13 Best German Audiobooks For Beginners With Study Guide [2025]

Audiobooks are one of the best tools for language learning. You can listen to them on the go while you’re cleaning, going to work, or shopping, and you can also familiarize yourself with the language structure and pronunciation. You don’t need to understand everything, but you’re in contact with the language, which is essential.

I’ve already learned 3 foreign languages, including German, and I always incorporate listening to audiobooks and podcasts at the beginning stages.

In this article, I’ve got some great German audiobooks to help you take your German skills to the next level. Let’s get round to this.

13 Best German Audiobooks For Beginners

Here is a list of all the best 13 German audiobooks for beginners. Scroll down to see the description of each one:

1. 101 Conversations In Simple German
2. Short Stories In German
3. German Short Stories For Beginners
4. Cafe In Berlin
5. Ferien In Frankfurt
6. Karneval In Köln
7. Momente In München
8. Ahoi Aus Hamburg
9. Plötzlich In Palermo
10. Walzer In Wien
11. Zurück In Zürich
12. Digital In Dresden
13. Schalmassel In Stuttgart

1. 101 Conversations In Simple German

Olly Richards, the author of this book, has a great approach to language learning. He’s created a great book with simple conversations in German, so once you’re out there trying to communicate, you don’t speak like a textbook but a local.

These conversations are short dialogues from the everyday life of German people. It uses simple vocabulary you would hear in your life in German-speaking countries.

This audiobook is perfect for beginners. It’ll help you understand the structure of German and become more familiar with it.

The audiobook contains 101 real-life conversations set in Berlin (the capital of Germany). The conversations come from daily life situations such as shopping in a cafe, meeting friends, or making arrangements. It’ll help you to learn over 15,000 in real German.

Every chapter includes English translations and explanations of the German language.

➡ Get 101 Conversations In Simple German here & start listening.

2. Short Stories In German

Another great German audiobook, also written by Oly Richards. I recommend listening to this audiobook as the second one from this list. With the first audiobook, you’ll learn the basics of everyday life communication.

This audiobook will excite you with its interesting short stories. It also uses simple and everyday life vocabulary. It includes 8 stories with different genres. Some are science fiction, some comedies, thrillers, or romantic stories. It also uses simple grammar that you’ll easily understand as a beginner.

Each story has a bilingual word list and a summary of bold words after each chapter that it suggest you focus on learning. It also includes a summary of the plot and comprehension questions after each story to double-check whether you’ve understood it correctly.

➡ Get Short Stories In German here & start listening.

3. German Short Stories For Beginners

This book contains 20 easy-to-understand stories for any beginner. Each story uses day-to-day and simple vocabulary, which you’ll need to learn the basics in German. Each story also comes with a list of the most useful German vocabulary you can remember.

It also includes a summary of questions in German for you to double-check whether you’ve understood the story.

The dialogues in this audiobook are entertaining and will help you learn real German (Hochdeutsch) as spoken in Germany.

➡ Get German Short Stories For Beginners here & start listening.

➡ Series Of German Novels With Dino

The next audiobook is a series where the main character, Dino, takes you on an adventure through Central Europe. He travels through several German cities to Italy and Switzerland. He teaches you about German culture, traditions, dialects, and fun facts.

These are some of my favorite audiobook series. They are capturing and will make your German learning super fun and easy.

Learning German with an audiobook series is great because you have the same character and writing style, and you know what to expect from the book. You don’t have to look for another audiobook after reading the first one. The other nine books with Dino are waiting for you.

Each edition has 10 short stories for beginners set in a different city.

Each story makes you feel like you’re Dino, experiencing the cultural shock of first arriving in Germany as a foreigner who has to face all circumstances and different German dialects. You’ll learn various facts about Germany and other German-speaking countries.

Below is a quick description of each story with Dino:

• Café In Berlin
• Ferien In Frankfurt
• Karneval In Köln
• Momente In München
• Ahoi Aus Hamburg
• Plötzlich In Palermo
• Walzer In Wien
• Züruck In Zürich
• Digital In Dresden
• Schlamassel In Stuttgart

👉 READ ALSO: How To Learn A Language For Travel: Full Guide

4. Café In Berlin

In the first episode, you’ll experience life in Germany’s capital through the eyes of an expat who just moved there. This guy is from Sicily, so German urban life, business meetings, and the language are completely new and even strange to him.

Learn about Berlin and its people with Dino and learn German with him.

➡ Get Cafe In Berlin here & start listening.

5. Ferien In Frankfurt

In the second edition, Dino appears in Frankfurt am Main, surrounded by European institutions and banks, cider pubs, and nightclubs. He goes on a holiday to Frankfurt and questions his life, thinking about what to do next.

See if he feels happy as a Sicilian living in German culture.

➡ Get Ferien In Frankfurt here & start listening.

6. Karneval In Köln

Dino makes his way to Cologne (Köln), the German capital of carnival, and the beautiful Cologne Cathedral. He is trying to find accommodation with his empty wallet and organize his life until he finds a gig that seems to take him down the easy road.

However, he finds himself in the middle of the crazy German carnival and has to handle the situation.

➡ Get Karneval In Köln here & start listening.

7. Momente In München

Dino travels further to Munich (München), the capital of Bavaria, and quickly discovers that people speak quite a different German dialect here. Nevertheless, he finds a job in one of the best locations and finally seems to settle down.

He is happy and settled in his everyday life until a new person comes into his life, and he is overwhelmed by the world’s largest funfair.

➡ Get Momente In München here & start listening.

8. Ahoi Aus Hamburg

In the next edition, Dino makes his way north to the second-largest German city, Hamburg. He finds a beautiful apartment that looks too good to be true. And, well, it’s a catch.

Soon, he has to deal with crazy neighbors and an odd dialect again.

➡ Get Ahoi Aus Hamburg here & start listening.

9. Plötzlich In Palermo

Dino finally finds an excuse to escape from his crazy life in Germany and travels back to his hometown, Palermo. He attends his brother’s wedding and celebrates in big style.

➡ Get Plötzlich In Palermo here & start listening.

10. Walzer In Wien

The next edition takes Dino to a different country. He appears in the capital of Austria, Vienna. His girlfriend Elisabeth gets a perfect job in Vienna, but she has to travel a lot, so Dino is left behind.

Again, he has to tackle a completely different German dialect and struggles. This edition will teach you a lot about Viennese coffee culture, local cuisine, and dialect.

➡ Get Walzer In Wien here & start listening.

11. Züruck In Zürich

Dino and Elisabeth are off to Switzerland to visit their family while grasping some fresh air and stunning views of the Swiss mountains. During the cruise on Lake Zürich, Dino learns something interesting about Elisabeth’s family.

On the way, he again struggles with a new Swiss dialect (Swiss German) and tries to understand the people around him. You’ll learn about local customs, dialects, and Swiss culture.

➡ Get Züruck In Zürich here & start listening.

12. Digital In Dresden

Dino lands a perfect office job in Dresden with a great salary and promotion opportunities. He is fascinated by the beautiful city of Dresden and its baroque-style architecture.

He loves his life there until he stumbles upon some angry citizens and gets into minor trouble.

➡ Get Digital In Dresden here & start listening.

13. Schlamassel In Stuttgart

In the last edition of these stories, Dino and Elisabeth are invited to attend a prestigious event in Germany’s 6. largest city. However, they find themselves on a strange quest, looking for help.

At the same time, they wander through Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Wüttenberg in Germany.

➡ Get Schlamassel In Stuttgart here & start listening.

Where Can I Listen To German Audiobooks?

I’ve been using Audible to listen to audiobooks for over 2.5 years now. It’s one of the best audiobook platforms, with thousands of choices.

If you want to try my method of learning the German language using one of these audiobooks, sign up today for free. You’ll get 1 month of a free trial, including 1 free German audiobook.

After that, you only pay about $8 a month, for which you’ll get 1 audiobook.

➡ Get Audible here and start listening to German audiobooks.

💡 NOTE: If any of these audiobooks aren’t on Audible, try Spotify. You can also order the paperback version, which includes free audio, which is a great option, too.

Why Are Audiobooks Beneficial For German Learning?

Audiobooks boost your language skills in several ways. Here are the reasons why audiobooks are so beneficial to us language learners.

• you can listen to them any time you want (on the way to work, at school, when cooking, or doing sports)
• boost your listening skills
• listening is especially important for beginners (to get familiar with the language)
• learn how to pronounce words right at the beginner
• ability to understand the language faster
• help you to memorize vocabulary effectively

How To Work With Audiobooks To Learn German?

Knowing how to work with audiobooks is also important for effective language learning. So, let’s see how to approach learning German with these audiobooks.

Here are the steps I recommend you take to learn German with audiobooks:

1. Listen to one section of the audiobook
2. Listen to it again and try to catch a few words and meaning of the story
3. Get a printed version of the audiobook
4. Highlight words you want to learn from the section
5. Translate the words you want to learn & write them down to your language notebook
6. Read the section once again and try to understand the whole context
7. Listen to the audiobook over and over until you understand it very well

First, I recommend you listen to one story or dialogue from the audiobook. Then, listen to the same section and try to catch a few German words you can understand. Then, write these words down in your language notebook.

After, take the printed version of the audiobook. Take time to read the text you listened to and highlight a few words you want to learn. Then, translate these words and learn their meaning. Again, read the text with highlighted words and try to understand the whole context of the story.

After, listen to the audiobook section all over again until you feel confident with it. Once you understand it very well and remember your highlighted words, listen to the next dialogue/story.

💡 PRO TIP: Sometimes, I also listen to one sentence, stop the audio, and read the sentence on my own. This helps me learn how to pronounce the words right from the beginning, which is very important.

BONUS: Most Important Skills Of Language Learning

To master German, it’s important to focus on all 4 key skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. While listening to audiobooks is a great way to improve your comprehension, it’s equally important to develop the other skills to truly become fluent.

In my detailed article, I explore each of these skills and share valuable resources to help you improve. Click the image below to dive in and start enhancing your German journey today!

Get My Language Travel Notebook

To help you learn new words, especially when you’re listening to these audiobooks, I’ve also designed a language notebook for you. Get it and mark all the new words you want to memorize. It’ll help you keep track of them and reread them while listening to these German stories.

Click on the image below and get my language travel notebook:

FAQs

I’ve also answered some questions about German learning and audiobooks in general. So check my answers below:

Can You Learn German By Reading German Books?

Yes, you can. German books will help you understand the language, learn basic vocabulary that you can use in real-life conversations, and you’ll also see how the words are written. So it’s a win-win.

What Is The Best Audiobook For Beginners?

101 Conversations In Simple ‘Language’ is the best audiobook for beginners. It uses simple vocabulary in dialogues that focus on everyday situations. So not only it’s easier for beginners to understand, but it prepares you to speak in different situations.

What Should I Start With When Learning German?

Start learning basic vocabulary with articles. It’ll be a great base for learning the language further, constructing sentences, starting to listen, and even basic conversation.

Is 2 Years Enough To Learn German?

Yes, you can learn German in 2 years. It also depends on how much time you can dedicate to learning each day. If you can stick to your language learning goals, it’s possible.

WRAP-UP: Best German Audiobooks For Beginners

These are my favorite audiobooks in German and the method I used to learn German with them. Make it fun and engaging. Travel with Dino and picture how you’re visiting those countries, trying to communicate with locals and live everyday life.

Don’t forget to get the transcript and mark the new vocabulary you want to learn. Once you listen to the story again, you’ll be so happy you understand more, motivating you to keep learning and listening.

If you have any questions about language learning or need help, contact me at info(at)voicesoftravel.com.

Happy Listening!