In German, the ch sounds like the hiss a cat might make in words such as ich (I), mich (me/myself) and Licht (light). Let’s take a look at some of the more difficult sounds. In addition, the German language has some sounds not found in English. Our first stop on the language-learning journey is the German alphabet, which has the same 26 letters as the English alphabet, plus the characters ä,ö,ü and ß. Using Rosetta Stone’s award-winning mobile app and software, you can engage with German at your own pace, helping you to speak German from day one. You’ll learn the foundations of the German language and develop vocabulary presented in an order that’s tried-and-tested to ensure better understanding of how to communicate effectively in German. With over 128 million people worldwide speaking German as a second or learned language, you will not be alone as you learn the nuts and bolts of German grammar, and take down tricky vocabulary piece by piece.Īs a trusted language learning software, Rosetta Stone has 25+ years experience developing language programs that build confidence.

Notice the word starts with “Freund” a cognate of the English word “friend” with the same meaning. Take the word Freundschaftsbezeugung, for example, meaning “demonstrations of friendship.” Lengthy, certainly, but before you’ve had even your first German-language lesson, you may be able to begin breaking down this giant. Mark Twain famously took offense to the “clumsy” tendency of the German language to create compound, multi-syllable words. At first glance, German does have some intimidating vocabulary. Learning to speak German has a reputation for being a difficult feat.

This is fitting when you consider that German is an official language in numerous countries- including Austria, Belgium, Germany, parts of Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, and Switzerland-and that roughly 10% of all newly published books are written in the German language.

After English, German is the most widely spoken language of the European Union. If you are considering learning German, know that you will benefit from learning a prominent language of business and culture in the EU and beyond with over 229 million German speakers worldwide.

Rosetta stone activation code german