Deutsch

Learn the language as you learn the culture.

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You begin saying Ich bin Student. By the end you are reading the letter from the Finanzamt — and you know exactly what it wants. German Core carries you from arrival to survival.

Word Lists → Lessons →
German core design

The twofold path

Songs of Innocence, and of Experience.

German Core is structured carefully. The first three tiers keep adult concerns out — deliberately. The market, the U-Bahn, a first week's small talk: the Germany you pictured before you arrived, taught straight, without complication.

Unfortunately, this can't last. Germany is a country built for high achievement, and it leaves little wiggle room — not for lateness, not for a missing stamp, and not for small oversights. Germany requires precision. You have 6 months and only 6 months to transfer your drivers license on arrival, or you have to do the full driving test. Be warned.

The later tiers face that squarely. By the end of Core, you can handle the paperwork. The Pareto packs then widen the lens — from bureaucracy outward, into the German of everyday life and culture.

Tiers 1–3 · Innocence

Greetings, names of things, education, and daily life. Getting started in a new language.

Tiers 4–5 · Experience

Cultural integration and the real machinery — precision, paperwork, and deadline after deadline.

Watch it grow up

Progressively more challenging

The example sentences increase in complexity tier by tier.

  1. Ich bin Student.I am a student.
  2. Ich kaufe frisches Obst auf dem Markt.I buy fresh fruit at the market.
  3. Könnten Sie mir bitte erklären, wo ich einen Fahrschein lösen kann?Could you please explain to me where I can buy a ticket?
  4. Mir liegt es am Herzen, dass wir diese Angelegenheit vertraulich behandeln.It matters deeply to me that we handle this matter confidentially.
  5. Die Implikationen dieser Entscheidung übersteigen bei Weitem unsere ursprünglichen Erwartungen.The implications of this decision far exceed our original expectations.
Read it by sight

der · die · das, in colour

Every noun carries its article colour-coded to gender. You remember it by sight, not by drill. Tap a card to flip it.

der — masculine die — feminine das — neuter
der
Personalausweis
Ich brauche meinen gültigen Personalausweis für die Anmeldung.
identity card — “I need my valid identity card for the registration.” Casual: Perso.
tap to flip
die
Anmeldung
Innerhalb von zwei Wochen die Anmeldung beim Amt machen.
registration — “Do the registration at the office within two weeks.” Required within two weeks of moving.
tap to flip
das
Bürgeramt
Ich habe einen Termin beim Bürgeramt für die Anmeldung.
civic office — “I have an appointment at the civic office for the registration.” Also: Bürgerbüro.
tap to flip

Germany as your home

The language of bureaucracy is a common part of German life. Hover any line for the English.

Wortschatz · Tier 4–5Behördendeutsch
dieAnmeldung
registration
Nach dem Umzug muss ich die Anmeldung beim Amt machen. ⟶ Frist: 2 WochenAfter moving, I have to register at the office — required within two weeks.
ablehnen
to reject
Lehnt die Behörde Ihren Antrag ab, können Sie Widerspruch einlegen. ⟶ Frist: 4 WochenIf the authority rejects your application, you can file an objection — within four weeks.
dieSteuererklärung
tax return
Ich mache meine Steuererklärung online über das ELSTER-Portal.I do my tax return online through the ELSTER portal.
dieKrankenversicherung
health insurance
In Deutschland braucht jeder eine Krankenversicherung — obligatorisch.In Germany, everyone needs health insurance — it's mandatory.

The Pareto Principle

3 packs. 10% of the German vocabulary for 90% of German use cases.

Core
A1–A2 · 1,000 words

Arrival to belonging, in five tiers. Thorsten text-to-speech.

Included free
Pareto 1
B1–B2 · 1,000 words

The next thousand, deepening work, services, and social life.
Pareto 2
B2–C1 · 1,000 words

Abstract, professional, and native-like range.
How it sticks

Flashcards as an integrated system

Fibonacci SRS
Rate each card 0–5. The better you know a word, the longer before it returns — spaced repetition on Fibonacci intervals.
Boss fights
Each cluster is gated by a duel you can't win without confronting and overcoming your most difficult words.
Graduation
Beat a cluster and its cards leave your daily deck for good. The deck gets smaller as you learn.
Audio
Clean Thorsten Piper text-to-speech on every word and every sentence. MIT-licensed.
Lessons
Reference lessons fire at the point in the sequence where they unlock what you're about to read.
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