The notes
One question at a time
The questions people actually type about learning German, answered with whatever could be read at the source and nothing where it could not. Where a number belongs to somebody — the Foreign Service Institute, Eurostat, a seller’s own pricing page — it is named and dated. Where nobody publishes one, that is said out loud instead of filled in.
The Best App to Learn German
Almost every German app is good at the part German gives away free. The useful test is what it does for the part German charges for — and two of them will not tell us their price.
Read the note
The Best Books to Learn German
Most German course books are written for a teacher to use in a classroom, entirely in German. Knowing that changes which shelf you should be shopping on.
Read the note
The Best YouTube Channels to Learn German
Eight channels that exist, described in their own words, sorted by what they are actually for. With no subscriber numbers, and an explanation of why not.
Read the note
German Levels A1 to C2, and Who Issues Them
The levels are not the Goethe-Institut's, several separate bodies examine against them, and this page prints no exam fee at all. Here is exactly why.
Read the note
How Long Does It Take to Learn German?
One respected figure exists, it says 828 class hours, and it is about full-time diplomats. Here is what it actually measures — and why this page will not turn it into a number of months for you.
Read the note
How to Learn German Fast
There is no accelerator. There are several brakes, and taking your foot off them is the only honest version of this question — plus the sellers' claims, named.
Read the note
Is German Hard to Learn?
The honest answer is not a difficulty score. German is easy at the beginning and expensive later, and almost everything people find surprising about learning it follows from that one fact.
Read the note
Learn German Online
Online German splits into three formats that solve three different problems and get lumped together in every comparison. Here is which problem each one actually solves.
Read the note
Learn to Speak German
German's sounds are a finite list and you can be done with them. The real obstacle to speaking German is structural, and no amount of pronunciation practice touches it.
Read the note
Why Learn German?
Most answers to this question are assertions with no source. These are the reasons that survive being checked — and the one statistic that is actually published.
Read the note