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
17
Into your first book
≈ 1 min
What you'll learn
- Start with the Green Hill fables, which use deliberately limited language.
- Read the German line before looking across at the English.
- Words you have never seen in every paragraph is normal, not a sign that you started too early.
- After Green Hill, move to Winnie-the-Pooh, then Doctor Dolittle.
Real books are longer and looser than this path. That is expected. One habit matters most: keep going. Take the English for a stuck word and move to the next line — the words that matter come round again, and that is how they stick.
Five things this path left out on purpose
| You will see | What to do |
|---|---|
| demdaym, desdess in front of nouns | More jobs for the little word. Read past them. |
| großenGROH-sen, kleinemKLINE-em | Describing-word endings. Ignore them, take the word. |
| ich habe gesehenich HAH-buh guh-ZAY-en | The two-word spoken past. It means “I saw”; the second word carries the meaning. |
| WaldwegVALT-vayk | A compound. Split at the seam; the last piece is the real thing. |
| FreundinFROYN-din | An -in makes a person a woman. Same word otherwise. |