{"id":2894,"date":"2019-01-21T11:50:07","date_gmt":"2019-01-21T11:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/?p=2894"},"modified":"2019-02-11T12:55:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T12:55:13","slug":"is-german-hard-to-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/is-german-hard-to-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"Is German Hard to Learn? Nope, And Here\u2019s Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

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During our last trip to Germany over the holidays of 2018, we drove through a small town in southwestern Germany called \u201cKuchen<\/em>\u201d during one of our day trips.<\/p>\n

This prompted the following conversation between me and my husband:<\/p>\n

Him (confused): \u201cWhy would a town be named after the German word for kitchen<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cActually, Kuchen<\/em> means \u201ccake\u201d\u2026 The word for kitchen is \u201cK\u00fcche\u201d.<\/p>\n

Him: \u201cBut wait \u2026 I thought \u201cK\u00fcche\u201d means \u201cto cook\u201d?<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cNo, that\u2019s \u201ckochen\u201d.<\/p>\n

What followed were a series of eye rolls and snide remarks of how German is completely illogical <\/em>and that all of these words practically sound the same.<\/p>\n

(Side note: for me, as a native German speaker, they definitely don\u2019t.)<\/p>\n

But the more I thought about these three words (Kuchen<\/em>, K\u00fcche<\/em>, and kochen<\/em>), the more I could see why German at times tends to be so difficult for those learning it for the first time.a<\/p>\n

Is Learning German Difficult?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While I perceive German grammar as something mildly unpleasant and downright confusing even from the perspective of a native speaker, I personally never thought that German as a language was particularly hard<\/em> to learn (that was, until I got married to an American who has been trying to learn German on and off for the last five years).<\/p>\n

Today I know that this stance mainly stemmed from the fact that I already knew how to speak German. But how hard is it really to learn the German language?<\/p>\n

It entirely depends on your attitude when it comes to taking the first steps to learn German \u2014 namely in this case: not letting yourself be put off by a myriad of different articles and seemingly never-ending compound words.<\/p>\n

Especially the latter have given the German language a reputation for being difficult. And to be honest, words like Nahrungsmittelunvertr\u00e4glichkeit <\/em>(which neither is the longest compound word nor one that\u2019s rarely used) do not help the case here.<\/p>\n

But before I divert into common clich\u00e9s about the German language, let\u2019s take a closer look at the facts. Is German really that<\/em> hard to learn?<\/p>\n

If you are a native English speaker and you have a knack for etymology (which is the study of the origin of words) you will find that a lot of German and English words might be surprisingly similar.<\/p>\n

The reason for this is quite simple: Both German and English share the same origin \u2014 they are Indo-European languages stemming from the same Germanic language family.<\/p>\n

While the origins undoubtedly date far back and both languages have undergone a transformation over the centuries, about 40% of German and English vocabulary is still quite similar. So if you are a native English speaker, you might profit from these similarities.<\/p>\n

But what if you are not?<\/p>\n

The good news is that these examples of the vocabulary of different languages sounding alike (so-called \u201ccognates<\/strong>\u201d) also exist for many other languages in the Indo-European language family, such as Dutch, French, Spanish, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, just to name a few.<\/p>\n

The other good news about German is that despite the grammar looking quite difficult at first, German grammatical patterns are actually way more straightforward and easy than you might think \u2014 provided you stay on top and study diligently. But once you have them figured out, they are pretty much the same and you can simply apply what you have previously learned to new linguistic situations.<\/p>\n

And once you have the pronunciation down, German words are pretty much pronounced the same way \u2014 unlike English, where \u201cnaked<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cbaked<\/strong>\u201d are spelled (more or less) the same way, but pronounced completely differently.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But even if you are not a native English speaker, you can still profit from the similarities between English and German if you\u2019re fluent in English. These can be exceptionally helpful when learning German to building memory hooks and make it a bit easier on yourself.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s have a look at some of these examples:<\/p>\n

Some very basic expressions are quite similar in both German and English. These include:<\/p>\n

\u201cWas ist das?<\/strong>\u201d \u2014 \u201cWhat is that?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice here how both the vocabulary and the sentence structure itself is pretty much the same. The main difference here is the difference in pronunciation: throughout etymological history, the sounds of these words have shifted in the respective language.<\/p>\n

\u201cIch habe <\/strong>\u2026\u201d \u2014 \u201cI have<\/em> \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

In this case, while the German word for \u201cI\u201d has shifted quite a bit, the word \u201chaben<\/strong>\u201d bears great similarity to the English equivalent \u201cto have<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Words and comparatives are sometimes very much alike, such as in the case of the German word \u201cgut<\/strong>\u201d (good<\/em>):<\/p>\n

    \n
  • gut<\/strong> \u2014 good<\/em><\/li>\n
  • besser<\/strong> \u2014 better<\/em><\/li>\n
  • (der\/die\/das) beste<\/strong> \u2014 (the) best<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The main difference here, aside from a few etymological shifts, is the use of the different articles in the German language.<\/p>\n

    When learning certain vocabulary, you will notice that over time, only certain letters in a word have been changed and\/or added. This is the case with:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Pfeffer<\/strong> \u2014 pepper<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Glitzer<\/strong> \u2014 <\/span>glitter<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Wasser<\/strong> \u2014 <\/span>water<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Just to name a few.<\/p>\n

      How can you memorize these words (and their equivalents) best? By simply reminding yourself that oftentimes the English equivalent of a German term or word can be created by changing letters (or letter combinations) such as pf<\/strong>, ff<\/strong>, or f<\/strong> into a p<\/em>: such as the word \u201cPfeffer\u201d, where pf<\/strong>\u2014 becomes p <\/em>and the doubled f <\/strong>simply morphs into a doubled p<\/em>.<\/p>\n

      This also happens in the case of other words, such as:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • helfen<\/strong> \u2014 to hel<\/em>p<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
      • offen<\/strong> \u2014 <\/span>o<\/em>p<\/em><\/strong>en<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        In cases of words like \u201cWasser<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cGlitzer<\/strong>\u201d, letter combinations such as ss<\/strong> and tz<\/strong> are oftentimes replaced with t<\/em> or a doubled t <\/em>(tt<\/em>).<\/p>\n

        While the above rules obviously aren\u2019t always applicable, they might be able to give you at least a little bit of help in certain situations on your journey to fluency in German.<\/p>\n

        German Pronunciation \u2014 A Peculiar Thing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

        Another snippet of wisdom I\u2019ve learned throughout living with someone trying to learn German is that English allows for way more leeway when it comes to mispronouncing words.<\/p>\n

        Even if you (slightly) mispronounce an English word, generally speaking, the person you are talking to might still be able to understand you \u2014 whether it\u2019s through analyzing the context of the sentence or because even when a word is mispronounced in English, it\u2019s in some cases still very recognizable.<\/p>\n

        This, however, is oftentimes not possible in German. If you mispronounce a German word, a lot of times this will, unfortunately, earn you blank stares.<\/p>\n

        There is one advantage that German does have over the English language though \u2014 it is much easier to pronounce phonetically<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        And I will admit this: Pronouncing German \u2014 especially pronouncing those ridiculously long compound words \u2014 sometimes just makes you want to pull your hair out. So my advice if you are struggling with pronouncing German words: Baby steps!<\/p>\n

        Start by learning the phonetic pronunciation of the German alphabet first, and try to master each letter (especially those pesky Umlauts<\/em>) before trying to tackle words like:<\/p>\n

        \u201cRechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaft<\/strong>\u201d
        \n(Insurance company providing legal protection<\/em>. I am not making this up, I promise!)<\/p>\n

        Once you have practiced the pronunciation of each German letter, it\u2019s going to be much easier to pronounce actual words.<\/p>\n

        You will find a myriad of online resources how to pronounce each letter \u2014 I highly recommend you do so by watching YouTube videos where you can hear German native speakers talk. This one here is an excellent example:<\/p>\n