If you are dedicated, it shouldn't be a problem. It's a spoken language (or languages, we have at least a dozen variations) and the grammar is way easier.Okay, but what about Swiss German? I want to know Swiss German. And I want to learn it without having to put rocks in my mouth.
I mean if you already speak English, German is one of the easiest languages to learn. Not really sure how to help you further.
I mean if you already speak English, German is one of the easiest languages to learn.
...Also, learn to say "Oachkatzlschwoaf, oida", to earn some Austrian appreciation.
If you get confused with "Der/Die/Das" just use "Dem" for everything, problem solved.
"The car belongs to the the dude at the corner, the mofo with the green hat!"
"Dem Auto gehƶrt dem typen an der Ecke ey, mit dem grĆ¼nen Hut yo!"
It's that easy!
What I'm saying is that as an English speaker, German is one of the easiest languages to learn. Obviously there are other languages that provide a better base for learning German.
Learn German, then PfƤlzisch (the dialect from Rheinland-Pfalz), then Swiss German from Basel, and then ugly cry when trying to understand anyone that comes from Bern.Okay, but what about Swiss German? I want to know Swiss German. And I want to learn it without having to put rocks in my mouth.
It's not that bad. At least it's not Walliser German (dialect in Valais) which isn't even understood by other Swiss German speakers.Learn German, then PfƤlzisch (the dialect from Rheinland-Pfalz), then Swiss German from Basel, and then ugly cry when trying to understand anyone that comes from Bern.
Now I'm not sure anymore... Which dialect is it where you're basically only hearing "krchrkrchkrch" ?It's not that bad. At least it's not Walliser German (dialect in Valais) which isn't even understood by other Swiss German speakers.
What I'm saying is that as an English speaker, German is one of the easiest languages to learn. Obviously there are other languages that provide a better base for learning German.
Yeah, that's probably the Bernese dialect.Now I'm not sure anymore... Which dialect is it where you're basically only hearing "krchrkrchkrch" ?
this.I mean it should be even easier if you're already familiar with the concept of gendered nouns and actual cases. Just need to learn a bunch of words and then figure out the pronunciation.
What a bizarre blanket statement. You do know that people still talk to each other face-to-face, right? Good luck spending time in southern Germany for an internship with no knowledge of German.Machine translation has made learning languages obsolete. Don't waste your time.
Okay, but what about Swiss German? I want to know Swiss German. And I want to learn it without having to put rocks in my mouth.
Well, I was in the process to write a similar text as a native german speaker but hobblygobbly already has you covered. ItĀ“s not easy but if you think it will help you in the future go for it.as a German myself I recommend that in spoken form, do not worry about grammar (i.e trying to do all the cases correctly). It is not necessary to understand you. For one, you can't actually do the cases properly until you know all the article for the words any ways... and if you can't remember if it's der, die, or das, just use der... any ways any german will know what you mean even if you do not use the right article. do not worry so much about that. do not worry about doing dative case and such perfectly (or even at all) in spoken form, this will literally take you YEARS to get the hang of, and again, not that critical.
what you should focus on:
Pronunciation. This is very important, in German we pronounce *every* letter in a word, there are some rare exceptions, but vast, vast majority it is all pronounced. Think of "knoblauch", that means garlic, do not say it like in English with a silent "kn", say the "k", like "keh". That means also learn your Ƥ, ƶ, Ć¼. These are their own parts of the alphabet, they are not equivalent to a, o, u. If a word has Ƥ, ƶ, Ć¼, and you do not pronounce them but rather like a, o, u, people will struggle to understand you, and you will be guaranteed have to repeat yourself.
Also in spoken form, in Germany, we rarely, rarely, ever use FUTURE TENSE. In English future tense is so common. Not in German. e.g. We do not say "I ***will***" etc, trying to use future tense in Germany is unnecessarily complicated for a beginner and colloquially it is not common.
I think this is most important. Once you know this, and learn your vocab, you can communicate much better.
Pronouns/verbs/conjugations.
e.g for kommen (come);
Ich -e (I): komme/heiĆe
du -st (you, informal): kommst/heiĆst
er/sie/es -t (he/she/it): kommt/heiĆt
wir -en (we): kommen/heiĆen
ihr -t (you all): kommt/heiĆt
Sie/sie (former formal, latter plural) -en: kommen/heiĆen
Your W-Frage (literally w-questions):
wo: where
wer: who
wie: how
was: what
warum/wieso: why
wann: when
wie
etc
Commonly used verbs:
Sein (to be) / Haben (to have)
ich: Bin (am) / habe
du: bist (are) / hast
er/sie/es: ist (is) /hat
wir: sind (are/they) / haben
ihr: seid (are) / habt
Sie/sie: sind (are/they) / haben
Separable Prefix Verbs
Auf, aus, an, ein, ab, mit, nach, vor, ā¦
when you see these with verbs, then you can make sentences:
e.g Anfangen - Der Deutschkurs fƤngt um acht Uhr an.
Possessiv pronouns:
you add the -e when it is feminine/plural.
e.g dein Hund (your dog - dog is masc, der Hund)
deine Katze (your cat - cat is fem, die Kat)
ich: mein/e
du:dein/e
er: sein/e
sie: ihr/e
es: sein/e
wir: unser/e
ihr: euer/eure
Sie (formal): Ihr/e
sie (plural):ihr/e
Present tense (haben - "to have") / Past tense (hatten - "had")
ich: habe / hatte
du: hast / hattest
er/sie/es: hat / hatte
wir: haben / hatten
ihr: habt / hattet
Sie/sie: haben / hatten
Present tense (sein - "to be") / Past tense (waren - "was")
ich: bin / war
du: bist / warst
er/sie/es: ist / war
wir: sind / waren
ihr: seid / wart
Sie/sie: sind /waren
Learn how to compound sentences, this is actually easy and you can do it like you do in English, like "weil" for because, "jedoch" for however, "und" for and, etc.
I did not mention dative/accusative case etc here, because you will be surprised, if you learn above, how to compound sentences, and some vocab, how far you can go with conversing in German while trying also construct your sentences sort of like in English.
Could be due to dialect, in noth germany they donĀ“t pronounce the "t" in some regions. Others say ned instead of nicht: "Das geht so nicht" "Das geht so ned /net" like in bavaria.I am not a native German but I watch German TV sometimes. When did people stop pronouncing the "t" in "nicht"?
That's not quite true, for example "der Schild" and "das Schild" are not the same thing :pDon't prioritize getting the (definite) articles right. It's night impossible unless you're a native + they generally carry absolutely no meaning at all.
I know this, which is why I said generally. My advice is to ignore the definite articles and just get them right 1/3 of the time, it's whatever anyway.That's not quite true, for example "der Schild" and "das Schild" are not the same thing :p
Die Bart, die.I know this, which is why I said generally. My advice is to ignore the definitie articles and just get them right 1/3 of the time, it's whatever anyway.
What a bizarre blanket statement. You do know that people still talk to each other face-to-face, right? Good luck spending time in southern Germany for an internship with no knowledge of German.
Let alone the value of learning other people's languages in the interest of "VƶlkerverstƤndigung".
I'm a translator and I love learning languages. But if you think you're doing it for your career, don't.
No one who speaks german could be an evil man.
Also, learn to say "Oachkatzlschwoaf, oida", to earn some Austrian appreciation.
colloquially depends on the dialect, often -e is dropped from words like habe too, and the region I am in, we even drop stuff like the -ch from ich, mich, and dich so it's like i, mi and di lol, and we add -le to a lot of words, instead of mƤdchen it's mƤdle, bisschen it's bissle, etc.I am not a native German but I watch German TV sometimes. When did people stop pronouncing the "t" in "nicht"?
As someone from Valais I really try my best.It's not that bad. At least it's not Walliser German (dialect in Valais) which isn't even understood by other Swiss German speakers.
You meanAus, bei, mit nach, seit, von, zu, bis, durch, fĆ¼r, gegen, ohne, um, entlang
Thank me later.
I took German in high school. I found it much easier than Spanish.
Oh it's the list as i got in school. Can't even remember what it's for, haha.You mean
Aus
Ausser
Bei
Mit
Nach
Seit
Von
Zu
Entgegen
Gegenuber
Gemass
*breathes in*
Durch
Fur
Ohne
Um
Gegen
Bis
Wieder
Entlang
?
These crappy lists will stay with you much longer than the actual meaning of the words.
The thing with learning languages with grammatical genders is that it will hurt you, even if your first language is one of thoseI took German in high school. I found it much easier than Spanish.
It's actually quite easy if the studens learns the articles alongside the nouns.Don't prioritize getting the (definite) articles right. It's night impossible unless you're a native + they generally carry absolutely no meaning at all.