Best Way To Learn German Vocabulary: My 13 Proven Tips [2025]

I’ve mentioned several times that German is the best language to learn when traveling to Europe (or being in Europe). It has several reasons. To name a few, German is the official language of eight European countries. In addition, you’ll meet Germans almost everywhere you travel. Also, if you plan to do business or work, it’ll open up great opportunities.

I’ve learned German on my own for the same purpose: to work and live in German-speaking countries, seeking a better future (my native language is Slovak). Ever since I’ve lived in Austria and Switzerland, I have been able to communicate fluently in German.

So, in this article, I’ll share with you my method for learning German and the best way to learn German vocabulary.

Are you ready? Let’s explore it together!

Best Way To Learn German Vocabulary: Revealed!

The best way to learn German vocabulary is to select specific topics/situations in which you want to speak the German language. For example, it can be a business talk, checking in to your hotel in German, booking a trip, or asking for directions on the street.

Afterward, you’ll pick specific words to speak in each situation. Finally, you’ll have to use effective strategies to learn the vocabulary, which I’ll explain in this article. So keep reading.

13 Practical Tips To Learn German Vocabulary

Here are the techniques and tips I’ve used to learn German vocabulary and the language as a whole. Follow them step-by-step and make your German learning a success:

1. Select topic-specific vocabulary
2. Think of all words you need in each situation
3. Set smaller goals
4. Translate vocabulary in each situation into German
5. Construct sentences & dialogues for each situation
6. Create flashcards & play vocabulary games
7. Create mnemonics
8. Read German books
9. Listen to a podcast or an audiobook in German
10. Make German part of your everyday life
11. Talk to yourself
12. Practice German Vocabulary On iTalki
13. Watch TV shows & movies in German

1. Select Topic-Specific Vocabulary

First things first, it’s essential to make the language learning process interesting and engaging.

I find the best approach to this is to learn vocabulary in topics. Pick a situation (topic) that either interests you or you know you’ll want to speak German in.

This will make your vocabulary learning more purposeful and will motivate you to learn more than just randomly stuffing some words into your head.

2. Think Of All Words You Need In Each Situation

Now that you have your situation/topic think of all the related words. Let’s say you’re learning German for travel. And one of the situations can be ‘ordering a German beer and food in a restaurant.’

Think of all the words you would need to order it and also everything the waiter might tell you or what might be on the menu. After, write all these words down in your language notebook.

3. Set Smaller Goals

It’s important to set smaller goals. Don’t overwhelm yourself, because if you set too big goals, they might soon become unattainable. So, rather pick one or two topics and say you’ll learn the vocabulary within each topic within the next two months.

Make it fit your schedule. Sometimes, less is more.

4. Translate Vocabulary In Each Situation Into German

Okay, great! Once you have all your vocabulary written in your language notebook, translate each word into German. I highly recommend using Google Translate, DeepL, or ChatGPT; they’re great language-learning companions.

Write each word down to the translator and also listen to its pronunciation. Pronounce the words as you write them in German in your notebook.

This will help you make your first contact with the language and get the pronunciation right from the beginning.

👉 READ ALSO: What Is The Best Language To Learn To Travel Europe? Answered!

5. Construct Sentences & Dialogues For Each Situation

Awesome. Now that you have all the German vocabulary for one topic (situation), it’s time to progress. Now, create sentences you’ll need to order that beer and German food (or whatever sentences you’ll need in your situation).

Also, think about what the other person might say with whom you’ll interact.

Construct an entire dialogue in German language and write it down.

6. Create Flashcards & Play Vocabulary Games

Now it’s time to learn the German vocabulary. Creating sentences and dialogues will help you memorize words more easily because you’ll learn them in context.

But you can also use some more techniques to memorize vocabulary faster. I suggest creating your own flashcards or pexeso so you can play games. Make it fun and interesting, as you’ll learn more effectively.

7. Create Mnemonics

I know German vocabulary can sometimes be challenging to remember, especially some long-haul words that consist of 4 different words. But don’t worry – if you’re struggling, create mnemonics.

Mnemonics are strategies to memorize something based on associations. You can use rhymes, chunking, or acronyms (abbreviations). Creating rhymes in my head helps me a lot when memorizing German vocabulary.

💡 PRO TIP: You can create something like a rap song with a bunch of German words you want to learn and play it cool!

8. Read German Books

To make your learning even more effective, it’s best to incorporate more resources.

I recommend reading German books for beginners. You don’t need to understand everything at first. But you’re in contact with the language, using different senses, which is essential.

Start with an easy book like ‘101 Conversations in Simple German‘. It uses simple and everyday life vocabulary and has short dialogues.

Pick a story or dialogue related to your topic, and keep writing new words you want to learn from the book into your language notebook.

👉 READ ALSO: 9 Foreign Language Magazines To Boost Your Language Skills

9. Listen To A Podcast Or An Audiobook In German

Incorporate listening as well. Listen to an audiobook or a podcast while you walk or drive to work. Again, you don’t have to understand everything at first.

Listening is amazing as you can do it while doing other activities such as household chores, cooking, or walking your dog.

Sometimes, you don’t even have to focus much on the story, just listen. Other day, make an effort to translate new words and keep listening to the story repeatedly until you understand it.

10. Make German Part Of Your Everyday Life

Make it count and expose yourself to the language as much as possible. If you create flashcards, you can stick them in your car or in a place at home where you spend the most time to be constantly exposed to the vocabulary.

When walking outside, try to name objects you see around in German. Look up the translation if you don’t know it.

When cooking, describe the ingredients you use in German. Be creative, and try to think in German as much as possible (even as a beginner).

11. Talk To Yourself

One of my favorite techniques for remembering German vocabulary is talking to myself. I do it all the time. If I walk, wait for a bus, or travel on a train, I talk to myself in German about whatever comes to my mind.

I might be describing a situation that just happened to be, or I ask myself an opinion about something. I know this might be difficult at first, especially if you can’t produce full sentences yet.

But start small. You can talk to yourself in your native language and just think about individual words, then translate them into German.

👉 READ ALSO: How To Overcome The Fear Of Speaking A Foreign Language

12. Practice German Vocabulary On iTalki

Speaking is the most important language skill, I believe. What’s the point of learning the language if we can’t communicate? So I encourage you to start speaking as soon as you can.

Again, you don’t have to know how to construct a sentence yet, but at least make the effort. When you create sentences and dialogues within your topic (situation) using a translator, I suggest finding a tutor online and asking him to practice the dialogue with you.

Ask him to correct any mistakes and teach you more about sentence structure. I’ve been practicing speaking on iTalki with my tutors, and I always ask them to help me with these dialogues. It’s been a game-changer.

➡ Check out iTalki and practice speaking with a native German speaker here.

13. Watch TV Shows & Movies In German

Last but not least, make it fun. If you don’t feel too motivated to pick a book or stuff your brain with new words, simply watch a movie or your favorite TV series in German.

Remember, exposing yourself to the language as much as possible is crucial. Watching something you like while also listening to the pronunciation is a great way to do so.

I’ve been watching movies on Lingopie. It’s like Netflix for language learning. It even helps you save words you want to remember and makes German vocabulary learning more fun while you watch movies. So try it out.

➡ Check out iTalki and learn German while watching movies & TV shows.

How To Memorize German Vocabulary & Definite Articles

One of my favorite and most efficient ways to learn definite articles in German is to associate each article with one color.

German has 3 definite articles: DER, DIE, DAS. There is no rule for which noun has which article. It’s random; you’ll just have to remember this article for each noun.

Unfortunately, it’s one of the things that make German so challenging. But don’t worry; I have a great trick for you to learn these definite articles.

Associate each article with one color. For instance, DER will be blue, DIE will be yellow, and DAS will be red.

Now, whenever you need to learn a German noun with a definite article, just look at which article the noun has and then imagine this noun in your head with the respective color.

Examples Of German Nouns & Colors

For example, let’s say we have a noun: ‘Apfel. ‘ ‘Apfel’ in German means’ apple,’ and its definite article is DER. Since we attributed the blue color to the article DER, you must imagine an apple is blue.

So, if you imagine that an apple is blue, you’ll automatically know it uses the article DER.

Or, let’s say a car (das Auto in German) uses the article’ DAS.’ We attributed the red color to the article DAS. So now, imagine that a car is always red. This way, you’ll know that the car uses DAS as an article.

an apple = DER APFEL

honey = DER HONIG

a cat = DIE KATZE

a church = DIE KIRCHE

a car = DAS AUTO

a book = DAS BUCH

So whenever you’re learning nouns in the German language, always associate them with the color of a respective article. This will make it much more fun and make it easy to remember definite articles.

BONUS: How To Learn German By Yourself

I’ve got my own way of learning German (and other languages) that’s been working pretty well for me. Basically, I focus on learning words and phrases for real-life situations where I’d actually use them. It makes the whole process a lot more fun and interesting, instead of just grinding away on a language app.

If you’re down to learn German with me, just click the image below and check out the full article with a step-by-step guide on how to teach yourself German!

Get My Language Travel Notebook

I’ve also put together a language notebook for you to jot down new words and German vocab for each topic.

Whenever you learn a new word, just write it down (with the translation), and come back to it when you need a refresher. It’s like making your own personal dictionary.

Grab my language travel notebook below:

FAQs

I’ve also answered some frequently asked questions about German learning. Check my answers below:

Is It Difficult To Learn German Vocabulary?

Yes, learning German vocabulary is quite challenging but not impossible. Make learning part of your everyday life, create associations in your head, use different resources, practice speaking, and use colors to remember different definite articles.

How Long Does It Take To Learn German Vocabulary?

1 year is a good time to remember the most common German vocabulary. You would have to spend about an hour each day to accomplish it.

How Many German Words Do You Need To Learn To Be Fluent?

About 10,000 German words are enough to know enough to communicate fluently in German with somebody. With that, you can have basic conversations about different topics and communicate in your everyday life in a German-speaking country.

What Is The 80/20 Rule In German?

This means that if you focus on 20% of the right vocabulary, you will get 80% of the results. Meaning that the better the vocabulary you choose to learn (more meaningful and directed to situations in which you’ll use it), the faster you’ll learn.

Is 1 Hour A Day Enough To Learn German?

Yes, 1 hour a day is a great time to learn German. If you stick to it daily, you can easily become fluent within the next year or 2.

WRAP-UP: Best Way To Learn German Vocabulary

This is my approach for learning German vocabulary in a fun and effective way. Use different resources to make it more interesting. Talk to yourself one day; the other day, focus on writing, play games with flashcards and pexeso, and speak to your tutor or a friend. It’s easier to learn if you make it part of your everyday life and don’t force yourself too much.

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

Happy Learning!