To learn German, start with the parts that are regular. Spend your first weeks on pronunciation, which follows the spelling far more closely than English does, and on a few survival phrases. Then learn every noun together with der, die or das, start with just two cases (nominative and accusative), and learn where the verb goes in a sentence. Listen and speak a little every day from the start. Expect it to take longer than Spanish or French. The US Foreign Service Institute estimates German takes English speakers about 36 weeks of full-time study, compared with 30 for those two.

If you're still comparing languages, why learn German covers careers, study and travel.

What should you learn first in German, and when?

Sounds first, then nouns with their articles, two cases and verb position, then the dative and the past tense. Adjective endings and the genitive can wait.

Phase	When	What to study	Goal by the end
1. Sounds and survival phrases	Weeks 1 to 3	Letters, umlauts, ch, ß, du and Sie, about 15 phrases	Read any word aloud, greet people, ask for help
2. Nouns, two cases, verb position	Weeks 4 to 10	Der, die, das, nominative and accusative, present tense, verb second, modal verbs	Talk about yourself, what you have, want and can do
3. Dative, past and longer sentences	Weeks 11 to 20	Dative with common prepositions, the perfect tense, separable verbs, weil and dass	Say what you did and explain why
4. Daily listening and speaking	Ongoing, more from month 4	Learner news, short conversations, adjective endings and genitive later	Hold everyday conversations on familiar topics

Is German pronunciation hard?

No. Once you learn about a dozen rules, German is mostly pronounced the way it's written, and you can read most new words aloud correctly. Listen to each letter on the German alphabet page, then learn the combinations below.

Spelling	Sound	Example
w	English "v"	Wasser (water)
v	Usually English "f"	Vater (father), viel
z	"ts"	Zeit (time), Zug
j	English "y"	ja, Jahr
ei	"eye"	mein, Wein
ie	"ee"	Liebe, sie
eu, äu	"oy"	heute, Häuser
sch	"sh"	Schule
sp, st at the start of a word or word part	"shp", "sht"	sprechen, Straße, verstehen
ch after a, o, u, au	Throaty, like Scottish "loch"	Buch, auch
ch after other sounds	Softer, like the "h" in "huge"	ich, Milch
ß	"ss"	Straße, groß
b, d, g at the end of a word or syllable	"p", "t", "k"	Hund (dog), Tag (day)

The umlauts ä, ö and ü are separate vowels, and getting them wrong changes the word. Ä is close to the "e" in "bed". For ü, say "ee" and round your lips; for ö, say "eh" and round your lips. Practise with pairs: schon (already) and schön (beautiful), zahlen (to pay) and zählen (to count), Bruder (brother) and Brüder (brothers).

Two spelling habits help you read. Every noun starts with a capital letter, so you can spot the nouns in any sentence. And Sie with a capital S is the formal "you", while sie means "she" or "they".

Which German phrases should you learn first?

German has two ways to say "you" to one person. Use du with friends, family and children, and Sie with strangers, older people and in shops, offices and at work until someone offers du.

German	English	Note
Hallo / Guten Tag	Hello / Good day	Guten Tag is more formal
Guten Morgen / Guten Abend	Good morning / Good evening
Tschüss / Auf Wiedersehen	Bye / Goodbye	Informal / formal
Bitte	Please; also "you're welcome"
Danke / Danke schön	Thanks / Thank you very much
Entschuldigung	Excuse me, sorry
Ich heiße...	My name is...
Ich verstehe nicht	I don't understand
Sprechen Sie Englisch?	Do you speak English?	Formal; informal is Sprichst du Englisch?
Können Sie das bitte wiederholen?	Can you repeat that, please?	Formal
Langsamer, bitte	More slowly, please
Wie viel kostet das?	How much does that cost?
Die Rechnung, bitte	The bill, please	Zahlen, bitte also works

How do you learn der, die and das?

Every German noun is masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das), and in the plural they all take die. The gender often doesn't match the meaning: das Mädchen (the girl) is neuter. So learn every noun as a set of three: article, noun and plural. Der Tisch, die Tische. Das Buch, die Bücher. Die Frau, die Frauen. Plurals are hard to guess, so learn them too.

Some endings and groups are reliable:

Feminine: nouns ending in -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft and -ion, such as die Zeitung, die Freiheit, die Möglichkeit, die Freundschaft, die Nation.
Neuter: diminutives ending in -chen or -lein, such as das Mädchen and das Brötchen.
Masculine: days, months and seasons, such as der Montag, der Mai, der Winter.
Compound nouns take the gender of their last part: das Haus plus die Tür gives die Haustür (front door).

A common trick is to colour-code flashcards by gender, one colour each for der, die and das.

What are German cases, and which should you learn first?

A case is the form a word takes to show its job in the sentence. German has four: nominative for the subject, accusative for the direct object, dative for the indirect object, and genitive for possession. In German it's mostly the article that changes, not the noun. Start with nominative and accusative, because together they cover simple sentences like "I have a brother" or "I'm buying the ticket".

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative (subject)	der / ein	die / eine	das / ein	die
Accusative (direct object)	den / einen	die / eine	das / ein	die

Only the masculine changes. Der Hund sieht den Mann means "the dog sees the man". Swap the order to Den Mann sieht der Hund and it still means the dog sees the man, with the stress on the man. The articles carry the meaning, so German word order can move in ways English can't. Pronouns change the same way: er becomes ihn, ich becomes mich, du becomes dich.

A few prepositions always take the accusative: durch, für, gegen, ohne and um. Für meinen Vater means "for my father".

Add the dative in phase 3. You need it after common prepositions like aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von and zu (mit dem Zug, by train) and in everyday phrases like mir ist kalt (I'm cold). Leave the genitive until later. In everyday speech it's often replaced by von plus the dative: das Auto von meinem Vater rather than das Auto meines Vaters.

How does German word order work?

German word order follows a few firm rules about the verb. Learn them as patterns with examples, not as theory.

Rule	German	English
In a main clause, the conjugated verb comes second	Heute gehe ich ins Kino.	Today I'm going to the cinema.
A modal verb comes second, the infinitive goes to the end	Ich muss morgen arbeiten.	I have to work tomorrow.
In the perfect tense, the past participle goes to the end	Ich habe gestern Pizza gegessen.	I ate pizza yesterday.
Separable verbs split, and the prefix goes to the end	Ich rufe dich morgen an. (anrufen)	I'll call you tomorrow.
After weil, dass or wenn, the conjugated verb goes to the end	Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich müde bin.	I'm staying home because I'm tired.
Yes or no questions start with the verb	Kommst du mit?	Are you coming along?

"Second" means the second element, not the second word. In Am Wochenende gehe ich schwimmen (at the weekend I go swimming), am Wochenende is one element, so gehe comes next and ich follows it.

Why are German words so long?

German joins nouns together into one word where English uses separate words. Read a compound from right to left. The last part is the main thing, and the parts before it describe it.

German	Parts	Meaning
der Handschuh	Hand + Schuh (hand shoe)	glove
der Kühlschrank	kühl + Schrank (cool cupboard)	fridge
das Krankenhaus	Kranken + Haus (house for the sick)	hospital
der Staubsauger	Staub + Sauger (dust sucker)	vacuum cleaner
der Hauptbahnhof	Haupt + Bahnhof (main station)	central station
die Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung	Geschwindigkeit + s + Begrenzung (speed limitation)	speed limit

Sometimes a linking letter such as -s- or -n- joins the parts, as in the last example. Compounds also help you read. Once you know a few hundred basic nouns, you can often work out a long word you've never seen.

How long does it take to learn German?

About 36 weeks of full-time study, or 828 class hours, by the estimate of the US Foreign Service Institute (FSI). German is the only European language in FSI's Category II, where it sits with Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Malay and Swahili. Spanish and French are in Category I at 30 weeks, so German needs about 20 percent more time. Add the 17 hours of self-study FSI expects each week and the total is about 1,440 hours. That is the time to reach an integrated score of 3 for speaking and listening on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale, professional working proficiency. (Source: US Department of State, Foreign Language Training.)

FSI doesn't give reasons, but the usual sticking points for English speakers are cases, adjective endings and word order. On your own it takes longer still: at an hour a day, the 828 class hours alone would fill more than two years, and FSI says real times vary with ability and experience. You'll manage everyday conversations long before professional level. Just expect slower early progress than you would see in Spanish.

Which German should you learn: Germany, Austria or Switzerland?

Learn standard German (Hochdeutsch). It's used in schools, media and writing in all three countries, and everyone understands it. Regional differences you'll notice:

Austria and southern Germany greet with Grüß Gott and, informally, Servus. Austria has its own words for some everyday things, such as Jänner for January.
Switzerland uses Swiss German dialects in daily speech. Without practice, they are hard to follow even for people from Germany. Written Swiss Standard German is easy to read but uses ss instead of ß: Strasse, not Straße.
Northern Germany often greets with Moin.

Can you learn German for free?

Yes. Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, runs a large free course site, DW Learn German. It includes Nicos Weg, a video course for beginners; Deutschtrainer, with vocabulary on 100 everyday topics; Kurz und leicht, short daily news videos for learners; and an Artikeltrainer for practising der, die and das. Add to that:

The Duden online dictionary, which shows each noun's gender and plural.
The German letters page for free audio of every letter.
A language exchange, called a Tandem in German, online or at a local meetup.
Library apps with graded readers and audiobooks.

What mistakes do German beginners make?

Learning nouns without der, die or das. You can't get the case endings right if you don't know the gender.
Putting the verb where English puts it. "Heute ich gehe" is wrong; it's Heute gehe ich.
Memorising every case table before speaking. Learn nominative and accusative, start talking, and add the others as you need them.
Saying "Ich bin kalt". That describes you as a cold person. To say you feel cold, use the dative: Mir ist kalt.
Ignoring the umlaut. Ich zahle (I'm paying) and ich zähle (I'm counting) are different sentences.
Falling for false friends. Bekommen means to get, not to become (that's werden). German also means so or therefore; the word for also is auch. Gift means poison; a present is ein Geschenk. Der Chef is your boss, not a cook (that's der Koch), and eventuell means possibly, not eventually.
Using du with strangers. Start with Sie and switch when you're invited to.

How should you plan a week of German study?

Aim for 30 to 45 minutes a day. This routine gives articles and verb position their own days, because English gives you no help with either.

Day	What to do	Focus
Monday	Learn one grammar point and write five sentences with it	New material
Tuesday	Watch a beginner video episode, then shadow a few lines	Listening and pronunciation
Wednesday	Review flashcards with article and plural; 10 minutes of article practice	Gender
Thursday	15-minute conversation with a Tandem partner, tutor or AI tutor; describe your weekend in the perfect tense	Speaking
Friday	Rewrite five sentences: start each with a time word, then add a weil clause, and check the verb	Word order
Saturday	Learner news or a show with German subtitles	Listening
Sunday	Rest, or read this week's sentences aloud	Review

Can you learn German through a language other than English?

Yes. If your own language has cases, as Turkish, Polish and Hindi do in different ways, German cases can be easier to grasp when they're explained in it. On Indilingo you can learn German with the explanations in Hindi, Turkish, Polish or any other language the app teaches. You can also practise speaking with an AI tutor in the Speak tab, which is on every plan; the free plan includes free minutes. Download the app for Android or iOS.

Frequently asked questions

Is German harder than Spanish or French?

For English speakers it takes longer. The FSI estimates about 36 weeks of full-time study for German against 30 for Spanish and French. Cases and word order are the usual sticking points. German pronunciation is easier than French, though.

Do I need to learn all four German cases at once?

No. Start with nominative and accusative, add the dative after a couple of months, and leave the genitive for later. In everyday speech the genitive is often replaced by von plus the dative.

Is der, die, das random?

Partly. Endings such as -ung, -heit and -keit (feminine) and -chen (neuter) are reliable, and compounds take the gender of their last part. For the rest, learn each noun with its article.

How to Learn German: A Beginner's Plan for Sounds, Cases and Word Order