Free online German course
A1 lessons for complete beginners. Every lesson is a short video, the grammar written out properly, the vocabulary that goes with it, exercises you can try straight away — and a test you have to pass before the lesson counts as done.
How each lesson works
- 1
Watch
A short video teaches the one grammar point the lesson is about.
- 2
Read
The rule written out, with tables, examples and the mistakes to avoid.
- 3
Practise
Fill the gap, pick the right form, rebuild the word order.
- 4
Prove it
A ten-question test. Score 80% and the lesson is marked done.
The full A1 syllabus
Every lesson, in the order you should do them. New lessons are added each week.
Erste Schritte
7 lessonsSounds, numbers and the calendar, then straight into a bakery and a market.
- 1The German Alphabet and Sounds (ä, ö, ü, ß)
You can spell your name out loud and pronounce the four letters English does not have.
- 2German Numbers 0–20
You can count to twenty and give your phone number.
- 3German Numbers 20–100
You can say any number up to a hundred — including the backwards ones like einundzwanzig.
- 4Ordering at a German Bakery — Words and Phrases
You can order bread and pastries and understand the price you are given.
- 5Days of the Week in German
You can name every day and say which day something happens.
- 6German Months and Seasons
You can give a date and say when your birthday is.
- 7Buying Vegetables at a German Market
You can ask for quantities and weights and pay without switching to English.
Ich bin, du bist
7 lessonsThe two verbs that carry half of spoken German — and the small talk that uses them.
- 8German Personal Pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, es)
You can use the right word for I, you, he, she, it, we and they.
- 9The German Verb sein (to be) — Full Conjugation
You can say who you are, where you are from and how you feel.
- 10The German Verb haben (to have) — Full Conjugation
You can say what you have, and use the haben phrases where English says “I am”.
- 11sein or haben — Which German Verb Do You Need?
You can choose correctly between the two most common German verbs.
- 12German Small Talk in a Café — Introducing Yourself
You can introduce yourself and keep a short conversation going.
- 13German Family Words (Familie, Bruder, Schwester)
You can introduce your family and say how people are related.
- 14Opening a German Bank Account — Essential Vocabulary
You can give your personal details and understand what the clerk asks for.
Verbs in the present
7 lessonsHow German verbs change and where they sit — applied to a working day at the office.
- 15German Present Tense: Regular Verb Conjugation
You can conjugate any regular German verb — the pattern behind thousands of words.
- 16German Stem-Changing Verbs (fahren → du fährst)
You can handle the common verbs that change their vowel with du and er/sie/es.
- 17German Word Order: The Verb Goes Second
You can build correct sentences by putting the verb in position two, every time.
- 18German Daily Routine at Work — Feierabend Vocabulary
You can describe your working day from morning to Feierabend.
- 19German Separable Verbs — Why They Split in Two
You can use aufstehen, einkaufen and anrufen without losing the prefix.
- 20German Modal Verbs (können, müssen, wollen)
You can say what you can, must and want to do.
- 21Ordering Lunch for the Team in German — Office Vocabulary
You can take an order, phone it through and hand it out.
Nouns & articles
8 lessonsder, die, das, plurals and possessives — practised on furniture, tools and laundry.
- 22der, die, das — German Noun Gender Explained
You can work out the gender of most German nouns from their ending.
- 23German Indefinite Articles: ein and eine
You can say “a” and “an” in German, and know when to drop it entirely.
- 24German Furniture Vocabulary — Finding Your Way Out of IKEA
You can name the things in a room and ask where a department is.
- 25German Plural Nouns — The Five Patterns
You can form the plural of most nouns and recognise the five endings.
- 26German Hardware Store Vocabulary — Tools and Materials
You can ask for a tool or a part and describe what you need it for.
- 27German Possessives: mein, dein, sein, ihr
You can say what belongs to you and to other people.
- 28German Colours and Describing Things
You can describe what something looks like.
- 29German Laundry Vocabulary — Waschsalon and Washing Machines
You can work a German washing machine and read the settings.
Asking & answering
8 lessonsQuestions, negation and the clock — plus the platform, the delay and the pharmacy.
- 30German W-Questions (wer, was, wo, wann, wie, warum)
You can ask for any piece of information you need.
- 31German Yes/No Questions — Flipping the Word Order
You can turn any statement into a question by moving one word.
- 32Finding Your Train Platform in German
You can ask which platform your train leaves from and understand the answer.
- 33nicht or kein? German Negation Made Simple
You can say no to anything — and pick the right negation word.
- 34Telling the Time in German
You can ask and answer what time it is, formally and informally.
- 35German Train Delay Vocabulary — Verspätung and Announcements
You can understand a delay announcement and ask what to do next.
- 36German Time Prepositions: am, um, im
You can say when something happens without guessing the preposition.
- 37At the German Pharmacy — Apotheke Vocabulary
You can describe a symptom and ask for something to treat it.
Cases & the past
8 lessonsAkkusativ, Dativ, the Imperativ and the past — at the doctor, the roadside, the Paketshop.
- 38The German Accusative Case for Beginners
You can use den and einen for the object of a sentence.
- 39The German Dative Case for Beginners
You can use dem, der and den when something is given to someone.
- 40Visiting a German Doctor — Key Phrases
You can book an appointment and explain what hurts.
- 41The German Imperative — Giving Instructions
You can tell someone what to do, politely and informally.
- 42German Traffic Stop Vocabulary — Getting Pulled Over
You can hand over your documents and follow an officer’s instructions.
- 43The German Perfekt — Talking About the Past
You can say what you did yesterday, using haben or sein plus a participle.
- 44Picking Up a Package in Germany — Paket and Nachbarn
You can collect a parcel from a neighbour or a Paketshop.
- 45und, aber, oder — Joining German Sentences
You can link two sentences without disturbing the word order.
