki. Is that fine?¶

Uh, there is no doubt that your progress will be inevitably slower than someone that does the exact same as you but uses Anki. I don’t think any amount of reading can circumvent using the SRS. If you hate using Anki, then try to use a different format. I think you can still get very good without using Anki but think of it like this: the SRS shaves a good year off the amount of time it takes to get fluent ;) Of course, SRS doesn’t make you fluent, immersion does, but SRS is a supplement to your immersion. SRS makes your immersion more comprehensible, so you make the most gains.

Hey shoui I found (x) German course, is it good?¶

If I haven’t talked about it yet then probably no because I don’t want to talk about silly courses like GermanPod101, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, Assimil. All which have been proved to be ineffective. There is a good reason why I haven’t talked about it yet.

When should I put my PC/phone in German?¶

You don’t need to but it definitely helps. Do it when you’re used to reading I guess.

I only want to sentence mine from books, is this fine?¶

Yeah.

The Intermediate Blues¶

The Intermediate Blues. The Intermediate Plateau. Whatever you want to call it. This is the feeling of not feeling like you are improving, despite doing 40 Anki cards per day, speeding through your reviews, reading for 3 hours, listening for 6 hours. In fact, there is no plateau. It doesn’t exist. You are either improving (when you immerse) or getting worse (when you dont immerse). The Intermediate Blues are usually felt when you remember back when you were a beginner and you could feel your progress everyday, you don’t really get that same feeling as an intermediate learner. You are improving. Please note that you can understand like 80% of your immersion with like 2000 words. You can understand like 90% with 10,000. It just gets very steep. 20,000 you understand like 95%. 30,000 you may finally be close to the 100%. The feeling sucks, but you gotta keep going. What usually motivates is when I hear in an movies a word I learned the day before, it always gives me a motivation boost no matter what

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You have reached the end of the FAQ!

This FAQ is still incomplete and it is no longer being updated. I have no incentive to update this.