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.
Verb lookup: endings, helpers, and the past you will hear but not read
- Open this when an ending on a doing word blocks you; neither reading needs it.
- The full set of present endings is six shapes, and two of them are identical.
- The five helpers across ich, du, erich, doo, air, and the two verbs that refuse the pattern.
- The two-word PerfektPAIR-fekt is the past Germans speak; it is not what gets printed, and it is named here once.
You do not need this section to finish the lesson. Both readings use only ichich, dudoo and erair, which the main path already gave you. Open this when an ending on a doing word will not resolve, and then go back to reading.
The full present endings, on one ordinary verb
| With | sagenZAH-gen“to say” | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| ichich“I” | sageZAH-guh“I say” | -e |
| dudoo“you” | sagstzahkst“you say” | -st |
| er, sie, esair, zee, ess“he, she, it” | sagtzahkt“he says” | -t |
| wirveer“we” | sagenZAH-gen“we say” | -en |
| ihreer“you all” | sagtzahkt“you all say” | -t, the same as he |
| sie, Siezee, zee“they, you — polite” | sagenZAH-gen“they say” | -en, the same as we |
Six rows, four distinct endings. A reader has only to recognise them.
The five helpers in full
| English | ichich | dudoo | erair |
|---|---|---|---|
| have | habeHAH-buh | hasthast | hathat |
| want | willvil | willstvilst | willvil |
| can | kannkan | kannstkanst | kannkan |
| must | mussmooss | musstmoost | mussmooss |
| like | magmahk | magstmahkst | magmahk |
A helper builds a sentence around a second doing word, which goes to the end and waits: Ich will den Hund sehen.ich vil dayn hoont ZAY-en“I want to see the dog.” Four of the five look identical with ichich and erair; “have” keeps its -t. And willvil means “want”, never the English “will”.
The two verbs that refuse the pattern
| With | To be | To have |
|---|---|---|
| ichich | binbin“I am” | habeHAH-buh“I have” |
| dudoo | bistbist“you are” | hasthast“you have” |
| erair | istist“he is” | hathat“he has” |
| wir, sieveer, zee | sindzint“we are” | habenHAH-ben“we have” |
| ihreer | seidzite“you all are” | habthapt“you all have” |
I saw the fox.
Ich habe den Fuchs gesehen.
ich HAH-buh dayn fooks guh-ZAY-en
This is the PerfektPAIR-fekt, two words long, and it is the past Germans speak. It means the same as Ich sah den Fuchs.ich zah dayn fooks It is simply not what gets printed in the books you are about to open, which is why the main path teaches the one-word past. The second word carries the meaning.
More past forms, for looking up
| English | German |
|---|---|
| flew | flogflohk“flew” |
| gave | gabgahp“gave” |
| found | fandfant“found” |
| slept | schliefshleef“slept” |
| ate | aßahss“ate” |
| drank | tranktrank“drank” |
| knew | wussteVOOS-tuh“knew” |
| was called | hießheess“was called” |
| were | warenVAH-ren“were” — warvar with more than one doer |