October 3 (der 3. Oktober) is a national holiday in Germany. Do you know what "Der Tag der Deutschen Einheit" is all about? Why is it observed on October 3? Daily ... Read More

It may be called "Oktoberfest," but the big event starts in September. It all began with a wedding—in October 1810. On the 12th day of October that year, Bavarian Crown ... Read More

Did you know you can legally download German music? Mac and Windows users can now purchase German songs by German artists from Apple's U.S. iTunes Music Store. Although the selection ... Read More

On this special FAQ page you'll find some of the more frequently asked questions I have received from readers who want to know how to type or view ö, ä, ... Read More

Many cities around the world have different names in German, English, and other languages. Some aren't that different. What Italians call "Roma," is "Rom" in German, "Rome" in English. But ... Read More

In this lesson of German for Beginners you'll learn how to say the days and months in German, express a calendar date, talk about the seasons, and discuss dates and ... Read More

Oktoberfest in Munich is in full swing now! Try this online word-search game in which you have to find German Oktoberfest vocabulary. There's also a hangman version. Both games are ... Read More

One unique feature of the German alphabet is the ß character. Found in no other language, part of the uniqueness of the ß—aka "eszet" ("s-z") or "scharfes s" ("sharp s")—is ... Read More

Most estimates indicate that an educated person may have an active vocabulary of 10,000 to 20,000 words. To be reasonably fluent in a foreign language (German or any other tongue), ... Read More

The subjunctive mood (it's not a tense) doesn't have to be complicated. We think you'll find that these new lessons on the Konjunktiv I and Konjunktiv II make it very ... Read More

Many groups of German-speaking settlers came to the New World seeking religious freedom and a better life. Some of them later refused to adopt the trappings of modern life. A ... Read More

In German it's called "ein Memory-Spiel" and this one plays with colors in German. The squares hide 18 pairs of words and colors. For each German color word there is ... Read More

This lesson covers the dative case and the German prepositions that govern the dative, plus those that are both dative and accusative (two-way). Prepositions like aus, mit, and zu are ... Read More

Very few singers go five years between CD albums, but Herbert Grönemeyer likes to take his time. His latest, long awaited musical effort comes five years after his hugely successful ... Read More

Try these online flashcards for German vocabulary on a variety of topics, including business, countries, false cognates, and the signs of zodiac. Part of our selection of online word games ... Read More

In Germany she was best known as simply "die Knef." Hildegard Knef (1925-2002) was a versatile performer who even had a brief Hollywood career and also starred on Broadway. Her ... Read More

In German, nouns and pronouns are always in one of four "cases." English also has cases, but they are only apparent with pronouns, not with nouns. German cases are indicated ... Read More

In this lesson of German for Beginners you'll learn how to talk about a house or apartment, typical rooms, and furniture items. Lesson 18 also contains cultural information (42 percent ... Read More