Chapter 1

"GERMAN ALPHABET"
The very first thing to learn when learning any language is to learn its ABC. Following
the trend, we begin our tutorials with the ABC of German Language i.e. German
Alphabet. German alphabet has 30 letters, of which 4 are unique to German i.e. ä, ö, ü
and ß (ss). The remaining German letters are the same as 26 standard letters of English
alphabet (i.e. A to Z); however the pronunciation of each is different in German.

PRONUNCIATION ENGLISH MEANING

LETTER EXAMPLES
OF THE LETTER OF THE EXAMPLES
Aa [ɑ:] Apfel Apple
Bb [be:] Buch Book
Cc [tse:] Chef Boss
Dd [de:] Deutsch German
Ee [e:] Elefant Elephant
Ff [εf:] Familie Family
Gg [ge:] Gast Guest
Hh [hɑ:] Huhn Hen
Ii [i:] Insel Island
Jj [jɔt] Jahr Year
Kk [kɑ:] Kaffee Coffee
Ll [εl] Land Country
Mm [εm] Mutter Mother
Nn [εn] Nacht Night
Oo [o:] Ohr Ear
Pp [pe:] Pfau Peacock
Qq [ku:] Qualität Quality
Rr [εr] Regen Rain
Ss [εs] Schiff Ship
Tt [te:] Tisch Table
Uu [u:] Unterschrift Signature
Vv [fɑʊ] Vater Father
Ww [ve:] Wasser Water
Xx [ɪks] Xylophon Xylophone
Yy [ʼʏpsɪlɔn] Yacht Yacht
Zz [tsεt] Xylophon Xylophone
 Straße, Fuß
[This letter is always in
ß (ß = ss) [εsʼtsεt] lower case and never Street, Foot
comes at the beginning of
the sentence.]
Ää [ε:] Äquator Equator
Öö [ø:] Öl Oil
Üü [y:] Überraschung Surprise

"GERMAN GREETINGS AND

ETIQUETTE"
This lesson teaches you how to greet, express gratitude or request in German. Come, let
us learn how to say 'Hello', 'Good Morning', 'Good Day', 'Good bye', 'Thank you', 'Please',
'Sorry', 'Take Care' and 'Have a good day' in German.
GREETINGS
ENGLISH GERMAN
Hello! Hallo!
Hi! Hi!
Good day! Guten Tag!
Good morning! Guten Morgen!
Good afternoon! Guten Nachmittag!
Good evening! Guten Abend!
Good night! Gute Nacht!
Good bye! Auf Wiedersehen!
Bye! Tschüss!
See you soon! Bis bald!
See you later! Bis später!
Bis Montag! (Usually said on
See you on Monday! Friday/Saturday when leaving the
school/office for weekend)
ETIQUETTE
ENGLISH GERMAN
Please! Bitte!
Thank you! Danke!
Thanks a lot! Danke schön!
Thank you very much!/Many thanks! Vielen Dank!
You are welcome! Bitte schön! (Reply to "Danke schön!")
 You are welcome! Nichts zu danken!
It was my pleasure. Es war mir ein Vergnügen.
My pleasure! Gern geschehen!
Excuse me please! Entschuldigen Sie, bitte!
Excuse me! Entschuldigung!
Yes, please! Ja, bitte!
I am sorry. Es tut mir leid.
I am sorry. Entschuldigen Sie, bitte!
Sorry! Entschuldigung!
No, thanks! Nein, danke!
May I... ? Darf ich...
I beg your pardon? Wie bitte?
Pardon? Wie bitte?
Enjoy the meal! Guten Appetit!
Take Care! Machs gut!
Have a nice day! Schönen Tag noch!
Have a good weekend! Schönes Wochenende!
Have fun! Viel Spaß!
Enjoy! Viel Spaß!

"INTRODUCING YOURSELF IN
GERMAN"
- Questions & Answers
In this lesson, you will learn how to make a proper introduction in German language or
how to make conversation with a stranger in German? In other words, here you will learn
how to introduce yourself and furthermore, how to get to know other people with the help
of German language.
ENGLISH GERMAN
Frage: Wie ist Ihr Name?
Antwort: Mein Name ist Rahul Malhotra.
Question: What is your name?
OR
Answer: My name is Rahul Malhotra.
Frage: Wie heißen Sie?
Antwort: Ich heiße Rahul Malhotra.
Question: What is your last name? Frage: Wie ist Ihr Familienname?
Answer: My last name is Malhotra. Antwort: Mein Familienname ist Malhotra.
Question: What is your first name? Frage: Wie ist Ihr Vorname?
Answer: My first name is Rahul. Antwort: Mein Vorname ist Rahul.
Question: Where do you come from? Frage: Woher kommen Sie?
 Answer: I come from India. Antwort: Ich komme aus Indien.
Question: Where do you live? Frage: Wo wohnen Sie?
Answer: I live in New Delhi. Antwort: Ich wohne in Neu Delhi.
Question: What languages do you speak? Frage: Welche Sprachen sprechen Sie?
Answer: I speak English, Hindi and a Antwort: Ich spreche Englisch, Hindi und
little bit German ein bisschen Deutsch.
Question: What is your mother tongue? Frage: Welche ist Ihre Muttersprache?
Answer: My mother tongue is Hindi. Antwort: Mein Muttersprache ist Hindi.
Question: What are you doing here? Frage: Was machen Sie hier?
Answer: I am learning German. Antwort: Ich lerne Deutsch.
Question: Do you work or do you study? Frage: Arbeiten Sie oder studieren Sie?
Answer: I work. / I study. Antwort: Ich arbeite. / Ich studiere.
If the answer is "I WORK":
Question: Where do you work Frage: Wo arbeiten Sie?
Answer: I work with Infosys. Antwort: Ich arbeite bei Infosys.
If the answer is "I STUDY":
Question: What do you study? Frage: Was studieren Sie?/
Answer: I study Mathematics Antwort: Ich studiere Mathematik
Question: Where do you study? Frage: Wo studieren Sie?
Answer: I study in Hansraj College. Antwort: Ich studiere in Hansraj College.

Chapter 4

"HOW ARE YOU?"

"How are you?" is neither a question nor a request for any health-related information. It is
a polite greeting, which is added after one says 'Hello" to know the general well-being of
a person.

In German, "How are you" is said differently in formal & informal situation. In a formal
situation, 'How are you?' is said using the "Sie" form of 'you'. On the other hand, in an
informal situation, it is said using "du" form of 'you'. We will be discussing the 'Sie' and
'du' form of 'you' in detail, later. For now, let us learn how to say "HOW ARE YOU?"
FORMAL SITUATION

A: Wie geht es Ihnen? [Eng: How are you?]

B: Gut, danke. Und Ihnen? [Eng: Fine, thank you. And you?]
A: Auch gut, danke. [Eng: I am fine too, thank you]

INFORMAL SITUATION
X: Wie geht es dir? [Eng: How are you?]
Y: Gut, danke. Und dir? [Eng: Fine, thank you. And you?]
X: Auch gut, danke. [Eng: I am fine too, thank you]
Now that we have learnt how to say "How are you", we must also know how to reply to
this question. The reply to "How are you?" is something that would vary as per your
mood. In other words, the reply to this question should ideally reflect the way you are
feeling that very moment, when you have been asked "How are you?". So, to be in a
position to reply, you should know how to describe your mood in German.
HOW ARE YOU?
Mood How to describe in German
HAPPY

ausgezeichnet / prima/ sehr gut/ toll/

phantastisch/ super

gut

ganz gut

UNHAPPY

nicht besonders/ so la la

schlecht

sehr schlecht
 Once you know how to describe your
mood in German, just put that word in
place of the highlighted word (i.e. 'gut')
in the example. This holds good only if
you are feeling good. In case you are
unhappy, then don't add 'Danke, und
…?' to your reply. In such a situation,
the sentence "Auch gut, danke." would
also be replaced with something like
"Was ist denn los?" or "Warum
denn?"
"COUNTRIES & CITIES OF
EUROPE"
As you already know, German is primarily spoken in the continent of Europe. Therefore,
as you proceed to learn German, it is important for you to know the important countries
and the important cities of Europe. In this section, you will learn the names of important
European countries and their capitals in English as well as in German.

ENGLISH GERMAN
Countries & Cities in Europe Länder & Städte in Europa
COUNTRY CAPITAL LAND HAUPTSTADT
Austria Vienna Österreich Wien
Belgium Brussels Belgien Brüssel
Czech Republic Prague Tschechische
Prag
Denmark Copenhagen Republik
England London Dänemark Kopenhagen
Finland Helsinki England London
France Paris Finnland Helsinki
Germany Berlin Frankreich Paris
Greece Athens Deutschland Berlin
 Iceland Reykjavík Griechenland Athen
Ireland Dublin Island Reykjavík
Italy Rome Irland Dublin
Liechtenstein Vaduz Italien Rom
Lithuania Vilnius Liechtenstein Vaduz
Luxembourg Luxembourg Litauen Wilna
Netherlands Amsterdam Luxemburg Luxemburg
Norway Oslo Niederlande Amsterdam
Poland Warsaw Norwegen Oslo
Portugal Lisbon Polen Warschau
Romania Bucharest Portugal Lissabon
Russia Moscow Rumänien Bukarest
Spain Madrid Russland Moskau
Sweden Stockholm Spanien Madrid
Switzerland Bern Schweden Stockholm
Turkey Ankara die Schweiz Bern
die Türkei Ankara

Chapter 6

"LOCATION & CAPITAL"

Now, that we know the names of European countries and their capitals, let us learn how
to answer some questions related to them in German.

The following figure shows the location of the European countries in the continent of
Europe.

Im Norden

Dänemark/Kopenhagen
Finnland/Helsinki
Island/Reykjavík
Norwegen/Oslo
Schweden/Stockholm
 Im Zentrum
Im Westen Im Osten
Deutschland/Berlin
England/London Österreich/Wien Litauen/Wilna
Frankreich/Paris Belgien/Brüssel Rumänien/Bukarest
Irland/Dublin Tschechische Republik/Prag Russland/Moskau
Liechtenstein/Vaduz die Türkei/Ankara
Luxemburg/Luxemburg
Niederlande/Amsterdam
Polen/Warschau
die Schweiz/Bern

Im Süden

Griechenland/Athen
Italien/Rom
Portugal/Lissabon
Spanien/Madrid

You are now in a position to learn to answer questions related to the location and the
capitals of countries in Europe. There are two basic questions related to a country, its
capital & its location that you should be able to answer:

GERMAN ENGLISH
Frage: Wo liegt Deutschland? Question: Where is Germany located?
Antwort: Deutschland liegt im Zentrum Answer: Germany is located in the centre
von Europa. of Europe.
Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von
Deutschland? Question: What is the capital of Germany?
Antwort: Berlin ist die Hauptstadt von Answer: Berlin is the capital of Germany.
Deutschland.
Here are some more examples to make
things clear:

Frage: Wo liegt Griechenland?

Antwort: Griechenland liegt im Süden
von Europa.

Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von

Griechenland?
Antwort: Athen ist die Hauptstadt von
Griechenland.

Frage: Wo liegt die Türkei?

Antwort: Die Türkei liegt im Osten
von Europa.

Frage: Was ist die Hauptstadt von der

Türkei.
Antwort: Ankara ist die Hauptstadt
von der Türkei. Chapter 7
 "COUNTRY, LANGUAGE & ITS
PEOPLE"
In this Lesson, we will learn about the Languages and People of different countries and
how are they called in German. As you are now aware of many of the country names in
German, so in this chapter we are not providing you with the English corresponding
terms. In case, you still face difficulty, please refer to Chapter 5.

Country (Länder) Languages (Sprachen) People (Menschen)

Deutschland Deutsch Deutscher Deutsche

Österreich Deutsch Österreicher Österreicherin
Deutsch/ Italienisch/
die Schweiz Schweizer Schweizerin
Französisch
Japan Japanisch Japaner Japanerin
England Englisch Engländer Engländerin
die Türkei Türkisch Türke Türkin
Frankreich Französisch Franzose Französin
Schweden Schwedisch Schwede Schwedin
Hindi, Bengali, Telugu,
Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati,
Indien (Eng: India) Inder Inderin
Kannada, Punjabi und viel
mehr.

"COUNTING"
Numbers is something which you need every now and then in everyday conversation.
You know the counting in English. Now, let us learn "How to Count in German".
ZAHLEN
0 - null
1 - eins 2 - zwei
3 - drei 4 - vier
5 - fünf 6 - sechs
7 - sieben 8 - acht
9 - neun 10 - zehn
11 - elf 12 - zwölf
13 - dreizehn 14 - vierzehn
15 - fünfzehn 16 - sechzehn
17 - siebzehn 18 - achtzehn
19 - neunzehn 20 - zwanzig
21 - einundzwanzig 22 - zweiundzwanzig
23 - dreiundzwanzig 24 - vierundzwanzig
25 - fünfundzwanzig 26 - sechsundzwanzig
27 - siebenundzwanzig 28 - achtundzwanzig
29 - neunundzwanzig 30 - dreißig
40 - vierzig 50 - fünfzig

60 - sechzig 70 - siebzig
80 - achtzig 90 - neunzig

100 - (ein)hundert 200 - zweihundert

1000 - (ein)tausend 100000 - (ein)hunderttausend

As we now know the counting in German, we are in a position to answer some questions
related to Numbers:

ENGLISH GERMAN
Question: How old are you?
Frage: Wie alt sind Sie?
Answer: I am twenty (20) years
Antwort: Ich bin zwanzig (20) Jahre alt.
old.
Question: Are you eleven (11)
Frage: Sind Sie elf (11) Jahre alt?
years old?
Antwort: Nein
Answer: No
Question: What is your telephone
Frage: Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer?
number?
Antwort: Meine Telefonnummer ist 2731895 (sieben
Answer: My telephone number is
und zwanzig, ein und dreißig, neun und achtzig, fünf).
2731895.
Question: What is your mobile Frage: Wie ist Ihre Handynummer?
number? Antwort: Meine Handynummer ist 9851678954 (acht
Answer: My mobile number is und neunzig, ein und fünfzig, sieben und sechzig, neun
9851678954. und achtzig, vier und fünfzig).

Chapter 9

"DAYS OF THE WEEK"

There are 7 days in a week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
and Sunday. These 7 days are divided into 'weekdays' and 'weekend'. The 5 days from
Monday to Friday are called Weekdays. Whereas, Saturday and Sunday together form a
weekend. In this chapter, we will learn the German synonyms for the weekdays and some
other words related to a week.
ENGLISH GERMAN
Week (die) Woche
Weekday (der) Wochentag
Weekdays (die) Wochentage
Working day (der) Arbeitstag
Working days (die) Arbeitstage
on weekdays an Wochentagen

Monday Montag
Tuesday Dienstag
Wednesday Mittwoch
Thursday Donnerstag Donnerstag
Friday Freitag
Saturday Samstag
Sunday Sonntag

Weekend (das) Wochenende

on the weekend am Wochenende
over the weekend over the weekend über das Wochenende
ENGLISH Day before yesterday Yesterday <-Today -> Tomorrow Day after tomorrow
GERMAN vorgestern gestern <- heute -> morgen übermorgen

Chapter 10

"MONTHS OF THE YEAR"

A calendar year has 12 months beginning with January and ending with December. In
this chapter, we will learn the names of these 12 months in German.
ENGLISH GERMAN
Year (das) Jahr
Years (die) Jahre
Month (der) Monat
 Months (die) Monate

January (der) Januar

February (der) Februar
March (der) März
April (der) April
May (der) Mai
June (der) Juni
July (der) Juli
August (der) August
September (der) September
October (der) Oktober
November (der) November
December (der) Dezember

Chapter 11

SEASONS OF THE YEAR

It is often said, "Seasons come and seasons go". But what are these seasons called in
German, do you know? This is what you will learn in this chapter about 'Seasons of the
year'
ENGLISH GERMAN
Season (die) Jahreszeit
Seasons (die) Jahreszeiten

Spring (der) Frühling

Summer (der) Sommer
Autumn (der) Herbst
Winter (der) Winter
Monsoon (der) Monsun

Temperature (die) Temperatur

Weather (das) Wetter

What is the temperature? Wie ist die Temperatur?

Degree Celsius Grad Celsius
maximum maximal
minimum minimal

Weather Forecast (der) Wettervorhersage

Weather Forecasts (die) Wettervorhersagen
Weather Report (der) Wetterbericht
Weather Reports (die) Wetterberichte

Shower Schauer
thunderstorm Gewitter
Rain Regen
Snow Schnee

FRAGE: How is the weather? FRAGE: Wie ist das Wetter?

ANTWORT: The weather is…/It is
ANTWORT: Das Wetter ist…/ Es ist….
….
…lovely/ beautiful …schön
…pleasant …angenehm
…foggy …neblig
…misty …leicht neblig
…clear/bright …heiter
…sunny …sonnig
…cloudy …bewölkt
…windy …windig
…cloudy …wolkig
 …rainy …regnerisch
…sticky …schwül
…humid …feucht
…cool …kühl
…cold …kalt
…wet …nass
…ice-cold …eiskalt
…unpleasant …unangenehm
…very warm …sehr warm

Chapter 12

"PERSONAL PRONOUNS"
Pronouns are called "Pronomen" in German. So, Personal Pronouns become "Personal
Pronomen". In this chapter, we will learn the various Personal Pronouns in German. Each
Pronoun here is explained with help of an image describing that particular pronoun, so
that you do not need the help of the English corresponding terms to learn these pronouns.
SINGULAR PLURAL

ich wir
du (Informal YOU = TU in Hindi) ihr

Sie (Formal YOU = AAP in Hindi) Sie

er/sie/es sie