How difficult is learning German for a native English speaker?

February 20th, 2010 | by admin |

I’m looking to possibly take an introductory course in German. I know they are both Germanic languages and have some words in common so I was wondering how easy it is to pick up. Thanks in advance

German is a very difficult language. The fact that English and German are both Germanic languages will be of little help, as the German grammar is very complex, with particularities that do not exist in English.

The fact that some words are similar is of no help at all. So what: father is vater, mother is mutter. Big help!

However, I do advise you to take an introductory course. You will not be able to speak the language, but it will open your mind to another world.

  1. 5 Responses to “How difficult is learning German for a native English speaker?”

  2. By Lex on Feb 20, 2010 | Reply

    German is a very difficult language. The fact that English and German are both Germanic languages will be of little help, as the German grammar is very complex, with particularities that do not exist in English.

    The fact that some words are similar is of no help at all. So what: father is vater, mother is mutter. Big help!

    However, I do advise you to take an introductory course. You will not be able to speak the language, but it will open your mind to another world.
    References :

  3. By Randy P on Feb 20, 2010 | Reply

    I think it’s not so hard to get a basic grounding. I have a lot of trouble remembering verbs for some reason. Part of the reason is that German verbs have much more precise meanings, so three different verbs might be used where in English we have only one with different shades of meaning.
    References :

  4. By :)(:Lol aha on Feb 20, 2010 | Reply

    i think it helps that german is the most related language to english; i does make it easier. however german words can affect sentence order e.g
    Ich liebe turkei denn mein freund hat ein apartment in der turkei
    ( i love turkey because my friend has an apartment in turkey)
    Ich liebe turkei weil mein freund ein apartment in der turkei hat

    both weil and denn mean because but weil changes the word order. also german has false friends. you would think that "also" meant also it actually means "so".

    But if you have a nac for languages and you think you can handle german go for it! i’ve been learning it for 5 years. it gets boring though.

    good luck!!
    References :
    german learner for 5 years

  5. By darryl l on Feb 20, 2010 | Reply

    Iam learning german I practiced on my own now I am taking a class beginner german. It’s not that hard, they say if you speek English the easiest langauge to learn is german and visa versa. I’ve picked up on it pritty good alot of the words are similar to English
    References :

  6. By orchdork :) on Feb 20, 2010 | Reply

    Absolutely not. I’m taking German and, because English is a Germanic language, it’s very easy indeed. You’ll find many similar phrases and words (ex: Kathryn ist mein beste freund= Kathryn is my best friend). The only hard part would be getting accent down :)
    References :

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