How to Learn German Fast

If you would like to learn German fast, we have a few tips for you. While learning a language does definitely take time, effort, and also just a lot of "getting used to", these five tips can really help you speed up your progress with German.

1. Modal Verbs

Our very first piece of advice is to as soon as possible learn the modal verbs in German. Modal verbs are verbs like "can", "must", "want" or "should".

What's so great about modal verbs is that they allow you to construct a ton of sentences very very easily.

The magic comes from this: Just like with English modal verbs, German modal verbs require the second verb to be in the infinitive form. This means that if you know how to conjugate the modal verb, you only need to remember the infinitive form for the second verb:

So instead of having to remember Ich gehe, Du gehst, Er geht, you now only need to remember the word gehen. And if you then decide to add a few more verbs to your vocabulary, you'll already know how to use them in sentences, as long as you can remember the infinitive.

2. Study Cognates

A second piece of advice is to study cognates. When two words that belong to different languages look very similar, but have different meanings, they're called false friends.

Two words are cognates, on the other hand, when they belong to different languages, and seem very similar (because they are spelled or pronounced very similarly), but also have the same meaning in both languages.

Sometimes you will have to think a little to find a cognate. The German word Hunddog, for example, doesn't sound anything like dog. However, if you think of the English word "hound" instead, you might have an easier time remembering it.

3. Use Frequency Lists

Once you've got your modal verbs down and made sure to learn as many cognates as possible right from the start, we can move on to words that aren't that easily guessed.

Those, unfortunately, will have to be studied. The good new, however, is that some words appear more frequently than others: In English, the tiny article the and conjunctions like and, or & because are very frequent.

4. Practice Spaced Repetition

Practice spaced repetition early on and keep working at it in the early intermediate stages, until you can read native-level material and words & phrases start re-occurring naturally.

Until then, we recommend using a tool like Anki or physical flashcards, to make sure you repeat the material you've learned.

5. Immerse, Immerse, Immerse!

Immersing in content is a topic in and of itself, but for now let it just be said that the more you immerse in German and the more you use comprehensible input, the faster you will see progress.

1. Spaced Repetition: Spaced repetition is a memorization technique that involves repeating information at increasing intervals of time. By repeating the same information over and over again, it helps you to remember it more quickly. This is a great way to learn German vocabulary and grammar quickly.

2. Immerse a lot in German: One of the best ways to learn German quickly is to immerse yourself in German. This means listening to German radio, TV and podcasts, and reading German books and newspapers. This will help you to pick up the language quickly and naturally.

3. Use Frequency Lists: Frequency lists are lists of the most common words in a language. By focusing on the most common words, you can learn German quickly, as you will be able to use the words you learn in conversations and other contexts.

4. Use Online German Courses: There are many online German courses that you can use to help you learn German quickly. These courses provide structured lessons and exercises that will help you learn the language faster. Many of these courses also provide audio and video components that will help you learn German more quickly.

By using these tips, you can learn German quickly and easily. With a little bit of effort, you can become fluent in German in no time.