German For Dummies

by Paulina Christensen, Anne Fox

You’ll find German spoken all over the world – German tourists are famously intrepid – and especially across much of Europe, including (besides Germany, of course) Austria, Switzerland, northern Italy, the Czech Republic, and several other countries. Whether you’re taking a trip to Germany or just want to surprise your German neighbor with a “hi-how-are-you,” learning this language will help you see the world and yourself from an entirely different perspective. German For Dummies uses the renowned Berlitz approach to get you up and running with the language – and having fun too! Designed for the total beginner, this guide – with dialogue and pronunciation audio CD included – will introduce you to basic grammar, then speedily have you talking In addition to the audio conversations, fun and games sections ease your way into German fluency, while phonetic spellings following expressions and vocabulary improve your pronunciation, and helpful boxes and sidebars cover cultural quirks and factoids. And, in trademark For Dummies fashion, you’ll go beyond expressions for checking train schedules or buying potatoes to Whether you’re just looking for a greeting besides “Guten tag,” or you want to host a foreign exchange student, or want to become one yourself, German For Dummies gives you what you need to learn the language – as much as you like, as fast as you like. Gehen wir! (gehn veer) (Let’s get going!)

Genres: German Literature, Nonfiction, Reference, Language, Education

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2000

Reviews

[Kristen Marincic Hiestermann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some issues. First of all, it's quite outdated. I don't know if they've come out with a newer version (mine is from 2000), but a lot of the cultural things that the book describes have changed now. The other problem is that there are a lot of typos. Being someone who had studied German a fair bit before reading the book, I didn't have a problem deciphering the typos, but beginners might get confused. Again, this may have been fixed in a newer edition, I don't know.

On the other hand, I found the book to be a good review of what I had previously learned. And the grammatical tables in the book are some of the most succinct and well displayed I've seen. It does focus on phrases that are mainly applicable to tourists, but it could still be helpful to anyone learning German.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy using various apps to dabble in language learning and though I could benefit from sitting down with an actual text book, those are often too dull and I can't focus for long. I had forgotten all about the, "For Dummies" series and then came across this book. This was PERFECT.

I wanted a bit of a birds-eye view - a framework of the language - and this book delivered that perfectly. The light tone was consistent not only with the humor in the comics, but simply by keeping with what would be more important for people to learn. The "For Dummies" books always provide their assumptions at the beginning, clearly laying out who their target audience is (I wish more self-help books would do this) and so I knew going in that this book was geared toward someone who would be more interested in speaking German than reading it, and intended to travel to Germany. In actuality, I'd rather learn to read it than speak it (no need to speak it) and have no plans to visit anytime soon - however, I love learning about other areas. This actually served as a mini travel guide giving tips about what to expect in restaurants compared to the U.S., stores, how to send postal mail, how to use an ATM, etc. I don't know why, but I find those things interesting.

While reading this book I kept thinking how it's a shame that I always forget how much I enjoy the "For Dummies" books. Though there are duds every now and then, most of them are pretty interesting and fun to read. So with that in mind, I actually decided I'm going to continue reading them. Maybe I'll make a point of reading one per month, either about a language, or country, or... anything really. They're fun!

[Andre Piucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

# # # Ich spreche Deutsch !! # # #

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

[Ahmad Ashkaibi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's really for dummies! The pronunciation in the English letters are hardly useful, and they're misleading sometimes.

I thought liked the last pages with some German phrases one could use to sound like a German.

[Ahmed Elsherbiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and fun resource for getting an overview about the German language

[Valeria Andrea]

I die.

[Delta.v · Rating 3 out of 5]

In short, I don't think this book is a good lecture for someone who wants to use German for longer than a two week stay in a German speaking country... and also is not from US.

The book covers basic of German grammar, explains how things work as they do, but in my opinion does it in a shallow way. Never goes in detail about most tenses, it gives you a few examples of some and off you go to the next chapter. This is a "survival" book, which is fine. It will let you find your way when you get lost, have semi-basic conversation with others as long as it's about the few topics covered inside. Adding to that the author focuses solely on the American audience, there are entire chapters and sections dedicated to translating differences between German, by extension European countries function with currency, transit etc. and US. Adding to that it feels like the author presents learning the language as a necessary evil, teaching the reader the predefined things, like reserving a room in a hotel, or talking about fax and weather. So again, if you're someone who only needs to "survive" in Germany for a short period of time and wants to dip in the language without laying good fundamentals and forget as soon as you fly out of the country, this is a good book. Otherwise I would look for something different.

[Solveig · Rating 5 out of 5]

People that wants to start learning German... thisnos the first book you need to try!!!! After more than two years of trying to learn and being intimidated, this book gave me joy to learn. Very very didactic and precise. Loved it!!!

[Rachel Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this language book.

[Paul Pryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good…. Gut!

[Mohamad Kamal Aldalati · Rating 2 out of 5]

macht nichts

[Boburzod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es geht sehr gut

[Robert Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great book for complete beginners

[Reese Cormac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good review of the German language

No one seriously expects to learn a foreign language just from reading a book, but if you’ve had formal training in German and need a quick refresher for, say, a business trip, this book is a good resource. It not only provides the memory jogging you seek but also gives a taste of colloquial German that a college course might omit. The book has reminders about German’s many “false friends”—words that are spelled the same in German and English but have much different meanings (e.g., also, fast, Gift, Kind), and it includes practical information, such as how to get medical help or the fact that museums typically are closed on Mondays.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I am not, and will never be a fan of the title that is given for these introductory series, I do have to recognize that the authors did a good job of introducing the German language to a completely unfamiliar reader. Similarly, they do a very good job at attempting to use dialogue as a form of study while at the same time falling into the pitfall of many language book: making a reader overly dependent on stock phrases which they do not understand, increasing the probability that they will use them erroneously.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice review, but hardly useful for beginners. It assumes too much about one's previous experiences with the German language (all throughout I kept thinking "THIS is for dummies?"), it focuses too little on grammar, and it assumes that speaking German is more important than reading or writing or understanding it. Pass this up in favor of "German In Review" by Sparks.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who knows German, this was pretty good. I disagree that it can be aimed at complete beginners though, I felt it ought to be aimed at those with even a very basic grasp of the language. The phonics were a bit silly sometimes.

[Vicky Collar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solo puedo decir "por fin lo he acabado!". Se me ha hecho muy pesado por la forma en la que está escrito. Está lleno de chistes tontos y comentarios sin gracia. La parte de enseñar alemán no está mal del todo pero no aporta mucho. Además, el contenido está muy desactualizado.

[Alice_wandering]

I am currently reading this book but the damn thing won't show it as that. :(

[Mei Hua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that will be suitable for any native English speakers learning German. A simple yet complete book on how to learn German effectively.

[Carl Kruse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had a look at LOTS of books on learning German.

This is one of the best. Readable, comprehensive, fun. Recommended.

Carl Kruse

[Jerry Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book, complicated language