Zaban

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Lessons for English speakers

Learn to read German

A short, active path into reading German: decode nine real words from a ten-rule sound table, learn where the verb goes and why der becomes den, then read a fable whose pronunciation and English begin hidden.

13 core sections · ≈ 33 min + 4 optional lookups · ≈ 53 min with everything
16

A new reading: try it before revealing help

≈ 3 min
What you'll learn
  • This time the pronunciation and the English begin hidden.
  • The story is told in the one-word past that books are printed in.
  • Aim for the scene: doing word in slot two, then the last word of the line.
  • If you can recover who did what, you are ready for the first book.

One new word; everything else you have met

hießheess“was called”

Er hieß Tika.air heess TEE-ka is “His name was Tika”. A few words below wear endings you read straight past — kleiner, kleinen, alterKLINE-uh, KLINE-en, AL-tuh — and one line parks a stray anan at the end.

Tika and the tree

Read each line aloud, say what you think happened, then reveal.

  1. Es war einmal ein kleiner Vogel. Er hieß Tika.

    The fairy-tale opening, then the new word.

    Show answer +
    Es war einmal ein kleiner Vogel. Er hieß Tika.ess var INE-mahl ine KLINE-uh FOH-gul. air heess TEE-ka“Once upon a time there was a small bird. His name was Tika.”
  2. Eines Tages kam der Wind, und sein Baum fiel.

    Something other than the doer went first.

    Show answer +
    Eines Tages kam der Wind, und sein Baum fiel.INE-es TAH-gess kahm dair vint, oont zine bowm feel“One day the wind came, and his tree fell.”
  3. Ein alter Fuchs sah den kleinen Vogel an. „Warum bist du traurig?“, fragte er.

    Read the last word of the first sentence before deciding what its doing word meant.

    Show answer +
    Ein alter Fuchs sah den kleinen Vogel an. „Warum bist du traurig?“, fragte er.ine AL-tuh fooks zah dayn KLINE-en FOH-gul an. va-ROOM bist doo TROW-rich, FRAHK-tuh air“An old fox looked at the small bird. "Why are you sad?" he asked.” Not “saw” — the anan makes it “looked at”.
  4. „Komm mit mir“, sagte der Fuchs. Jetzt war Tika wieder glücklich.

    An order: the doing word goes first and drops its ending.

    Show answer +
    „Komm mit mir“, sagte der Fuchs. Jetzt war Tika wieder glücklich.kom mit meer, ZAHK-tuh dair fooks. yetst var TEE-ka VEE-duh GLEWK-lich“"Come with me," said the fox. Now Tika was happy again.”