Meeting German native speakers at work

If you’re work in a German-speaking environment, you already have at least one conversation topic in common: the job.

You won’t lack practice if you were hired on the basis that you’d be using your already not-too-bad German in the workplace.

But maybe you can push your linguitsic (and social) boundaries and get chatting more about other things you may have in common with one or other of your colleagues?

Sure, in German-speaking culture, it’s normal to maintain relatively clear boundaries between professional life and what you’re up to out of the office.

Still, workmates often take breaks together during the working day for coffee or snacks or meet up for drinks in the evening.

Don’t just hang out with the other “ex-pat” members of staff.

Make the effort to mix with native German-speakers, even if you are less confident in informal banter in the language than you are discussing the details of your job.

If you don’t work in a German-speaking environment maybe you still have a German-speaking colleague or two?

Now, don’t assume they are up for offering you free language practice.

They may not want to be seen as “the German” or to find themselves helping you with your language during their precious breaks.

Still, it’s worth asking directly if they’d be open to sharing their language. Maybe you could agree to meet up in the canteen over coffee once a week (with you buying the coffees and making yourself interesting enough for them to want to spend some time with you).

Join a club that’s run in German

It’s always good advice to start pursuing your hobbies and interests through the German language as soon as you can. If you’re in Germany, Austria or Switzerland for an extended period, you’re likely to have lots of opportunities to do this with the natives.

To find out about relevant clubs in your area, you can do a search of “Verein” + activity + city. Keep your eye out for fliers around town too or pop in and ask at the local public library.

Get into the local football club and attend matches. If you’re athletic you can join a local gym or sports team. For those who love the great outdoors, walking and nature appreciation clubs would be just the thing.

Take a class (in a subject other than the German language)

Are you interested in developing an existing skill or learning something from scratch? New friendships could be a great additional spin-off.

Seach online for evening classes or weekend events.  

When I lived in Heidelberg, I attended painting classes and also classes in Hungarian.

In both cases, the organiser was the local adult education college (Volkshochschule) and German was the language of instruction.

Take a German language class

If you’ve moved to Germany, Austria or Switzerland to live, you might think that joining a German language class would be a sure-fire way of getting stuck with a group of other learners. Yet many of your classmates will be just as keen as you to discover your new country and to get to know the locals. The key is to make sure you’re with people who really want to do that and that you don’t slip into English as a common language.

When I first arrived in Heidelberg to live and work, I quickly fell in with a couple of other foreigners: a Finn and a Pole. My life was the richer for them, all through our common language: German. Plus, I got to know some of their German friends.

During my three years in Heidelberg, one of the jobs I did was teaching English. While I made sure that English was the language in class, an unexpected spin-off was lots of opportunity to use German too: with the language school’s administration, setting terms and making arrangements with private students who were not yet fluent in English, socialising in the pub with my group of students at the end of term.

Follow your interests online, in German

If you’re not in a German-speaking environment and you’re wondering how to make German friends on line, how about using the internet to take your existing hobbies further in German?

Whether you’re a sports fan, into a particular film director or pop group, an art lover or gardener there are plenty of dedicated groups on Facebook and Instagram and older-style on-line discussion forums.

If you’re a beginner or lower intermediate, you can start in a more “passive” role by following along the pot.

Then, when you feel ready, start sharing and commentating yourself. It’s something you’ll want to do anyway, given that this is all about one of your pet topics.

Before long, a shared enthusiasm may have led to a virtual friendship with a German native speaker. That may later become a real-world ones too, all thanks to the power of a shared passion. 

Volunteer, in German

If you’re living in a German-speaking environment, can you get involved as a volunteer through through German? Helping out with a local charity would probably turn out to be a very rewarding in its own right but a useful side-effect could be meaningful connections with German-speakers.

Unsure what you could be doing? Search on-line for example through a website such as Freiwilligenarbeit.de, vostel.de or (aimed at younger people aiming to spend a year volunteering in Germany) Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr.

Book a holiday through a German travel agent or website

If you’re into group activity holidays or simple package tours, why not book in German, through a German travel company?

Regardless of the activity or destination, the default language in the activity group or of most of the other tourists, is likely to be German.

A shared holiday can be a great way to make German friend. You’ll just be expected to use the language, come what may shared holiday can be a great way to make German friends.

Become a regular at a German-speaking café or bar

If you’re living in Germany or Austria for a longer period find cafés or bars that you like. Start hanging out there and the owner or regular staff will recognise you as a regular (Stammgast) and want to make you feel at home. For them, it’s good business! Before long, you may find yourself striking up conversations with other regulars, too.

If you live outside the German lands, you may still be able to find establishments run or frequented by German speakers. In my part of London, for example, there’s a German pub. There’s a German bistro at the London Goethe Institut and there are German churches in the city.

Talk to strangers when you’re out and about

When you’re in a predominantly German-speaking environment, be the first to speak.

That’ll be no problem if you’re naturally gregarious. If you’re shy, spontaneous exchanges may not come so naturally but practise pushing yourself a bit!

When it seems appropriate, ask staff or other customers for help in the grocery store or say hello to people at the bus stop or in the train buffet car, for example.

You might be surprised at the kinds of random conversations that get sparked when you “go first” in this way.

At the very least, you’ll increase your German-speaking confidence in social situations. The more confident you become in the language, the easier it will be to get to know people in German.

Stay with a German-speaking host

A great way to get using your German is to stay for a night or two with a German-speaking host. You can do this for free (or almost for free) through a site such as Couchsurfing one of the alternatives like BeWelcome that have sprung up (and had a boost since Couchsurfing started charging a small fee). I’ve never tried this in German but I’ve had good experiences with Basque in the country and a couple of good experiences (and one not-so-good one) in Brazil.

You can book a paid room with a German-speaking host on AirBnB. I’ve done this in Berlin and my host was quite chatty.

These are not only options when want to make a short visit to Germany, Austria, Switzerland. If you already live there, how about a long weekend exploring another region and using the lingo?

Frequent organised meet-ups

Websites like Meetup offer opportunities to meet open-minded people in a group setting.

Sometimes these have a “language exchange” element but, often, they are just opportunities for internationally-minded locals to meet newcomers and passing visitors to their locality. You might find something similar on popular social media site like Facebook.

A plus about these events is that you can turn up even if you’re just on a short visit, for example if you’re holiday and don’t know anybody. I haven’t tried this in Germany but I gave it a go when on holiday in Brazil, Portugal and Iceland.

Meet-ups are also useful if you live in an English-speaking country and and want to find German speakers in your locality.

Using dating apps for a romantic encounter in German

The usual range of dating apps could become a potential cross-linguistic resource with, erm, “benefits”.

Make sure that your profile and any pre-meet-up messaging is all in German, to pre-set linguistic expectations. 

After a spot of in-app warm-up chat, you’re ready to meet up one-to-one in person?

Don’t forget to take the usual, sensible safety precautions as recommended by your app of choice. If you’re seeing someone in person for the first time, be sure to meet somewhere public. Let a friend know where you are and when. 

How to increase your chances of a German friendship

We’ve seen some of the places where you can meet German speakers. Your “milieu” matters. So does taking the initiative, making a friendly first-move. What about some general tips, in whatever context you meet?

Don’t force it!

Remember, building a friendship in German won’t happen overnight. It takes time and effort. Follow up after the first meeting with a text or mail. Keep in touch every now and again with longer-term friend.

At the beginning of a potential friendship, don’t put too much pressure on yourself and don’t take yourself too seriously. You don’t want to come across as “intense” and do remember that you can’t really control how people perceive you. All you can do is treat others as you’d like to be treated and to ask, if you’re unsure about something.

Be aware of cultural differences between English and German-speakers

Ok, so let’s over-generalise:

• The speed with which friendships tend to form may differ between a German-speaking culture and your own. For example, the US has long been a highly mobile and urban society where you need to make friends quickly and maybe also move on faster. Things may go slower in a German-speaking country.
• German-speaking cultures tends have more layers of formality than “Anglo-Saxon” ones. For example the use of the formal “Sie” instead of “Du” or a clearer delineation between work and leisure time, public and private life. Austria tends to be more formal than Germany.
• You may find differences in rhetorical style:
  • Germans tend to be more direct than Anglo-Saxons (especially than Brits). If you get used to this (and don’t take offence) it means you’re more likely to know where you stand!
  • Brits tend towards self-deprecation, like anecdotes and use humour to diffuse tension. All of these can misfire in a German-language setting. Perhaps US culture falls somewhere in between?
  • Be all means learn vulgarities, curse words and swear words but be very cautious about using them as you’ll probably get it wrong.

Remember reciprocity if you want to make friends in German

Everybody loves a good listener. Is that you? Are you really interested in the other person and what they’ve go to say?

Remember that the best relationships involve give and take (and this may include using English some of the time).  You have to have something to offer.

If a friendship develops, are you ready to put in some effort to nurture it over the longer term?

True, as circumstances change, people change and can drift apart and it’s important to accept that.

Circumstantial friends may endure less well than where there’s a shared interest. Plus, what that shared interest is might change over time, if you keep in touch. For example, if you and your friends go on to have families of your own, the kids my be a whole new bonding point.

Get your German “friendship ready”

A foundation of common interests, awareness of cultural differences, a genuine desire to connect, good general inter-personal skills. These all make more difference when you want to make German friends than sheer linguistic ability.

That said, don’t forget to work on your German conversation skills as well!

The better you are at German, the easier it’ll be for natives to converse with you and the less likely you’ll be to have misunderstandings.

Here are some things you should be doing as an upper beginner or lower intermediate German learner:

• learn to use “filler” words like “meine ich” or “halt” and question tags such as “Oder?”, “Nicht wahr” to help you sound more fluent and oil the conversation.
• use questions intelligently as you converse, both to check you’ve understood and if you want to take the spotlight off yourself onto your conversations partner.
• hone your ability to understand the spoken German coming at you by getting lots of listening practice. That should include tons of more “passive” listening to the audio in your German course and to level-appropriate podcasts. But you can also use “active” techniques such as “listen and transcribe” (what I call “laser listening”).
• keep building up your vocabulary and grammar skills.

In my popular German course the Weekly German Workouts, active I focus on active listening practice to everyday, colloquial German spoken by natives.

I teach you grammar as patterns that you can use on the fly (rather than abstract grammar rules and useless tables).

You get lots of vocabulary in pre-packed phrases (rather than just lists of single words that are hard to remember out of context and often still harder to use correctly.

From fleeting, one-off conversations through to lifelong friendships, making German friends and meeting more German speakers, through German, will really enrich your life. Actively seek out your opportunities and enjoy them to the full.

Related posts:

Hallo and goodbye in German: a quick guide to the key words and phrases

Intermediate German (B1) vocabulary and grammar: what and how?

Motivation for Intermediate (B1) German: enjoying the highs and getting through the lows

German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need

German modal verbs: the ultimate guide

Joining it up: how conjunctions can transform your intermediate German

The post How to make German friends, in the country or not! appeared first on How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins.

How do you say Christmas in German?

The German word for Christmas is das Weihnachten. The verb weihen (to hallow) is related and Weihnachten means “the holy nights”. You’ll sometimes see Weihnachten used as a plural to mean “the Christmas period” (and sometimes it’s used to mean “Christmases”, e.g. the last two Christmases: die letzte zwei Weihnachten). 

Weihnachtsmarkt means Christmas market!

Der Advent (Advent) begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Like in the rest of Western Christendom, it’s the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ, the arrival of das Christkind (the baby Jesus).  

Early in December, der Weihnachtsmarkt (the Christmas market) will be set up on the town square. The oldest known Weihnachtsmarkt ist der Striezelmarkt in Dresden. 

At a Weihnachtsmarkt you’ll find quaint wooden kiosks and stalls where you can buy der Glühwein (mulled wine) in a festive mug. If you like the mug you can keep it (instead of returning it to reclaim your deposit (das Pfand). Ok, das Pfand isn’t a Christmas word. Recycling is taken seriously in the German-speaking lands and deposits on glass and plastic drink bottles are the norm throughout the year.

To eat there’ll be the usual grilled sausages (die Bratwurst) and das Sauerkraut (chopped, pickled cabbage). 

You’ll also find sweet Christmas delicacies like der Lebkuchen (various types of soft cookies or flatish sponge flavoured with ginger, honey and other spices) and der Stollen (sweet bread with currents, spices and a layer or marzipan plus a generous dusting of icing sugar on top.  Sometimes they have a domed side covered in chocolate and a flat side of rice paper. 

German Christmas Decorations

The Weihnachtsmarkt is also a place to stock up on some of the beautiful wooden Christmas decorations for which central Europe is famous. For example die Weihnachtsengel (Christmas angels, plural, the singular is the same: der Weihnachtsengel).  

You could also buy an advent wreath (der Adventskranz). Like the wreaths in the UK or the USA it’s made of pine leaves and cones but it’s not always a ring that hangs on your front door. Many Adventskränze lie flat on the table as a bed for four candles. Some families light one candle on each Sunday of Advent.  

One beautiful decoration from Saxony is an arch of lit candles (real or electric) called der Swiboggen that stands in house windows to the delight of people looking from inside and out.

The German for Advent calendar is der Adventskalender. These days, just like in the UK or the US, the ones with a chocolate behind each door have become very popular.  

How to say Merry Christmas in German 

There are various ways to wish a Merry Christmas in German. The most common are Frohe Weihnachten! or Fröhliche Weihnachten! (Merry Christmas!). You could also say Fröhes Fest! (Happy Festival/Celebration) or Schöne Feiertage! (Happy Holidays)

The German for Christmas card is die Weihnachtskarte (pl: -karten). They’re easy to find in the shops as Christmas approaches but they aren’t as popular as in the English-speaking countries. 

6 December: der Nikolaustag in German

6 December is St Nicholas’ Day (der Nikolaustag). 

On the evening of December 5th (6th in Switzerland) children leave der Nikolausstiefel (“Nicholas” boot or a shoe) outside the front door.  During the night, der Nikolaus (St Nicholas) calls and fills the Stiefel with sweets or small presents. With his red robes and long white beard, he looks like Santa Clause, except for his staff and mitre.

Well, that’s what the children who’ve been good can hope for. 

Naughty children might just end up with a bunch of birch twigs (eine Rute).  Der Nikolaus might leave these himself but in some regions there are other, scary characters who are out to get naughty children on the night of 5 December.  

In Alpine areas (especially of Austria) der Krampus has horns, fangs and a lolling tongue. Sometimes he has one cloven hoof and one human foot. He’ll leave eine Rute and coal for naughty children.  

Some people send Krampuskarten. The cards feature the Krampus, maybe looming over some children with a basket on his back to carry them off. Other cards take a lighter line, with humorous (even raunchy) messages. 

In some towns and villages, the young men dress as der Krampus and take part in der Krampuslauf (Krampus run). Der Schnapps (strong spirits) may be handed round.

In the non-catholic regions in the northern and mid Germany, another character who sometimes appears at this time is Knecht Ruprecht. He’s a bearded man in a black or brown gown. He too carries a Rute. 

Both Knecht Ruprecht and der Krampus have their origins in the older goat-like demon, der Percht, who people thought roamed the land throughout the winter months is still in evidence in some localities on 5 December.     

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

It’s Christmas Eve. Time for more German traditions and more German Christmas words!

In German, Christmas Eve is der Heiligabend or der Weihnachtsabend and there’s more action then than on Christmas Day itself.  

The German for Christmas tree is der Weihnachtsbaum. The tradition is for the Weihnachtsbaum to go up on the afternoon of 24 December. Some families still like to decorate the tree with traditional candles but many now prefer safer electric Christmas tree lights. Der Flitter or das Lametta (tinsel) and die Glöckchen (little bells; sing: das Glöckchen) might also hang on the tree.

Christmas Eve is a working day, so it won’t be till the early evening that some families go to church. In church, there may be an elaborate model nativity scene (die Krippe – also means manger and crèche). Round the manger you’ll see die Heilige Familie (the Holy Family), die Hirten (shepherds; sing: der Hirt), die Schafe (sheep; singular: das Schaf) and die Heiligen Drei Könige (the Three Holy Kings, singular of king: der König). 

Das Krippenspiel (nativity play) could well be part of the service. 

After Church comes the distribution of the presents (there’s a special word for this: die Bescherung) and a special Christmas Eve meal (the order of the two varies from region to region, family to family).  

In one tradition, the children wait until a little bell sounds. This signals that the bringer of gifts has just left. Now the children can go into the living room to see the Weihnachtsbaum for the first time. The gifts (die Weihnachtsgeschenke; singular of gift: das Geschenk) are spread out under it.   

In more Catholic regions, especially in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, it’s das Christkind himself who’s brought the presents.  

In northern Germany, this merry work falls to der Weihnachtsmann (“the Christmasman”: Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus).  

There’s an alternative tradition (stronger in the north) that der Weihnachtsman (often a relative or neighbour in disguise) arrives with the gifts at the front door. He might ask the children to sing him a Christmas carol (das Weihnachtslied; plural -lieder). 

The food served as part of the Christmas Eve meal is quite light but delicious. When I was a guest with a German family one Christmas, we had der Kartoffelsalat (potato salad), der Karpfen (carp) and various patés and pickles.

Now it’s December 25th. Christmas Day in German is der erste Weihnachtstag (the first day of Christmas). An alternative name is der erste Feiertag (the first day of celebration/holiday).

Boxing Day in German is der zweite Weihnachtstag (or der zweite Feiertag). Both are public holidays in German, Austria and Switzerland. 

On Christmas Day itself, roast goose is a favourite. Also common is raclette, fondue, duck and game.  

26 December is also St Stephen’s Day, hence the alternative name for Boxing Day in German: der Stefanitag, also der Stefanstag. This is the main name used in Austria. Both are also sometimes spelt with -ph-: Stephanstag is the usual name in Switzerland. 

In some Catholic areas, the men take part in a drinking ritual after Church:  das Stephanus-Steinigen (the Stoning of Stephen). The drink is der Kornbranntwein (grain brandy). 

Celebrate New Year in German! 

We’ve discovered a host of Christmas traditions and a wealth of German Christmas words and now it’s almost time for New Year!

Zwischen den Jahren is a lovely German expression for that quiet period between Christmas and New Year. For example: Zwischen den Jahren bleibe ich zu Hause (I’m staying at home between Christmas and New Year). 

New Year’s Eve in German is (das) Silvester and it’s a normal working day. At midnight, fireworks are common. This tradition only started in the UK in 2000 and I was surprised to see fireworks at New Year when I lived In Heidelberg in the mid nineties. People stood on the bridges and watched a firework display up at the castle on the hill above the town.  

New Year’s Day in German is der Neujahrstag and the German for New Year is das Neujahr. Der Neujahrstag is a public holiday in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 

In some cantons of Switzerland (and in Liechtenstein) 2 January is Berchtold’s Day: der Berchtoldstag is also a public holiday. It’s origins are unclear. Some families celebrate with a meal out together or friends meet in a local pub. In the Zürich area a special sausage, die Bächtelswurst, will be on the menu. There are parades in some places. One very old tradition continues in Hallwil in the canton of Aargau: thirteen masked figures (single young men) progress noisily through the village in a ceremony called der Bärzeli.

How to wish a Happy New Year in German

Before the clock strikes midnight at the end of 31 December you could say, “[ich wünsche ihnen einen] Guten Rutsch [ins neue Jahr]” (literally, “[I wish you a] Good Slip into the New Year”. There is some debate about the origins of “Rutsch” in this expression but in modern German der Rutsch is a slip, slide. In more idiomatic English, how about “Tumble well into the New Year”?

One word of caution: like Gute Reise! (Have a good journey!) or Guten Appetit! (Enjoy your meal!), you can only say Guten Rutsch before the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve. 

Once the New Year is a fact, the way to say Happy New Year in German is Frohes Neues Jahr or, informally, Frohes Neues. Other common greetings include Alles Gute zum neuen Jahr! (Best wishes for the New Year) and Ein glückliches neues Jahr! (a Happy New Year!).

Das Dreikönigsfest: Epiphany in German

It’s 6 January and we’re back with German Christmas words. Today is the twelve day of Christmas or Epiphany, in German: der Dreikönigsfest (the celebration/festival of the Three Kings). That’s when die Heiligen Drei Könige (three kings) or die Weisen (the wise man) came to visit Christ. Melchior brought das Gold, Balthasar – der Weihrauch, (frankincense) Caspar – die Myrrhe (myrrh).  

More is made of this than in English-speaking countries. It’s a public holiday in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

In some German-speaking areas, children dress as the Three Kings and go from house to house singing carols. They are called die Sternsinger (star singers). When they’ve sung at your house, they’ll chalk a blessing above your front door in a traditional shorthand for example 20* C + M + B  *21 for 2021. The letters represent the names of the kings.

Get ready to celebrate…with your German Christmas words

There you have it! You’ve had a great first view of some wonderful traditions and a wealth of new vocabulary.

If you get the chance to experience Christmas and New Year in the German-speaking lands, take it!

Keen to make sure your German Christmas and New Year vocabulary sticks?

Then check out these other posts for some top tips on how to remember words in German:

Six German vocabulary keys to unlock your word power

How to learn German fast

How to remember German noun gender: the ultimate guide

More about the German New Year:

Happy New Year in three languages…and more

Are you already a fan of a German-style Christmas and New Year? Have you experienced them “on the ground”? Have I missed some of your fave German Christmas words? Let me know in the comments below!

New: video lesson “German Christmas Phrases” will help consolidate a lot of the vocab in this post, with the help of illustrative “fluency phrases”:

The post German Christmas words you need for Christmas traditions you’ll love appeared first on How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins.

And….if you’re an upper beginner/lower intermediate learner eager to hear the future tense in action and get lots of practice at that and other key grammar patterns while expanding your vocab and honing those all important listening skills, check out my popular Weekly German Workouts course through this link:

=> Dr P’s Weekly German Workouts

How to form the German future tense (Futur I)

In English, we very often talk about the future using “shall” or “will” as an “auxiliary” plus the infinitive of the verb (the “dictionary form” of the verb that you can put “to” in front of: to go, to keep and so on): I shall eat, he will win etc. 

Of course, in speech we usually contract shall/will to “-’ll”: I It’ll dry quickly. They’ll do the washing up after they’ve finished eating. He’ll be coming tomorrow.

In German, das Futur I/die Zukunft follows the same compound pattern: “auxiliary + infinitive”. 

You’ve probably already met the verb werden used on its own to mean to become, to get:  

ich werde dick – I’m becoming/getting fat

In Futur I, werden changes its role. It doesn’t mean “become”, it means “will/shall/-’ll”.  

So, werden is also used as the auxiliary to express the future. 

By the way, the German for auxilliary verb is Hilfsverb, literally “help verb”. German vocab is so much simpler than English!  

Yes, it’s werden + infinitive = Futur I: 

ich werde schlafen – I’ll sleep

wir werden gehen – we’ll go 

Get the form of the Future I right: the two key aspects 

First, to use the compound future, you need to be sure you’ve mastered the way werden changes according to who’s doing the werden-ing!  In other words, make sure you’re on top of the conjugation of this important verb.  

Conjugation of the verb werden: 

Keep an eye on the du and er/sie/es forms, as they’re irregular. 

Second, pay attention to the position of the auxiliary and the main verb in the sentence

The second verb goes to the end of a simple sentence or main clause (the part of a longer, more complex sentence that could often stand on its own):

Ich werde heute Abend im Restaurant essen – I’ll eat in the restaurant tonight

Wir werden später nach Hause gehen – We’ll go home later 

A subordinate clause or Nebensatz is the part of a longer, more complex sentence that adds more information about the main clause. In subordinate clauses, werden goes on the end, after the infinitive:

Sie wird ein Buch lesen   >   Er weiß, dass sie ein Buch lesen wird

She’ll read a book  >  He knows that she’ll read a book

If the verb is reflexive (the action is done to the doer) the reflexive pronoun (that identifies the doer) goes straight after werden:

Ich werde mich am Donnerstag vorbereiten – I’ll prepare on Thursday. 

When to use the German “werden” future tense

As English native speakers, we run the risk of overusing the Futur I, because we use our English compound future so much more often than Germans use their Futur I. That’s why you’ll often hear Germans making the opposite mistakes in English: “I come to see you next week”.  

Neutral expressions regarding “future time” – the present is more common

If you just want to refer to future time, it’s common in German simply to use the present, especially with a time expression which already makes it clear that you’re talking about the future. For example, morgen,  bald, später, nächstes Jahr, nächsten Monat, “morgen”, “nächste Woche”, “um 20 Uhr”: 

Heute Abend kocht mein Mitbewohner Spaghetti – Tonight my housemates are cooking/will cook spaghetti

Morgen gehen wir einkaufen – Tomorrow we’re going shopping

Ich gehe nächste Woche auf Urlaub – My holiday starts/will start next week

Even without time expressions, Germans will just use the present if the meaning is clear from the context.  

Sie holt uns nach der Besprechung ab – She’ll pick us up after the meeting. 

In English we cannot use the simple present this way but we do use a present continuous (-ing form) with the future implied or, more often, with time word (though we do this much less than the Germans use their simple present):  She’s picking us up after the meeting. I’m having dinner with Jack on Tuesday.They’re coming to see you tonight. He’s closing the shop at 5pm.   

Often, Germans seem to switch between the present and Futur I just for variety. It can be just a matter of style (the Zukunft can sound more formal or literary).  

Keine Sorge, das wird schon klappen – Don’t worry, it’ll work out

or, equally possible 

Keine Sorge, das klappt schon – Don’t worry, it’ll work out

There are times in German, though, where using the present or Futur I changes the meaning: 

Katrin wird in Berlin in einer Werbeagentur arbeiten – Katrin will work in an ad agency in Berlin. 

If you use the present, you’d be saying that she’s already working there: 

Katrin arbeitet in Berlin in einer Werbeagentur – Katrin works/is working in an ad agency in Berlin. 

Times when Germans prefer Futur I 

Germans do use the Futur I to talk about future predictions and intentions, about suppositions or doubts and to express probabilities. 

We do this in English too: use the future tense to express a present take on the future.

Morgen wird es bestimmt regen – It’ll definitely rain tomorrow (a prediction)

Deutschland wird die Weltmeisterschaft gewinnen – Germany will win the world championships (a prediction)

Er wird bereits im Büro sein – He’ll already be in the office (a supposition or maybe a doubt)

You’ll often hear “wohl” as well in these contexts to add a sense of probability:

Sie wird wohl bereits im Restaurant sein – She’ll most likely be in the restaurant already 

Er wird wohl krank sein – He’s probably ill/He’ll most likely be ill/ He’ll no doubt be ill.  

You’ll hear Germans using the Futur I when they want to emphasise the future as well:

Das werde ich erst nächste Woche machen können – I won’t be able to do that until next week. 

Notice how “erst” crops up here.  

Futur I sometimes expresses present probability. We have exactly the same usage with the will/shall future in English:

If you hear a noise at the door you might say:

Das wird wohl der Briefträger sein – That’ll be the postman.   

Future tense with modal verbs 

Did you notice that in the last example we used the modal verb können?  The modal verbs are used in relation to another verb which expresses the state or action itself. The modals are about attitude or standpoint and are often connected to desire, likelihood, ability, permission or obligation. 

The other five modal verbs are müssen (to have to), dürfen (to be allowed to), wollen (to want), mögen (to like) and sollen (to be supposed to).

When you use modals with the “werden future”/Futur I in a main clause, the modal stands last:

Du wirst morgen gehen müssen – You’ll have to go tomorrow

As you’d expect, Germans often simply use the present (as, with modals, we often do in English too):

Du musst morgen gehen – You’ll have to go tomorrow/You must go tomorrow 

In a subordinate clause the “infinitive pair” stay together. 

Er hat gesagt, morgen wirst du gehen müssen or

Er hat gesagt, dass du morgen gehen müssen wirst

The German “wollen” future

Germans sometimes use the verb wollen (to want, will) to express an intention in the future with a more forceful effect than using the present or Futur I: 

Wir wollen bald ein langes Wochenende in Berlin verbringen – We’re going to/we are planning to spend a long weekend in Berlin soon

Wir wollen uns bald einen neuen Computer anschaffen – We’re going to buy ourselves a new computer soon 

In comparison, the Futur I here would sound more like a prediction than a firm intention: 

Wir werden uns bald einen neuen Computer anschaffen – we’ll buy ourselves a new computer soon.   

Sometimes using wollen is a way to express the immediate future:

Ich will es gleich holen – I’ll fetch it now

Es will regnen – it’s about to rain/it’s going to rain

The German future tense: avoid these mistakes!

Now you’re armed with all you need to know to get the German future tense right.  

To finish, here are the key German future tense mistakes that you need to avoid:

Don’t get the conjugation of werden wrong. In the singular du and er/sie/es forms, there’s a sneaky “e” to “i” vowel change and “d” disappears in the du form: ich werde but du wirst, er/sie/es wird (the final “d” there sounds like a “t”).  

Don’t overuse the werden future. Remember, if it’s clear from the context that you’re talking about the future, you can usually use the present. 

Don’t try a literal translation of the English “going to” future (as in “Do this and you’re going to make a mistake”): Xgehen (zu)X. No! That’s not possible in German. Use the present or the Futur I: 

He’s going to come tomorrow = Er kommt morgen or Er wird morgen kommen. 

Don’t use future for requests as in “Will you do this for me?”. For this, German uses the modal verbs “wollen” or “mӧgen”:

“Will you please come in?” = Wollen Sie bitte hereinkommen or Mӧchten Sie bitte hereinkommen.

Will you please wait? = Wollen Sie bitte warten?

That’s it! What you need next is lots of practice, including coming across the future through authentic listening and reading. If you’re an upper beginner German learner moving into intermediate, my popular Weekly German Workouts course offers you just this, plus clear explanation and (for those who like them) lots of practice exercises. Check out the info and enrolment page. 

=> Dr P’s Weekly German Workouts

Related posts

How to learn German fast

Intermediate German (B1) vocabulary and grammar: what and how?

Motivation for Intermediate (B1) German: enjoying the highs and getting through the lows

German cases made simple (goodbye to endless tables)

German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need

How to use German infinitives

German imperfect tense (Präteritum): forms and usage made clear

German modal verbs: the ultimate guide

Joining it up: how conjunctions can transform your intermediate German

The post German future tense (Futur I): top dos and don’ts appeared first on How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins.

Before we go any further, vocabulary building is a central aspect of my popular intermediate Weekly German Workouts program, which you can check out here: 

=> Link to Dr P’s popular intermediate German course

Recognise words with a shared Germanic root

Did you know that English and German developed from a common “Germanic” ancestor language? 

That means that there are a stock of words that will take no effort at all to understand and remember because even today they’re, erm, exactly the same both languages (or very nearly so). They’re often connected with the body, nature and the basics of life: die Hand, die Name (pronounced naah-muh), das Bett (bed), die Erde (Earth), das Wasser (water), die Nase (nose), kalt (cold) and so on, many times over.

How English and German words have diverged from a common root wasn’t a random process. German historical linguist Jacob Grimm (also of Grimm brothers fame) identified a regular “consonant shift” pattern now called “Grimm’s law”.

So, “f” in English often corresponds to “v” in German (father > Vater, full > voll). English “k” is German “ch” (make > machen; book > Buch) and “y” corresponds to “g” (yesterday > gestern; yellow > gelb).

Several other letters are also affected by Grimm’s regular consonant changes.  

Sometimes, the meaning of the German and English “descendent” words have come to have different (though often related) meanings. For example der Knabe (boy) corresponds to English “knave” and der Bauer (peasant) to the English boor.  Das Tier means “animal” not the just the corresponding English “deer”. Das Zimmer is “room”, corresponding to English “timber” (z to t is another of Grimm’s pairs, by the way: die Zeit > the time). 

The word for “root” itself, die Wurzel, has the same origins as the English “wort” for vegetable, plant or root (as in St John’s wort”).

Become aware of this shared “Germaninc” history and it’ll help you remember many German words (and maybe decipher some from scratch). 

Don’t go overboard, though. 

German has its share of “false friends” that could easily confuse the unaware English speaker.  

Be alert for words like der Rat (advice), das Gift (poison), fast (almost), bald (soon), der Brief (letter in the sense of missive), sechs (six), die Last (burden, load). 

Keep an eye out for shared foreign borrowings…and equivalent coinages

Just like English, German has many familiar borrowings from Latin or Greek: die Nation (nation), die Strategie (strategy), die Zelle (cell), die Politik (politics), die Gruppe (group). 

The meaning is usually obvious and will otherwise be easier if you start to pay attention to how the English and German spelling systems has had its way with these words.  

Despite the many international borrowings, German – like Finnish or Welsh – often has its own literal translations of a Latin or Greek word’s component parts (“calques”). English tends to stick much more with words from the Classical languages or French.

Das Mitleid, for example, literally means “with + suffering”. It’s just like our Latin “compassion” or – similar – Greek “sympathy” (with + feeling). 

Sometimes there’s been competition between German and Latin/Greek-derived words and German coinages.  

So, in English we have “television” (“tele” – Greek – far off) and Latin-derived (“vision”). German coined der Fernseher (distance + seer).  The equivalent coinage for telephone is der Fernsprecher (distance + speaker) but this is now used much less frequently than das Telefon (derived, like our version, from Greek elements).  

If you tune in to the classical origins of a lot of English vocab and brush up your Latin and Greek prefixes and suffixes and how they might translate into German. 

Do you know your “auto-” from your “endo-” and your “peri-,” your “ego-“, “intra-” and “circum-“?  What about the equivalent German prefixes?

Embrace “Denglish” and remember all the German words in English

“Denglish” is the jokey name for the proliferation of direct borrowings from English (“Anglicisms”) used by some German speakers. 

Some of the borrowers seem appropriate as they refer to unique aspects of Anglophone culture (like der Jazz).  

Others are linked to new phenomena (often from the US), such as internet vocab (die Homepage; chatten).  

Sometimes the borrowings seem to be for no reason other than fashion and there are suitable, alternative German coinages also in use: die Startseite for homepage, for example. 

How about der Babysitter? A necessary borrowing or not?

Like or loathe Denglish, all this English flying around is only going to help us, the German learners.

To my mind, more pleasing than such superfluous borrowings are words taken from English but given a different meaning. They’re not quite the “false friends” we met above, because they’re not used in English at all. Once you some, they’ll make you smile; and they’ll be easy to remember!

So, you can make a call on das Handy (mobile/cell phone) as dress your baby in der Body (all-in-one type baby’s “romper” outfit) before you both climb into your Old Timer (classic car), parked beside a wall recently vandalised (or brightened up, I’ll leave you to decide) by ein Sprayer (graffiti artist).

Some wholesome “English” words like rucksack, zeitgeist, doppelganger, poltergeist, putsch and schadenfreude will help reduce your angst about learning Deutsch too.

Yes, borrowings between English and German aren’t an entirely one way street   .

Understand how compound words are formed in German

German, like English and other Germanic languages, likes to “compound” words and compounding is the next of our German vocabulary keys.

Compound words are made by smashing together two or more nouns, adjectives or verbs which can also stand alone: 

Haus + Frau = Hausfrau in German and house + wife means exactly the same in English.  

Sometimes there’s an additional link between elements of the compound.  So, -s (or, after words of one syllable -es) may pop up: Ort (place) + Name (name) > Ortsname (placename)   

By the way, the grammatical gender of the compound word (der, die, das) will be the same as the gender of the final component (it’s “die” Hausfrau because Frau is feminie).   

In English, though, the two elements are often written apart (or hyphenated): das Esszimmer is “dining room”, Fremdsprache is “foreign language”, die Muttersprache is “mother tongue” and die Zweitsprache is “second language”.

Some other languages routinely require a more roundabout way of building vocab. 

In French you have to say “salle à manger” (room for eating) and sometimes the English equivalent of a pithy German compound also requires a more roundabout translation der Ort > der Wohnort (place of residence, not X living place X). 

In other words, you’ll have to circumlocute (umschreiben – German went native here, English stuck with the Latin)(see the section above on Latin and Greek borrowings in English and German).

The most common German compound pattern is noun + noun (e.g. der Handschuh) but you’ll also find various other combinations.  Die Putzfrau – cleaning lady – derives from the verb putzen (to clean) + Frau. Einhändig (one-handed) is the numeral ein + the adjective handig (useful, handy).

Why stop at two elements?  How about the famously long word Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän (captain of the Danube steamship transport company). I’m loving that triple “f” in there

Ah, those Germans, as Boney M almost sang.

You’ll find one or two more of these super loooooonnnnnnng words in this fun “German pronunciation challenge” video I shot at the Polyglot Conference in Berlin a few years ago:

German has many disarmingly literal compounds that are easy to decipher and often charming or amusing to the English ear.  

The word for “vocabulary” itself is der Wortschatz (literally “word treasure”). Handschuh is “glove” (die Hand + der Schuh), Die Stechpalme is holly (“stechen” (to prick) +‎ “Palme” (palm)).  Picture the literal meanings and it’ll help you remember!

Often groups of related German words share a common, logical root where English isn’t so simple: der Brief is a letter and you put it in a Briefumschlag (“letter-around-wrap”) before you drop it into the Briefkasten (letterbox) from where der Briefträger (letter carrier – postman) collects it. 

Look out for these clusters of easy-to-remember related words.

Know your prefixes and suffixes

The meaning of a verb or noun can become obvious when you see that it’s derived from a common underlying word that you already know with a prefix stuck on the front or a suffix on the end. 

Many of the most common prefixes you’ll already know as high-frequency prepositions in their own right: ab- (away, off); ein-  (in); mit- (with.along) and so on. 

Aus (out of) can combine with Fahrt to give Ausfahrt (exit – for a vehicle – on foot it’s an Ausgang) or with brennen to give ausbrennen (to burn out).

These prepositional prefixes are separable from a verb whose meaning they modify. Die Kerze brennt schnell aus (the candle quickly burns out). 

At first sight,the meaning of prefixes that are not based on prepositions are usually harder to work out: ver-, ent-, er- and friends.  

Unlike the “prepositional” prefixes, these “exotic” prefixes are inseparable when added to verbs.  

Even with the “exotics”, there are some meanings you’ll quickly become familiar with.

So, ver- is the most common of this group of prefixes.

It can convey the idea of finishing or away: reisen (to travel) > verreisen (to leave, go away on a trip) or the opposite of an action: kaufen (to buy) > verkaufen (to sell). 

Ent- often implies escaping or removing: lasten (to weigh on someone) entlasten (to relieve, literally: to unburden), entschärfen (to diffuse, literally: unscharpen). 

Er- often conveys a sense of outcome or result (bitten – to ask for > erbitten – to obtain by asking; schießen – to shoot > erschießen – to shoot dead). 

When you can’t spot any obvious “logical” explanation for the choice of the prefix the meaning of the “basic” verb will often work as a useful hook to help you remember, ich verspreche es dir! 

What about German suffixes?  

Well, the ending -er (or -ler) can replace a verb’s final -en or -ern to give us the person who performs the action of a verb: lehren (to instruct) > der Lehrer (teacher); betteln (to beg) > der Bettler (begger). 

-er can also flag a tool that performs the action: bohren (to drill) > der Bohrer (the drill) and you can add the suffix to a place name (Ortsname) to indicate where somebody comes from: Frankfurt > der Frankfurter.

A common ending that turns a verb into the action it describes is -ung: sich entschuldigen (to excuse oneself, apologise) > die Entschuldigung (apology). 

Words with these endings are usually pretty predictably a set gender.

So, -ung words are overwhelmingly feminine (check out my post on German noun gender for more on this).

One way of turning nouns into adjectives is to add -lich (the vowel often gains an Umlaut): der Tod (death) > tödlich (deadly, fatal), die Name (the name) > nämlich (namely). 

Sometimes, in a further twist, you can add the suffix -keit (another feminine ending to create a noun: Tödlichkeit (deadliness).

Some verbs can be made into adjectives (that describe a thing) by taking off the -en and adding -bar to the stem. The result is like the English ending -able/-ible: machen > mach- > machbar (doable). 

Of course, by adding un- a great many adjectives can be made negative, just like in English. 

Vowel changes

Vowel changes are another way that German vocabulary has expanded and the last of our German vocabulary keys. 

When a noun comes from the root of a strong verb, you’ll often find a vowel change in a derived word: aussteigen (to exit, climb out, e.g. get off a bus), ich stieg aus, ich bin ausgestiegen > der Ausstieg (the exit, getting off, getting out); sprechen (to speak), ich sprach, ich habe gesprochen > die Sprache. The vowel might not be one found in the imperfect or past participle form: werfen (to throw), ich warf, ich habe geworfen but der Wurf.

Another common change is the appearance of an Umlaut which flags that the vowel has become “front, rounded” (pronounced at the front of the mouth with the lips rounded).

An Umlaut + feminine suffix is added to der Arzt (male doctor) to give die Ärztin (female doctor), for example. 

To turn the noun der Druck (pressure) into the verb to print add an Umlaut + the verbal suffix -en: drücken. 

Der Kraft is strength while kräftig is “strong”.  Der Bart is the beard and bärtig is “bearded”.  

Some adjectives are turned into nouns by adding an Umlaut: groß (big) > die Grӧße (size); lang (long) > die Länge (length).

Unlike compounding or adding prefixes or suffixes, vowel changes aren’t “productive” in modern German: new words are hardly ever formed this way these days.

That said, today’s language is chock full of them. Pay attention as you go!

Turn you German vocabulary keys and fill your boots with treasure!

That’s it then. If you’ve read this far, you’re now equipped with six keys to unlock the German vocab treasure chest and fill your boots with new words:

• words that are the same in English and German or very close due to their common “Germanic” roots;
• shared international loanwords (usually from Latin or Greek), with German sometimes preferring a literal translation of the elements;
• many direct English words in modern German (sometimes bordering on “Denglish”) and German borrowings in English;
• compound words strung together in German;
• words made by adding prefixes and suffixes to a simpler core;
• vowel changes as central to how one word morphs in meaning.

Now you know what’s going on, you’re more likely to be able to work out the meaning of words that somehow look familiar.  You’ll understand what’s “behind” a lot of the new words that you encounter and that’ll help you remember.  

A word of warning to finish: notice, understand, remember but don’t start trying to coin your own words.

Our six German vocabulary keys are not those little bits of metal you get with Ikea flatpack furniture.

Remember, imitation not innovation is the name of the game when you’re expanding your German vocabulary!

Other posts in this series:

How to learn German fast

Intermediate German (B1) vocabulary and grammar: what and how?

Motivation for Intermediate (B1) German: enjoying the highs and getting through the lows

German cases made simple (goodbye to endless tables)

German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need

German modal verbs: the ultimate guide

Joining it up: how conjunctions can transform your intermediate German

The post Six German vocabulary keys to unlock your word power appeared first on How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins.

So what is all the fuss actually about?

Why is German noun gender a challenge?

Well, there are four reasons why learning the how to remember German noun gender can be a pain.

First, there are three genders in German: masculine, feminine and neuter. That much we know. Oh, except that sometimes a noun’s gender varies according to meaning or even region….

It would be much easier, say I, if German didn’t have gender at all.

Why can’t it be like those walks-in-the-park of languages Finnish, Basque or Japanese?

Ok, ok, then, I’ll concede two genders, like French (le/la), Portuguese (“o” or “a”), or Welsh (“y” or, erm, “y”). No? Ahem.

Second, the ending of the word doesn’t provide a simple key.

In Italian or Spanish its overwhelmingly -o for a boy, -a for a girl.

Russian, like German, has three genders but this is one of those areas where Slavonic languages are easier than Deutsch.

In Russian, noun gender usually clear from the ending, give or take a few soft signs: a nice firm masculine consonant, girly “a” or non-committal neutral “o”…. but that’s a topic for a later post (Russian learners, watch this space).

Third, when it comes to German noun gender, choices have consequences.

It’s not just a matter of the grating sound (to a native) of the wrong indefinite article (“a” or “an” in English or, erm*, ein, eine, eines, einen, einem, or einer in German) or definite article (“the” in English or der, die, das, des, den or dem in German). No! The gender of a noun also has knock-on grammatical effects in the sentence.

(* that’s not one of the articles, it’s me stuttering in desperation) 😉 )

Those knock-on effects crop up because German pronouns (he, his, whose, these etc) or determiners (such as “many”, “most”, “a few”, “all”, “every”) all have endings “marked for gender”. Just to spice it up, they are, like the articles, also “marked” for case and number. That was why we had more than three German versions of “a” and “the” above.

The adjectives (descriptive words like “short”, “fat”, “hairy” that modify nouns) are at it too, with their gender, number and case-marked endings.

Even some nouns get in on the act, with endings that depend on case or whether or not the noun is singular or plural.

We’ll come back to all this grammatical declension another time.

Rest assured, it’s not nearly as frightening as it looks when you first see those intimidating grammar tables in your textbook.

If you get wise to a few key patterns, you’re 90% there.

But then, to use the system, you do have to KNOW THE GENDER.

Fourth and last, but by no means least, that standard advice to just “learn the gender when you learn the word” just doesn’t work over the longer term.

It’s particularly infuriating when it comes from a native speaker who’s never had to try it, don’t you find?

Can’t I just ignore German noun gender?

Before we get any further, what about the argument that you can just ignore it or “they all say de“?

To those slouches among you, this is an appealing one.

Don’t ever let gender paralyse you!

You’re a foreigner after all, nobody’s expecting perfection.

Plus, in practice, you’ll rarely be misunderstood when you’re saying basic stuff.

So, yes, just get in there and speak and don’t obsess about gender.

That said, if you’re serious about progressing the language from beginner into intermediate, it’s really not such a good idea.

If you aren’t serious about it, by the way, bog off from my site 😉

Here’s the thing: if you want to move into intermediate, you need to be able to express more complex ideas in longer sentences. Declension carries a lot of meaning. You’ll get confused or may, after all, be misunderstood.

If you’re upper intermediate or wannabe advanced, your gender mistakes will increasingly stick out like a sore thumb. It’s time to take your game apart again and remind yourself of some basics.

Strategies for learning the gender

As we’ve seen while some languages like Spanish have “transparent” systems of marking gender but German just doesn’t.

What, then, is a learner to do?

There are several approaches all of which you’ll probably find yourself trying.

Just guess

Around 60% of Welsh words are masculine. That’s an unusually high proportion.

In German, unfortunately, the odds are much less in your favour. The German Duden gives figures of 46% feminine, 34% masculine and 20% neuter.

There are also other figures out there (Baayen, Piepenbrock, & Gulikers, 1995) suggesting masculine 43%, feminine 38% and neuter 19% are neuter. However, these figures – among other problems – don’t necessarily reflect the frequency of words.

All we can say is, if you must guess, don’t guess neuter, unless you’re applying one of the techniques and rules of thumb to help you remember the gender of German nouns that it’s now time to look at in detail.

Ways to make learning German noun gender easier: two “hacks”

Use colour coding

The method I used when I started learning German was to have flashcards with the masculine written in blue (for a boy, geddit?), the feminine in red (because I didn’t have a pink biro) and the neuter nouns in green.

This feels useful at the beginning, but I’m not sure how much it really helps longer term. It’s too passive simply to associate a word with a colour. It’s maybe just doesn’t involve enough imagination to stick in the memory and is too far away from the “procedural” recall we need in language learning (mastering a skill)

What do you think? Have you tried this method with German or another language?

Use mental images

A supercharged version of colour coding is to choose three memorable images – one neuter, one masculine, one feminine – to associate with each word of the corresponding gender.

“Die Waage” (singular) is the word for scales (modern ones like you have in a kitchen or bathroom or the traditional ones associated with justice). Imagine the word you’re learning being weighed. First try to get the measure of it in your hands (or if it’s die Kuh, put your arms under it and try to lift it up). Then place it (or winch it) onto the scales. If as your image you’ve taken the traditional scales of justice, imagine smaller versions of the same object being placed on the other pan until they balance.

“Der Hammer” (the hammer) is masculine. So, you can imagine each masculine word being smashed up with a hammer. Make the image as memorable as possible! See that hamm er wrecking that object or concept, with bits flying in all directions. Feel that masculine rage!

“Das Wasser” (the water) is neuter. Imagine objects being swept away in watery rapids, all gurgle and foam. Or take da”s Feuer” (the fire, neuter). You could image objects heating up, combusting and being slowly consumed by flames. Hear that crackle, smell that smoke.

A variant of this technique is to think of three famous characters – one a man, one a woman and one a child. Create images vividly associating the man with masculine nouns, the woman with feminine and the child with neuter. In your imagination, they could be using the object or become part of it, for example.

Such memory methods can be very powerful but remember, they’re mainly good for lodging information in your short-term memory.

If you don’t then follow up with techniques like spaced recall and start to use what you’ve learned, a lot, the noun, let alone the gender, won’t find its way into your long term memory.

Look at these tricks as an initial step, then.

After thirty years of learning German and despite my C1 qualification, I have to say that I still have to check gender quite often, even the gender of very frequent words.

That’s why I’m so sceptical of the standard advice to just “learn the gender along with the noun”, however you do it. Fact is, I can now often actively remember the words, but not the gender.

Two things really help me: context and ending patterns.

Learn German noun gender in context

By far the most effective method is to get down with the kids 😉 Little Germans learn their mother tongue pick up gender simply by relying on context. They always hear the word behaving according to its gender.

Here the sheer prominence of the gender system in German actually helps. Gender is flagged in a very overt way, even before the word itself due to the gendered pronouns (he, she, his, her…) articles or other determiners, so there are often multiple cues for little Hansel or Gretl.

Just because children rely on this complex context, doesn’t mean should suspend our powers of overview and reasoning, though. We have what I like to call “the adult advantage” not just relying on childlike instinct. We have the ability to do a bit of rational thinking, to see understand how gender works consciously…

So, we can supercharge the context method by “reading over” from set chunks of language we’ve learned to get the gender right in other context.

How will this work in practice?

Take the word “Arm” (Arm) as an example. I wouldn’t know whether it’s die Arm, das Arm or der Arm. Maybe, though, I’ve picked up the phrase “jemanden auf den Arm nehmen” (to pull somebody’s leg – literally, “to take somebody by the arm”).

Take chunks of language you do know and work out the gender from there.

Examples of common chunks you might become very familiar with early on – even before you start learning much German you might know snippets of German such as “Guten Tag” (i.e. ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Tag).

The further on you get with your German, the more you’ll have to go on and the quicker you’ll be able to move on these “crutches of context”.

But you’ll only be able to do it to maximum effect if you’re all over the declension system (and you’ve learnt the endings). You need to know that “den Arm” is the masculine singular accusative.

So, in between periods of extensive German use, keep coming back to for periods of focussed study of the patterns. And practice with spoken or written exercises.

Birds of a feather? Nouns that hang out together

I was going to head this section “Group S*x” and see what that does for my site visitor numbers ). You see, the second approach that really helps me is to be aware of groups of nouns have the same gender.

The groups based on either FORM – the ending – on their MEANING.

This is a massively useful crutch. It isn’t foolproof because there’s always a small but noisy awkward squad of maverick gender-benders. But you can deflect their blows by treating them as the exceptions that prove the rule.

Grouped by meaning

There is no automatic correlation between grammatical gender and sex in German, although biological gender is sometimes part of the picture and people and animals do generally follow the forms you’d expect: die Frau, die Tochter, die Kuh, der Mann, der Stier. That’s a big early win in the gender wars.

Note, though, that young people and animals are often neuter: das Baby, das Kind, das Kalb. Mädchen – a girl – is neuter, too. So, yes, you would refer to your daughter as “es” if you’ve just identified her as das Mädchen. An old friend of mine did this in a speech at her 50th birthday party in Berlin a couple of weeks ago.

“It” (the teenage daughter) didn’t bat an eyelid but it still strikes my English-infused brain as a strange carry on.

That’s because in English the only bits of the full-on German-style system we had in Old English are used precisely to indicate biological gender: he, she or it; his, hers or its.

Now for some an overview of the “meaning groups” with some common examples and exceptions.

Feminine by meaning

Most trees and flowers: die Birke, die Rose.

Most rivers in Germany: die Spree, die Donau (but der Rhein – Vater Rhein, after all!). Those outside are masculine: der Jordan, der Nil, der Mississippi but die Themse).

Planes, ships and motorbikes: die Boeing (but der Airbus – because “der Bus”), die Sportster XL….

Nouns of number and size: die Eins, die Zwei, die Million (but das Hundert, das Thausand); die Länge (length), die Breite (width)).

Masculine by meaning

Days, months, seasons: der Donnerstag, der Januar, der Sommer.

Points of the compass, weather: der Norden, der Wind, der Frost (but die Brise, das Eis, and das Wetter itself).

Rocks and minerals: der Diamant (not a girl’s best friend after all?), der Sand (but die Kreide, das Mineral).

Many drinks, especially booze (der Tee, der Kaffee, der Wein, der Vodka but das Bier).

Makes of car: der BMW, de Audi, der Hillman Imp (that’s the British one that you’ll see der Trabant overtaking in the fast lane of die Autobahn).

Neuter by meaning

Towns, countries, continents: das alte Berlin, das Europa, das moderne Afrika (but die Schweitz, die Bretagne, die Riviera, der Irak, der Lebanon).

Hotels, Cafés, Restaurants and Cinemas: das Hilton, das “Ritzy” (here in Brixton 🙂 ).

Units of measurement: das Kilo, das Gramm (Liter, Meter and their compounds like Kilometer are officially neuter in Germany. They are often used as masculine nouns as well, though, and they are officially masculine in Switzerland). Also worth mentioning here are particles like das Molekül, das Atom, das Elektron, das Neutron.

Metals: das Gold, das Eisen, das Kupfer, das Uran, das Messing (but die Bronze, der Schwefel, der Stahl).

Colours: das Rote, das Blau.

Languages: das Englisch, das Spanisch.

Letters of the alphabet: das A, das B….).

Grouped by ending

Typical feminine endings: -a (except -ma – see neuter, below); -anz/-enz (die Eleganz, die Instanz, die Intelligenz); -e (thousands but key irregulars are der Name and der Käse; das Auge, das Ende). Watch out too for the “weak” masculine nouns – the “n-Deklination”: der Bursche, der Affe and masculine or neuter adjectival nouns such as der Alte or der Blinde); -ei (die Bücherei) ;-ette (die Zigarette); -heit or -keit (die Gesundheit, die Schönheit); -ie (die Chemie); -ik (die Musik, die Physik); -in (die Freundin); -ion (die Generation, die Expedition); -schaft (die Nachbarschaft, die Gesellschaft); -sis (die Basis); -tät (die Universität); -ung (die Übung, die Bedeutung, die Zeitung); -ur (die Natur, die Figur. But der Flur).

Typical masculine endings: -ant/-ent (der Student); -ast (der Ast, der Palast); -er (when referring to people, like der Arbeiter, der Lehrer – see below for corresponding female forms); -ich (der Teppich, der Meerrettich); -ig (der Käfig, der Honig); -ling (der Lehrling, der Flüchtling); -ist (der Polizist, der Pianist); -or (der Traktor, der Motor); -us der Sozialismus and, erm, der Feminismus).

Typical neuter endings: -chen (das Mädchen); -en (infinitives used as nouns like das Gehen, das Teetrinken) das Gehen; -ett (often loan words – das Tablett); -icht (das Licht); -il (das Wohnmobil but der Stil); -ma das Thema (often loan words remember die Oma!); -it (das Dynamit); -lein (das Fräulein); -ment (often loan words like das Medikament (drug), das Appartement, das Testament but der Zement]; -o (das Büro, das Konto but TAKE GOOD NOTE – der Espresso):

Back into neutral: -tel (das Drittel); -tum (often loan words but Germanic ones too, such as das Wachstum); -um (often loanwords like das Studium, das Album. Note: der Reichtum).

The above ending groups are a more reliable guide than the meaning groups that we looked at first.

There are also endings which TEND to have a certain gender but where there are far more exceptions:

So: -el, -er, -en endings are 60% masculine, 25% feminines and 15% neuter (on the latter – see above).

Nouns with the prefix “ge-” are 90% neuter (but der Gehalt (in the sense of “contents” (das Gehalt – “salary”), der Gewinn profit, die Geburt, die Geschichte).

Nouns ending -nis and -sal are often neuter (about 70% – das Gebäude, das Gespräch, the rest feminine – die Besorgnis, die Erkenntnis).

What about words for members of a profession?

In English, to be inclusive, the preference is to ditch the old female forms. In German you do the opposite. Many masculine nouns for jobs can be made feminine by adding -in (plural – innen): Lehrer/-in; Steuerberater/-in (tax advisor), Budeskanzlerin. I presume this is because grammatical gender strengthens the association of the “root” masculine form with men (but if you know another reason, let me know in the comments!).

The gender of some words varies by meaning.

The ones I keep coming across are der Band (book or volume) and das Band (tape, band or ribbon); die See (sea) or der See (lake – remember “am Bodensee”). Others are der Kiefer (jaw) and die Kiefer (pine tree); der Leiter (leader) and die Leiter (ladder) or die Steuer (tax) und das Steuer (steering-wheel or helm of ship). The plurals are often different too.

Some words have a gender that varies by dialect, region or country: die Butter in Germany, der Butter in Austria. Das Radio in northern Germany, der Radio in the south and Austria. Mainly das Marzipan in the Federal Republic and der Marzipan in Austria. Delicious in both.

Good news: compound nouns – of which there are so many in German – almost always take the gender of the last element: die Autobahn; der Sozialversicherungsfachangestelltenauszubildender (if you don’t know the meaning – check out my survey article “Is German hard to learn?”).

Abbreviations take the gender the abbreviated substantive would have in full: “die DB” (die Deutsche Bahn – because “die Bahn”); “die BRD” (die Bundesrepublik Deutschland because “die Republik”).

What about Denglish?

There have been a flood of English words into German in the last few decades. They are 60% masculine: der Job, der Jazz. The rest are generally neuter: das Baby, das Poster. Some are feminine by analogy (die City like die Stadt, die Party like die Feier). Some are of unstable gender, for now: die/das Cola, der/die Forehand.

Der, die das: Keep calm and take a step back…

That’s it. Ok, I set out to help, but maybe I overwhelmed you?

Take heart! (That’ll be “das Herz”, of course.)

When you’re just starting a language, it seems like there’s such a lot to learn….and there is!

If you’re a beginner, take the practical tips from this piece and start to get a sense of the groups. Look at this post as setting the scene and as something to come back to repeatedly during the course of your progress towards fluency and beyond.

Whatever you do, don’t let the travails of remembering Gernan noun gender get in the way of enjoying the language as you learn!

Remember, natives sometimes make mistakes or are unsure of the gender.

Usually, you’ll be understood.

As you get better, it starts to feel good to start getting the hang of the system.

Over to you!

How difficult has it been for you to remember German noun gender so far as you grapple with the language?

Are there any tricks and tips I should add to my list?

Are there things which you’re finding particularly challenging?

Let me know in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond.

Viel Erfolg as you get to grips with German noun gender. Los geht’s!

Other posts in this series:

Intermediate German (B1) vocabulary and grammar: what and how?

Motivation for Intermediate (B1) German: enjoying the highs and getting through the lows

German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need

German modal verbs: the ultimate guide

Joining it up: how conjunctions can transform your intermediate German

The post How to remember German noun gender: the ultimate guide appeared first on How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins.

We’ve already done a high level comparison of A2 German skills and the B1 German level in my recent post From Beginners (A2) to Intermediate (B2) German: What’s the difference? What exactly is B1 German vocabulary and grammar?

We saw that getting to a solid intermediate level in German is all about becoming a “going concern” in the language as an “independent user”.

Sure, there’ll still be things you don’t understand and things you can’t easily say yet.

The focus is still on familiar topics and situations and clear speech.

But the exciting thing is that you’ll be able to deal well with most real-live situations when travelling.

You can use longer, more complex phrases to talk much more freely than before about events, your attitudes and plans.

First, let’s look at intermediate or B1 vocab.

Intermediate level German vocabulary: how much?

Learning more German words is central to becoming a competent intermediate-level German speaker.

It’s an oversimplification but the adage that communication fails due to lack of words not lack of grammar has at lot truth to it when you’re a beginner or at the lower intermediate level.

How much vocabulary do you need for B1 intermediate German?

The Goethe Institut provides one answer. For its upper beginner A2 German exam candidates to know about 1,300 of the most common words in the language. If you’re aiming at the Goethe Institut’s B1 exam, you need at least another thousand words. That’s a total of 2,400 words.

That’s quite a jump and it gets even more complex, because you have gender and plurals to remember. On gender, by the way, check out my in-depth post, “How to remember German noun gender: the ultimate guide”.

Plus, you’ll naturally want to be on top of words that maybe aren’t, on average, high frequency, but which are important TO YOU (such as talking about your job, hobbies or other special topics in you life).

How to learn vocabulary for German B1

There is a published Goethe Institut list of their 2,400 intermediate B1 German words.

You can download the list (or buy something similar) and learn it by heart. I quite like a systematic approach to vocab, myself, though I know it’s not for everyone.

Just repeating, straining, writing out is not the most effective way to go, though.

Instead, make use of two key tools: spaced repetition and the testing effect.

Combine them together and you’ll have spaced recall, not just repetition.

Below, I’ll explain all this further and give you some practical tips on how to do spaced recall. First, though, a question: Should we just be recalling individual words?

No!

When you can, learn “chunks” of language rather than isolated items of vocab.

Chunks could be “collocations”: words that habitually go together in a set combination.

The German for “to be fun”, for example, is “Spaß machen” – to “make fun” – not “Spaß sein”. It just is. It’s a matter of style as much as logic. It’s what you have to say.

Beyond collocations, a chunk could be a longer combinations of words.

It may be a full phrase such as “Ich begleite dich ein Stück” (I’ll come some of the way with you). Here’s another phrase :”den Mantel an der Garderobe abgeben” (“to hand your coat in/leave your coat in the cloakroom”). Here you already have a reusable pattern: “an der Garderobe abgeben”, whatever you ant to hand in.

A chunk could also be a shorter set phrase: “Schön Sie kennenzulernen” (nice to meet you).

It’s also worth noting idiomatic expressions that may not even make any sense at all when translated literally (“ich bin schon ziemlich blau” (lit: I’m already quite blue, meaning I’m already quite drunk)).

In effect a chunk could be any shortish combination of words that native speaker effortlessly deploy as a unit, as if one word.

Why chunks?

There are three reasons for giving chunking a major role in your journey from beginner to intermediate German.

First, when you learn a word in context, you’ll find that word easier to remember.

Second, you’ll be sure you’re using it right. That feels a lot better than struggling to build phrase after phrase from the ground up. If you play that game, you run the risk of a word-for-word from English when German expresses things differently.

You may be understood, but you won’t sound like a native. That won’t make fun at all (as a German who hasn’t been learning English in chunks might put it).

Learning chunks will help you master the general style of the language (naturalness) but it’s also about the wider grammar (accuracy).

So, in German, you’ve got case declensions to worry about. Learn “in die Stadt gehen” as a phrase and you won’t have to think though whether the preposition “in” here governs the accusative or the dative. And you won’t then have to try to remember how the definite article declines in front of feminine nouns in either case (assuming, of course, that you’d remembered that “Stadt” is feminine).

Third, it appears that one of the reasons we are able to speak and understand our native language so quickly is that natives process language as chunks. By focussing on chunks, you really are going with nature.

Learn in chunks and you’ll be able to speak not only more naturally and accurately, but also more rapidly.

Naturalness + accuracy + tempo. How’s about that for a definition of fluency?

German grammar at B1 intermediate level

Grammar is simply the underlying patterns of the language.

Don’t be confused by the technical words used to describe these patterns and create abstract “rules” with lists of exceptions. There is certainly place all this and do sit down and read a technical grammar through cover to cover, to get a good overview if you want.

Sure, it’s useful to learn “about” the language. But won’t help you as you speak. That’s because you won’t be able to apply rules on the wing.

For that, we’re back to mastering patterns. We’re back, really, to context and chunks, as in my “in die Stadt gehen” example.

Good teaching materials will teach the patterns in context as much as possible and be relatively light on abstract rules that you don’t much help in practice.

So, “VERB + lieber X als Y” is a pattern expressing that you prefer some action in relation to X than Y (“ich kaufe lieber Brot als Kuchen”; “ich übernachte lieber hier als dort”). You can use this in full flow, to slot in the detail to generate an unlimited number of correct phrases.

“Ich wohne lieber auf dem Land als in der Stadt” (I prefer living in the countryside to in the town”)…..

Here’s another, short, pattern: “Wollen wir + INFINITIVE?” (Shall we [DO SOMETHING]): “Wollen wir gehen?”; “Wollen wir essen?”.

Is there such a thing as an intermediate B1 grammar pattern?

We saw that getting good at German at the intermediate level involves being able to talk about a wider range of topics at a deeper, more sophisticated level.

This means, among other things, a greater number of more complex patterns that you can shunt around more freely.

Good intermediate materials such as a B1 textbook or online course will introduce what you need in a systematic way.

For example, they’ll get you practising building out a phrase to explain causation or consequences (clauses with “wegen”….. (because of), and conjunctions such as “obwohl”…..(although); “deshalb”….(therefore), “so dass” (with the result that)).

You’ll also need to learn how to add more information using relative pronouns (ich habe die Dörfer besucht, von denen Sie gestern geredet haben).

As phrases become more complex in German, the position of the verb is often very different from English and you’ll want to get lots of examples of this and opportunity to practise.

Another area you’ll need to focus on a lot more will be the so-called modal verbs that are used with other verbs and indicate likelihood, ability, permission and obligation (“können”, “mögen”, “wollen” and so on). You’ll find my in-depth exploration of modals in the post “German modal verbs explained”.

The genitive case is often used to express a relationship of possession (“das Haus meines Bruders” (my brother’s house) = “das Haus von meinem Bruder” (the house of my brother)). You may have come across the genitive already, but at this level, you’ll typically be tackling it head on.

You may have come across passive forms of the verb before, but probably not much. At this level, you’ll be covering them thoroughly and in different tenses: “Das Auto wird repariert” (the car is being repaired); “das Auto wurde repariert” (the car was/was being repaired) and so on.

You may have already come across the German imperfect tense (the Präteritum). It’s very common way of referring to the past in the spoken language for a small number of the verbs. Otherwise it’s usually used in the written language.

Once you’ve started to get familiar with how the imperfect tense is formed, it’s time to move onto a verb form called the subjunctive II or conditional (Konjunktiv II). We use the Konjunktiv II for polite requests: Könntest du mir helfen? (Could you help me?), instead of Kannst du mir helfen? (Can you help me?). The Konjunktiv II can also express and element of conditionality. Something will (or would) happen, if something else is (or were to be) the case: Maria könnte eine Weltreise machen, wenn sie viel Geld hätte (Maria could do a world trip, if she had a lot of money).

Something that will probably be completely new as you reach intermediate German is the “past perfect” (or “pluperfect”) tense, which enables you to talk about “the past in the past” (“Er war sehr müde, denn er hatte den ganzen Tage gearbeitet.” (He was very tired, because he HAD WORKED all day.)

The list of typical “lower intermediate” patterns is quite long. Remember, though, it’s not without end.

The key is to take things gradually and reinforce what you’ve already done as you go.

Get lots of appropriate reading and listening input

The importance of learning in context is an emerging theme here, whether we’re looking at vocabulary or grammar.

You can do this by getting extensive passive input by reading and listening to correct, realistic German.

It’s particularly effective to use “graded” material at or just below your current level to reinforce and just above to stretch you and present the new with enough context. If material is too hard, you won’t have as much supporting context. Not so good.

If you’re using a course with reading passages and audio, such as my popular intermediate/B1 German course, and you’ll have a great tailor-made reading and listening “graded” starting point.

To an extent you can just “pick up” new words and phrases through extensive exposure to such German.

Utilise the power of focus to master your B1 German vocabulary and grammar

Sometimes, though, you may want ratchet things up by getting more interactive and making a focussed effort to train yourself up in B1 German vocabulary and grammar. Indeed, combine extensive input with focussed study routine to super-charge your progress.

I”ve already mentioned spaced repetition and spaced recall as a fulcrum for focus.

You’ll be getting a lot of that with regular reading and listening input.

One way to learn B1 German vocabulary and grammar more actively is to take words and native phrases and use a flashcard system to recall what you’ve learnt at spaced intervals, with the intervals getting gradually longer.

Cognitive science has long told us that such spaced repetition returning to material just as we’re at the point of forgetting it is the way to lodge it in the long term memory.

Having to make the effort to remember makes the process more effective. So, make sure you really are actively recalling and not just passively repeating, build in the testing element.

If you’re using flashcards, the obvious way to test yourself is to work not from German to English but from English to German.

You could go further and leave the English out altogether. Have a German phrase on both sides of your flash card but to leave one word out on the “front” side”, to test that you know the complete phrase. That way you’re “keeping it all German”.

You could use the same phrase for this on multiple cards, with a different word or group of words left out each time. That way, you’re really stress-testing your grasp of the whole thing.

Other techniques to get more interactive with that essential B1 German vocabulary and grammar include the classic types of written exercises you’ll find in a course book (you can do these verbally to, use the recorder on your phone or do them live with a teacher or exchange partner). Exercises aren’t to everybody’s taste but they may be a valuable part of the picture for you. They certainly always are for me.

You can also take a dictation of a recording you’ve listened to and check it against a transcript. That will really get you focussed and get you noticing what you can’t yet understand. This takes time and requires concentration, so work with short texts.

You could make up questions about a text and try to answer them straight away, then (spaced recall again) a day or two, a week or a month later.

You could jot down a few key words to give you a framework and then try and retell the text.

You can also make your own exercises by modifying the text as you retell it in one specific way (for example, if it’s in the present, put it in the past; if it’s told by one person, retell it in the plural).

Another technique which relies on spaced repetition is the Gold List Method. It doesn’t use the testing element but many successful learners nevertheless find it very effective.

Speak and write!

We’ve seen the importance of approaching new vocab and patterns as chunks where possible and that you can reinforce this with extensive reading and listening.

You can then focussed with study routines to practise chunks and patterns effectively.

But you’ll never get good at speaking and writing without actually practising these active skills more freely.

Companions on the journey to fluency

You can get speaking and writing in “controlled conditions” by working with a teacher or exchange partner. Look out a post full of tips on this from me soon.

Take every less formal opportunity (and make your own) to speak or write too. Just dive in!

Getting from A2 to B1 German can be a lot of fun, but it’s not always easy.

It’s all about keeping going through thick and thin. You need the right methods, sure, but you also need the right mindset, motivation and support. That’s covered in the next post in this series (see links below)

Other posts in this series:

Motivation for Intermediate (B1) German: enjoying the highs and getting through the lows

German cases made simple (goodbye to endless tables)

German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need

German modal verbs: the ultimate guide

Joining it up: how conjunctions can transform your intermediate German

German listening practice on steroids (neglected technique)

The post Intermediate B1 German vocabulary and grammar: what and how? appeared first on How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins.

First, it helps to know what we’re trying to do. Let’s first look at what the difference is between beginners German and intermediate German. In terms of the widely-used Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, what’s the difference between A2 and B1 level German?

What’s “upper beginner” (A2) German?

At the upper beginner stage, you’ve already notched up a lot of wins. You should be well on top of the sound system of the German, even though you’ll still have to keep working on key differences between the German and English sound systems, such as the “ü” or the “clear” German “l”.

You’ll also have a good stock of basic vocabulary.

This will include the most frequent words and expressions, less common vocabulary that’s specifically relevant to your unique situation and a stock of what I call “toolkit phrases” to help you get further in the language through the language (“Wie sagt man x auf Deutsch?”, “Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?”) and so on.

You’ll be familiar with a lot of the most common structural patterns of the language – its grammar – even if you can’t always use them as easily and accurately as you’d like.

You can already do things with German and that’s not to be sniffed at. Still, when your current vocabulary and stock of structural patterns are taken with your lack of sufficient input and output practice, it’s no surprise that you’re constantly coming up against the limits of what you can do with your German.

Defining upper beginner’s German

To get a more objective handle on where you should be as an “upper beginner”, let’s look at the upper beginner of A2 (“elementary” or “wayfarer”) level on the “global scale” of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which – encouragingly – very much puts the focus on DOING not KNOWING and on what you CAN ALREADY DO as opposed to what you CAN’T.

As an A2 basic user of German you can:

• Understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment);
• Communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters; and
• Describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

The Goethe Institut describes the level in similar terms. To pass the Goethe Institut A2 exam you have to show that you can:

• Understand and use sentences and common expressions in everyday situations;
• make yourself understood in simple, routine situations demanding an exchange of information on familiar and common topics;
• describe your background and education, immediate surroundings and other matters associated with your immediate needs in a simple way.

And here’s expected if you want to pass the TELC A2 exam:

“At level A2 you can communicate in a simple way in typical everyday situations. In a familiar context you can hold short conversations. You can use simple grammatical structures correctly.”

As you can see from the bold I’ve added in those quotes, the emphasis at upper beginner level is on understanding and expression in the context of immediate needs/ familiar situations.

You’re still keeping it short. And simple. You don’t feel very independent yet.

Now, lets contrast this with lower-intermediate German (B1 level German).

What do you have to do to know “lower intermediate” (B1) level German?

To achieve lower intermediate, B1, German you need to be able to express more complex needs in a wider range of situations.

The bursts of language that you hear, read, say or write are expected to include a wider range of vocab, to relate to a greater variety of situations and be longer, structurally more varied too.

To be B1 in German on the CEFR scale means that you can:

• Understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc;
• Deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken;
• Produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest;
• Describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

The Goethe Institut B1 German exam requirements track the CEFR wording above very closely.

To pass the TELC B1 exam, meanwhile, are also pretty similar. You’ll have shown that “you can communicate in a simple and connected way in everyday situations, while travelling and when talking about topics that are of personal interest. You can describe experiences, hopes and ambitions and give reasons for opinions. On the whole you can use the most important grammatical structures correctly.”

All in all, as an intermediate learner, you still have your limits.

What you can say remains relatively simple when compared with a native speaker.

The topics you can talk about are still mainly the most common, everyday ones. You may often still only understand the “main points”, expressed clearly.

Take a step back though and take this in: you’ll be able to do so much more than you could before: you’ll be able to deal well with most real-live situations when travelling. You can use longer, more complex phrases to talk about events, your attitudes and plans.

Yes, getting to a solid intermediate level in German is all about becoming a “going concern” in the language. It’s all about coming of age as an “independent user”.

How do you get from beginner’s to intermediate-level German?

To achieve this independence, what you need?

You need to get a whole lot more exposure to the German language. That will help you get the two other, obvious things:

First, a whole lot more words. The Goethe Institut says you need about 1,300 words for A2 as against about 2,400 words for B1. That’s quite a jump.

Second, you need many new language patterns. As you progress through the level, new “grammar” will be coming at you “thick and fast”. It needs to. By the end of your lower intermediate German roller-coaster, you should have covered all the main highest-frequency structures.

The focus is on building those longer phrases (tacking “subordinate” clauses onto a sentence and using connecting words to string sentences and – in writing – paragraphs together). It’s also about using a wider range of verb tenses to talk about different events on expressing wishes and thoughts (think modal verbs, reported speech). We’ll look in more detail in a later article in this series at the types of new structures you’ll need to cover.

What kinds of exposure? Which words? Which patterns? How do you get the exposure, learn the words, and master the patterns?

That’s the topic of the next article in this series:

Intermediate (B1) German vocabulary and grammar: what and how?

Also in the series:

Motivation for intermediate (B1) German: enjoying the highs and getting through the lows

German genitive case: the only guide you’ll ever need

German modal verbs: the ultimate guide

Joining it up: how conjunctions can transform your intermediate German

Los geht’s!

The post From beginner’s (A2) to intermediate (B1) German: What’s the difference? appeared first on How to get fluent, with Dr Popkins.