SparkAI logoSparkAI
Start learning free
Complete beginners · A0

German for complete beginners: start at zero

Starting German with nothing? The first lesson teaches how German letters sound, takes a couple of minutes, and has audio for every example.

Start from zero, freeTest your level first

You don't need to know any of this yet

Pronunciation

German is spelled much the way it sounds, so you can read words aloud early. Every example plays in a natural German voice, and you can record yourself and get feedback on ü, ö and ch.

Der, die, das

Every noun comes with its article from the first day (der Tisch, die Lampe, das Buch), so gender becomes a habit, and a lesson shows the endings that give it away.

The cases

You won't meet them all at once. The accusative and dative are taught at A1, one at a time, with tables and plenty of examples, and the genitive comes later still.

Umlauts and ß

No German keyboard? Type ae, oe, ue and ss: answers still count. A missing umlaut is pointed out as a slip, not marked as a wrong word.

Germany, Austria or Switzerland

You learn the Standard German of Germany, and lessons point out where Austria and Switzerland differ. Their words and spellings count as right too.

Your first ten lessons

  1. The alphabet and the vowels: German letters, long and short vowels, and the umlauts ä, ö, ü
  2. Consonants that surprise you: w, v, z, j, s, ß, sch, sp, st, the two ch sounds, and hard endings
  3. Word stress and capital letters: Most words are stressed on the first syllable, and every noun has a capital
  4. Hello, goodbye, please and thank you: Greet people at any time of day, thank them and say sorry
  5. Introducing yourself: Say your name, where you're from and where you live, and meet people
  6. du, ihr or Sie: which you?: Informal du and ihr, polite Sie, and when to switch
  7. I, you, he, she, it: personal pronouns: ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie
  8. sein: to be: bin, bist, ist, sind, seid for names, origin, jobs, age and descriptions
  9. haben: to have: habe, hast, hat, haben, habt for things, family, hunger and time
  10. Regular verbs in the present: wohnen, lernen, spielen, arbeiten: the stem and six endings

See the whole A0 German course, or read stories written for learners.

Questions

Can I learn German from zero for free?

Yes. The German course begins with the alphabet and how German is pronounced, assumes no German at all, and costs nothing. You don't need an account to start.

What's the first thing to learn in German?

The alphabet and how the letters sound, then greetings and introducing yourself, sein and haben, der, die and das, and the rule that the verb comes second. The first lessons are listed on this page.

How long until I can have a simple conversation?

Basic exchanges come within weeks. Comfortable everyday conversation (A2) takes roughly 180 hours of study, by an approximate CEFR guided-hours estimate (not specific to German).

Is German grammar too hard for a beginner?

No. It has more endings than English, but they follow rules, and the course introduces them one at a time. Everything is explained in plain English, with examples you can hear.

Start free, right now

A complete, free German course from A0 to C2. No payment details, no ads. No account needed to start; AI chat gives three guest prompts, then needs a free account.

Start from zero, free

More free German