Blogs are especially helpful because they’re often thoughtfully written and provide insight into how to learn. In addition to language and vocabulary learning, they offer plenty of important details about the German way of life and German culture.
Give these 18 great blogs a go and see what works for you.
Smarter German is an impressively diverse site that covers all the most vital topics for an enthusiastic language learner. This blog guides you through the ups and downs of the learning process with its learning materials, vocabulary lists, and grammar walkthroughs.
One of the standout qualities is its originality. It distances itself from the regurgitated pap covered by every other German blog out there. The articles are fresh and compelling with occasional dollops of humor.
GermanPod101 is fast, fun, friendly and comprehensive. There are games, audio and video lessons, detailed PDF lesson notes and a wide range of learning tools. Video and audio programs are presented by super-knowledgeable hosts.
The blog articles encompass numerous categories, such as news in German-speaking countries, German holidays, German phrases, tips and techniques. “German Word for the Day” focuses on a specific word and how to use it in a few important contexts.
Daily German makes a bold claim: learning German is easy. The blog’s author, Emmanuel, has set out on a mission to convince his readers that learning German, while not completely simple, is far easier than we think.
In “Word of the Day,” a German word is put under the microscope and explored in great detail. “Grammar Jargon” focuses on grammar terminology and explains the concepts behind linguistic terms. The “Online Course” section has a handy set of step-by-step instructions on German language essentials.
Slow German is a gem of a blog for absolute beginners and those who need some gentle, back-to-basics immersion into the language. Most of its numerous episodes are about German culture, while some walk you through a series of everyday scenarios.
The pace of the podcasts is quite slow and very easy for beginners to follow. The descriptions and the audio are in German, and each episode is accompanied by a PDF of the text. There’s also a vocabulary section that matches key words with pictures. Some features are only available for premium users, but it’s worth it!
Right now, you’re reading the FluentU German blog! If you keep exploring, you’ll find hundreds of blog posts on all aspects of learning the language, including grammar, vocabulary, learning resources and strategies.
The blog contains posts for numerous languages and cultures, with German being one of the largest categories. The posts are moderately lengthy, rich with information, and full of links to useful resources.
Among the topics covered are free German children’s books, Twitter feeds for German language learners, and posts about German cultural events, such as the Cologne carnival. It might also be worth your while to dip into some of the other blog categories, even those not specifically about German.
Prepare to dive deep into the language with Jabbalab. The team behind their German blog concentrates not only on what people say when they speak German, but how and why they say it.
Most of the posts are in English, but they’re interspersed with articles in German. Blog categories include grammar, vocabulary, adjectives and German recipes. It also has numerous verb charts, word tables, and even a few games to play, such as German Hangman.
This excellent blog offers a well-rounded way of getting to grips with German as well as a neat introduction to some aspects of German culture.
Its posts feature a lot of handy vocabulary, which they occasionally explore in some depth. These analyses cover how the words are used in sentences and highlight their English equivalents. The blog’s post categories include current events, film, folklore, grammar, history, literature, television, traditions and travel.
Mit Vergnügen is all about the latest goings-on in Berlin. If there’s a cool gallery opening or underground party coming up, these guys will know about it. Every day, they post about one fun thing happening.
Mit Vergnügen is actually the German way of saying, “My pleasure” after being invited somewhere. The posts aren’t too long, so they’re great for a quick read every now and then. As the writers are all young, this blog also offers great insight into informal German and slang.
We Travel The World is a fantastic German-language travel blog. The website is split up into country and area sections. Pick the one that interests you most, and discover local food and culture! You’ll also find helpful posts about planning a trip—how much to budget, what to pack, checklists, etc.
One fantastic aspect of this blog is that, despite its international scope, it also has posts about Germany—so you can travel the country without even leaving your sofa! If you’re planning to jet off on vacation, you can brush up on that all-important travel vocab before setting out.
Here’s one for all you fashionistas out there. Fashion Insider is a fantastic fashion blog full of loads of ideas on what latest trends should be in your closet.
If you ever find yourself in Germany after reading this blog, you’ll know all the right vocab to help you get your shop on. It’s a great blog for picking up on everyday words. There’s also a section on home wear, which should help to expand your vocabulary even more.
If you want to practice a bit of advanced German, head on over to ScienceBlogs. The name is a little deceptive—even though the bulk of the articles are about the scientific world, there are also quite a few political and cultural blog posts to explore.
The writing is slightly more formal than the rest of the blogs on this list, but there’s nothing too tricky in here—just think of it as great practice!
Karrierebibel is a blog all about the professional world. Whether you want to learn how to ace an interview or organize yourself more efficiently, this blog has more useful workplace tricks than you can imagine.
Besides the reasons we’ve already covered, reading this will help you improve your business German. Like ScienceBlogs, it’s also written a little more formally and is great for getting to grips with some professional German.
Für Sie is a blog by the German magazine of the same name. It’s packed with posts on fashion, food, lifestyle, DIY, health and lots of other topics, so you’ll have tons of options!
One interesting learning feature of all its recipes is that they’re written in the imperative—the tense used for commands and instructions. Like so: Öl in einer Pfanne erhitzen.(Heat the oil in a pan.)
Here’s a food blog for those with a sweet tooth! This blog is aimed at bakers and has a wide selection of traditional German, Austrian and Swiss cakes, biscuits and pastries.
As with Für Sie, this one will boost your knowledge of the imperative. Schokohimmel’s blogger, Judith Weitzel, travels around Germany and often writes about her experiences. Along with tasty treats, this blog is jam-packed with a native’s view of her own country!
Deutschwortschatz is a blog all about words. Some of the quirky posts include poetry, origins of words and lists of words that belong to a theme (just like this one of unusual illness names).
Obviously, this blog is a great place to build up your German vocabulary. If you learn the history and origins of words, it just might help them stick in your mind.
Another blog that focuses on words, Literatur Blog instead prefers for the words to be working together—in the form of a good book. This blog is a collection of book reviews and short biographies of featured authors.
I couldn’t very well write a list of blogs and not mention a single one about music! Music blogs are, after all, ubiquitous in every country’s blogosphere. Testspiel is one of the most popular in German-speaking countries.
You’ll find a ton of music reviews on the website, helping you to keep up-to-date with who’s hot in the German charts. Even if you’re not a massive music fan, it’s still worth checking out this blog’s TV and film reviews, as well as its articles on current art and design trends.
From how to bake Bavarian sweet treats to learning the dos-and-don’ts of the German workplace, there’s an ideal blog for nearly every German language learner.
If you’re like me and prefer learning German on your own time, from the comfort of your smart device, I’ve got something you’ll love.
With FluentU’s Chrome Extension, you can turn any YouTube or Netflix video with subtitles into an interactive language lesson. That means you can learn German from real-world content, just as native speakers actually use it.
You can even import your favorite YouTube videos into your FluentU account. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our curated library of videos that are handpicked for beginners and intermediate learners, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native German videos within reach. With interactive captions, you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, pronunciation, and useful examples.
You can even see other videos where the word is used in a different context. For example, if I tap on the word "Kind," this is what pops up:
Want to make sure you really remember what you've learned? We’ve got you covered. Practice and reinforce the vocab from each video with learn mode. Swipe to see more examples of the word you’re learning, and play mini-games with our dynamic flashcards.
The best part? FluentU tracks everything you’re learning and uses that to create a personalized experience just for you. You’ll get extra practice with tricky words and even be reminded when it’s time to review—so nothing slips through the cracks.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download our app from the App Store or Google Play.
