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German Short Stories for Beginners Book 1: Over 100 Dialogues and Daily Used Phrases to Learn German in Your Car. Have Fun & Grow Your Vocabulary, with ... Lessons
Want to learn German the easiest and most exciting way possible? You came to the right place!
Learning a second language is a great mental exercise if you want to create new neural pathways in your brain, so you can stay quick and sharp. Plus, learning a widely spoken language – German in particular – can open up a myriad of new opportunities for you in both life and work.
One great obstacle that English speakers face when learning German is that they are in an environment where they can’t fully immerse themselves in the language learning process. And that’s why “German Short Stories for Beginners” by Learn Like a Native is perfect for beginners like you!
“German Short Stories for Beginners” harnesses the power of a great tale in fast-tracking your learning process. It has several uniquely structured German-to-English short stories that are saturated with over 100 simple, easy-to-digest dialogues and daily used phrases, so you can seamlessly learn the language, even as you drive towards work!
In the stories within, you will see people speaking to each other, going through daily life situations, and using the most common, helpful words and phrases in German.
Learn Like a Native crafted this book with beginners in mind. Here is where you will find simple yet stimulating German language usage that is mostly in the present tense, so you will be able to effectively focus on dialogues and root verbs, as well as effortlessly understand and find patterns in subject-verb agreement.
Learning a second language is a great mental exercise if you want to create new neural pathways in your brain, so you can stay quick and sharp. Plus, learning a widely spoken language – German in particular – can open up a myriad of new opportunities for you in both life and work.
One great obstacle that English speakers face when learning German is that they are in an environment where they can’t fully immerse themselves in the language learning process. And that’s why “German Short Stories for Beginners” by Learn Like a Native is perfect for beginners like you!
“German Short Stories for Beginners” harnesses the power of a great tale in fast-tracking your learning process. It has several uniquely structured German-to-English short stories that are saturated with over 100 simple, easy-to-digest dialogues and daily used phrases, so you can seamlessly learn the language, even as you drive towards work!
In the stories within, you will see people speaking to each other, going through daily life situations, and using the most common, helpful words and phrases in German.
Learn Like a Native crafted this book with beginners in mind. Here is where you will find simple yet stimulating German language usage that is mostly in the present tense, so you will be able to effectively focus on dialogues and root verbs, as well as effortlessly understand and find patterns in subject-verb agreement.
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First published August 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 16, 2024
Without the filler pages this is a 10 minute read and I was expecting much more than that! 😿
July 25, 2021
Undestandable and enjoyable
I've been learning German for almost 3 months with Duolingo and these simple language stories are great. An enjoyable break from grammar and excercises. Being able to understand most of this stories make me want to keep learning German. Not sure I will go on with Duolingo for long, love the reading stories strategy for learning instead.
I've been learning German for almost 3 months with Duolingo and these simple language stories are great. An enjoyable break from grammar and excercises. Being able to understand most of this stories make me want to keep learning German. Not sure I will go on with Duolingo for long, love the reading stories strategy for learning instead.
January 19, 2021
Está chafa pero era gratis jajaja
March 22, 2022
Would not recommend for absolute beginners. There are 3 short stories all together. Each is very basic and they are all followed by their English versions and a handful of possibly useful words from the given story. This book offers no pronunciation or grammar lessons. It is probably better with the accompanying audio book but i did not have it.
If you just want something short to read to increase your German language comprehension then maybe this could work. Maybe.
If you just want something short to read to increase your German language comprehension then maybe this could work. Maybe.
Read
August 10, 2021Baby steps. Shorter than I realized when I picked up the ebook on Kindle, but good practice.
December 17, 2021
Three short stories (in present tense), comprehension questions, and an English translation in a free ebook.
I think this officially counts as my first book read in German that isn't a picture book.
I think this officially counts as my first book read in German that isn't a picture book.
October 11, 2022
I try to write reviews of German books in German, but in this case I think that if a review is useful to anyone, it will be most useful in English. The short version: the ebook is free, it clearly is meant primarily as an ad for the company's paid products, and I'd like my time back.
The book presents itself as an easy and fun way to learn German, and in theory it's along the same lines as Short Stories in German for Beginners: a (very) short story in German, a summary in German, a vocabulary list, some multiple-choice reading comprehension questions in German. In this case there's also a translation in English. The introduction makes an argument that Literary licenses and complex sentence structure can make reading in your second language truly difficult—not to mention BORING (5).
But folks, it's just...not very well done. Yes, some of the things I've tried to read in German have been a slog because my German wasn't up for it...but this is a slog because it's stories 'written for adults' in which two of the three stories are about a ten-year-old and nothing more happens than that he meets the neighbours. Some of the answers to the reading comprehension questions are wrong or debatable. Some of the English translations in the vocab list have typos (e.g., 'Friaday'). Moreover, the stories are clearly translated from English, not written with the German language in mind—in the third story, which is largely about the weather, the punchline is that the grandpa doesn't want cookies and milk because 'ich fühle mich nicht wohl' (42)—which doesn't make sense ('I don't feel well') until you read the English translation, in which he is 'feeling under the weather' (50). Y'all, if your punchline is going to be punny, you need to make sure the pun translates, or makes any sense at all.
But the bigger problem is that the authors likely didn't know much about teaching languages. Here's a paragraph from the first short story:
"Okay", sagt Andrew. "Schön, Sie kennen zu lernen." Die Tür schließt sich. Ein weiteres Nein. Es sind nur noch zwei weitere Wohnungen übrig. In der nächsten Wohnung liebt eine Familie. Die Tochter geht auf dieselbe Schule wie Andrew. Sie ist ein Jahr älter als Andrew. Ihr Name ist Diana. Andrew findet sie sehr hübsch, er fühlt sich wieder schüchtern, aber er klopft an die Tür. (14)
And here is the entire vocabulary list at the end of that story:
guten Morgen
Hallo
Herr
vielen Dank
Tschüss
Guten Morgen!
Wie geht es dir?
In Ordnung, danke schön!
Und was ist mit dir?
Fräulein
Hallo
Mein Name ist...
Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen
Freut mich auch, Sie kennenzulernen
Wie läuft es so?
Es geht so
Hallo
Wie läuft es denn so
Was gibt's Neues
Schön, dich zu sehen
...hoo boy. Look: yes, an A1 student could probably read the paragraph—but not the same A1 student who needs to be told three times how 'hallo' translates (in this case: as hello, hi, and hey). This is vocab from the first week of an A1 class, provided for a story found...I don't know exactly, but later in the semester. The disconnect renders either the story or the vocab list—or both—borderline useless. Ultimately most of the book (including the English translations) feels like filler for three very short stories and some ads with very large text.
Go find some children's books in your target language and read them instead. It might take longer, and they might not be 'written for adults', but it'll be more useful and more interesting to boot.
The book presents itself as an easy and fun way to learn German, and in theory it's along the same lines as Short Stories in German for Beginners: a (very) short story in German, a summary in German, a vocabulary list, some multiple-choice reading comprehension questions in German. In this case there's also a translation in English. The introduction makes an argument that Literary licenses and complex sentence structure can make reading in your second language truly difficult—not to mention BORING (5).
But folks, it's just...not very well done. Yes, some of the things I've tried to read in German have been a slog because my German wasn't up for it...but this is a slog because it's stories 'written for adults' in which two of the three stories are about a ten-year-old and nothing more happens than that he meets the neighbours. Some of the answers to the reading comprehension questions are wrong or debatable. Some of the English translations in the vocab list have typos (e.g., 'Friaday'). Moreover, the stories are clearly translated from English, not written with the German language in mind—in the third story, which is largely about the weather, the punchline is that the grandpa doesn't want cookies and milk because 'ich fühle mich nicht wohl' (42)—which doesn't make sense ('I don't feel well') until you read the English translation, in which he is 'feeling under the weather' (50). Y'all, if your punchline is going to be punny, you need to make sure the pun translates, or makes any sense at all.
But the bigger problem is that the authors likely didn't know much about teaching languages. Here's a paragraph from the first short story:
"Okay", sagt Andrew. "Schön, Sie kennen zu lernen." Die Tür schließt sich. Ein weiteres Nein. Es sind nur noch zwei weitere Wohnungen übrig. In der nächsten Wohnung liebt eine Familie. Die Tochter geht auf dieselbe Schule wie Andrew. Sie ist ein Jahr älter als Andrew. Ihr Name ist Diana. Andrew findet sie sehr hübsch, er fühlt sich wieder schüchtern, aber er klopft an die Tür. (14)
And here is the entire vocabulary list at the end of that story:
guten Morgen
Hallo
Herr
vielen Dank
Tschüss
Guten Morgen!
Wie geht es dir?
In Ordnung, danke schön!
Und was ist mit dir?
Fräulein
Hallo
Mein Name ist...
Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen
Freut mich auch, Sie kennenzulernen
Wie läuft es so?
Es geht so
Hallo
Wie läuft es denn so
Was gibt's Neues
Schön, dich zu sehen
...hoo boy. Look: yes, an A1 student could probably read the paragraph—but not the same A1 student who needs to be told three times how 'hallo' translates (in this case: as hello, hi, and hey). This is vocab from the first week of an A1 class, provided for a story found...I don't know exactly, but later in the semester. The disconnect renders either the story or the vocab list—or both—borderline useless. Ultimately most of the book (including the English translations) feels like filler for three very short stories and some ads with very large text.
Go find some children's books in your target language and read them instead. It might take longer, and they might not be 'written for adults', but it'll be more useful and more interesting to boot.
November 18, 2021
Essential reading for all beginners
This was an enjoyable and highly readable foray into the vocabulary of a new language.
The enclosed stories were relatively simple but were engaging nonetheless. I found that by immersing myself in these stories, I actually absorbed a great deal. It is doubtful that a more formulaic approach would have yielded the same results.
Each story concluded with a vocabulary table; quiz, and English translation, each designed to cement the learning experience whilst also showcasing newly acquired knowledge to the reader. I soon found myself reading and then re-reading the stories, bolstering my vocabulary in the process.
I have no hesitation in recommending this book to students and casual readers alike. These stories are a perfect way to build both self confidence and one's level of comprehension in a rich and rewarding manner.
This was an enjoyable and highly readable foray into the vocabulary of a new language.
The enclosed stories were relatively simple but were engaging nonetheless. I found that by immersing myself in these stories, I actually absorbed a great deal. It is doubtful that a more formulaic approach would have yielded the same results.
Each story concluded with a vocabulary table; quiz, and English translation, each designed to cement the learning experience whilst also showcasing newly acquired knowledge to the reader. I soon found myself reading and then re-reading the stories, bolstering my vocabulary in the process.
I have no hesitation in recommending this book to students and casual readers alike. These stories are a perfect way to build both self confidence and one's level of comprehension in a rich and rewarding manner.
September 28, 2025
Easy to understand stories for beginners
It's a very useful book for beginner German learners. It's not suitable for total beginners, rather for those who can speak and understand basic German. I found the structure of the book really helpful. First you can read the stories in German, then there's a quiz to test your understanding and a vocabulary of important words. And lastly you can read the stories in English, too, in order to double-check your understanding of the stories. My only complaint about the book is that the vocabulary doesn't include the artikels of the nouns. But other than that I think it's a superb book for beginner German learners.
It's a very useful book for beginner German learners. It's not suitable for total beginners, rather for those who can speak and understand basic German. I found the structure of the book really helpful. First you can read the stories in German, then there's a quiz to test your understanding and a vocabulary of important words. And lastly you can read the stories in English, too, in order to double-check your understanding of the stories. My only complaint about the book is that the vocabulary doesn't include the artikels of the nouns. But other than that I think it's a superb book for beginner German learners.
May 17, 2025
Andre Klein's beginner German series is much more useful for German-speaking beginners. This book consisted of 3 stories, one of which was about New Orleans Mardi Gras traditions which was a fun surprise for me, but kind of a missed opportunity to speak about Fasching in southern Germany or Fasnacht traditions of Switzerland.
November 7, 2020
Very useful and funny for learn and practice!
May 31, 2022
This book helped me improve a lot. Recommended.
December 30, 2022
A very useful audiobook for brushing up on my half forgotten German.
February 19, 2024
Remembered more than I thought.
Will be revisiting for practice.
Will be revisiting for practice.
May 20, 2024
Only 3 stories but very readable and interesting.
December 5, 2024
great for a bus journey
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews