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How hard is it to learn German?



theboybilly

Well-known member
I really want to visit Germany. I can get by in France with my school French but would like to make a better fist of the native tongue on a longer stay in Bavaria Trouble is, it just looks so difficult. A lot of French is so easy to translate, but German seems to be so complicated. I was just thinking there might be a couple of small keys that unlock the whole language to a beginner :dunce:
 




Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,323
Uffern
German is much easier to pronounce than French, that's the good news. There's a tortuous grammar, that's the bad.

If you've done Latin and are used to accustives, datives and genitives, it's a lot easier.

I started from scratch in 1983 and through a mixture of evening classes, a residential course and a small bit of private tuition, I was fluent within six years so it's not that difficult
 


SeagullSongs

And it's all gone quiet..
Oct 10, 2011
6,937
Southampton
German really isn't that bad, once the structure has clicked then it makes a lot of sense. I learnt some using Michel Thomas' language tapes a few years ago, but I've forgotten most of it now :nono:
 






Man of Harveys

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
18,731
Brighton, UK
Es its doch ganz einfach.

Learn as much vocab as you can, not all those weird grammar rules about the dative or accusative and all that crap. That falls into place naturally later.
 




Tricky Dicky

New member
Jul 27, 2004
13,558
Sunny Shoreham
I really want to visit Germany. I can get by in France with my school French but would like to make a better fist of the native tongue on a longer stay in Bavaria Trouble is, it just looks so difficult. A lot of French is so easy to translate, but German seems to be so complicated. I was just thinking there might be a couple of small keys that unlock the whole language to a beginner :dunce:

I did a bit and liked it. I find the compound words really funny. I know it sounds like quite a "harsh" language, but I like it.
 




Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
59,198
The Fatherland
Also it is not prerequisite to learn German to visit Germany, they don't have a test upon entry.. that and most Germans speak very good English...

This is debatable. A lot do. But equally a lot do not.

How easy is it? Ask me in two years.
 


Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,323
Uffern
...most Germans speak very good English...

Simply not true. Lots of young people do and they will in tourist places but there are large numbers who don't speak any.

I had a few German friends who spoke English and occasionally went to stay with friends of theirs: not a single one of them spoke English. Not even educated Germans are guaranteed to speak English: I stayed in the house of a gynecologist who scarcely spoke a word of it. In fact, when my non-German-speaking mate joined us, he switched to Latin!
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
59,198
The Fatherland
Simply not true. Lots of young people do and they will in tourist places but there are large numbers who don't speak any.

I had a few German friends who spoke English and occasionally went to stay with friends of theirs: not a single one of them spoke English. Not even educated Germans are guaranteed to speak English: I stayed in the house of a gynecologist who scarcely spoke a word of it. In fact, when my non-German-speaking mate joined us, he switched to Latin!

True. Even in the touristy places the minute you step into a supermarket few staff, if any, will speak English from my experience.
 




Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
59,198
The Fatherland
I did a bit and liked it. I find the compound words really funny. I know it sounds like quite a "harsh" language, but I like it.

Some of the translations are excellent and make perfect sense. Why make a new word when you can stick a load of old ones together? Gloves are hand shoes. Their word for helicopter is upward screw. Slugs are nude snailes.
 


KingstonSeagull

New member
May 1, 2013
2,185
Shoreditch
Simply not true. Lots of young people do and they will in tourist places but there are large numbers who don't speak any.

I had a few German friends who spoke English and occasionally went to stay with friends of theirs: not a single one of them spoke English. Not even educated Germans are guaranteed to speak English: I stayed in the house of a gynecologist who scarcely spoke a word of it. In fact, when my non-German-speaking mate joined us, he switched to Latin!

I went to a tiny town in the Saarland on a training camp and everyone spoke a very good standard of English
 


nwgull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
13,653
Manchester
It's always good to learn a bit of local lingo even if the locals speak decent English just to show a bit of respect. German vocab isn't too bad. Grammar can be a bit tricky until you get used to it; e.g. verb goes to end of sentence in the past tense.
 




RandyWanger

Je suis rôti de boeuf
Mar 14, 2013
5,994
Done a Frexit, now in London
I was working in St Johann, Austria for a month. I went with no German language skills, by the time I left I knew enough to be polite, asking for things, ordering food and drinks etc. A little goes a long way. If you plough in with "sprechen sie Englisch?" you wont be very popular. If you try and they know you're struggling, they'll talk in English, most people I met speak English and love talking to English people to improve their own language skills.
Good luck :)
 


Wellesley

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2013
4,973
When I went to Germany, I noticed even little kids of 4 or 5 were talking German, so it can't be that hard.
 


SI 4 BHA

Active member
Nov 12, 2003
728
westdene, brighton
True. Even in the touristy places the minute you step into a supermarket few staff, if any, will speak English from my experience.

Isn't that because they aren't German? Usually Turks/Poles/Ukrainian etc.

It is good to have a few local words but in all my visits to Germany, at least half a dozen, I have never really had to speak any German. In fact, if I try, the person I'm speaking to usually replies in English! Stick to speaking to people under about 40, and you won't need any German.

The Germans are really great, I remember I was in Koln during the World Cup in 2006 at the fan zone, and met a group of locals who said that as I was a guest in their city, the drinks were on them all night!
 


Mackenzie

Old Brightonian
Nov 7, 2003
33,507
East Wales
Its a great language (and country). I think its easier than French to learn. Go for it.
 






Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
73,365
West west west Sussex
You should be able to do it quite schnell.
 



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