German Language A1 Beginner (Anfänger) Syllabus

A1 Beginner (Anfänger) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for A1 Beginner (Anfänger) in German Language, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Foundations of German

   4 topics

   • The German Alphabet and Pronunciation
   • Greetings and Introductions
   • Numbers, Dates, and Time
   • Spelling and Capitalization Rules
2. 2

   Nouns, Articles, and Gender

   4 topics

   • Grammatical Gender (der, die, das)
   • Definite and Indefinite Articles
   • Singular and Plural Forms
   • Personal Pronouns
3. 3

   Present Tense Verbs (Präsens)

   4 topics

   • Regular Verb Conjugation
   • The Verbs sein and haben
   • Stem-Changing Verbs
   • Yes/No and W-Questions
4. 4

   Nominative and Accusative Cases

   4 topics

   • The Nominative Case (Subject)
   • The Accusative Case (Direct Object)
   • Accusative Personal Pronouns
   • Negation with nicht and kein
5. 5

   Everyday Vocabulary

   4 topics

   • Family and Relationships
   • Food, Drink, and Shopping
   • Home and Furniture
   • Colors and Descriptions
6. 6

   Basic Sentence Structure

   4 topics

   • Verb-Second (V2) Word Order
   • Coordinating Conjunctions (und, aber, oder)
   • Modal Verbs (können, müssen, wollen)
   • Imperative for Requests
7. 7

   Speaking and Listening A1

   4 topics

   • Introducing Yourself and Others
   • Ordering in a Café or Restaurant
   • Asking for Directions
   • Simple Phone Conversations

A1 Beginner (Anfänger) flashcards for German Language

23 of 50 cards from the A1 Beginner (Anfänger) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. How many letters are in the standard German alphabet, and what four extra characters does German use beyond the basic Latin letters?

   The German alphabet has 26 base letters. Beyond them it uses three umlauted vowels — ä, ö, ü — and the ß (Eszett or scharfes S).

2. What is the ß (Eszett) and when is it used versus 'ss'?

   ß is a single letter representing a sharp/voiceless 's' sound. It is used after long vowels and diphthongs (e.g., Straße, weiß). 'ss' is used after short vowels (e.g., Wasser, muss). ß never appears at the start of a word and has no capital form in normal use (SS in all-caps).

3. How is the German letter 'w' pronounced, and how is 'v' usually pronounced?

   German 'w' is pronounced like an English 'v' (as in Wasser = 'vasser'). German 'v' is usually pronounced like an English 'f' (as in Vater = 'fater').

4. How is the letter combination 'ei' pronounced versus 'ie' in German?

   'ei' is pronounced like English 'eye' (e.g., mein, klein). 'ie' is pronounced like a long English 'ee' (e.g., sie, Liebe). Rule of thumb: say the name of the second letter.

5. How are the umlaut vowels ä, ö, and ü pronounced?

   ä sounds like the 'e' in 'bed' (long: like 'air'). ö is made by saying 'e' while rounding the lips (like French 'eu'). ü is made by saying 'ee' while rounding the lips (like French 'u').

6. How is the German letter 'z' pronounced, and how is 'j' pronounced?

   German 'z' is pronounced 'ts' (as in Zeit = 'tsight'). German 'j' is pronounced like English 'y' (as in ja = 'ya').

7. Give the standard formal and informal ways to say 'Hello' and 'Goodbye' in German.

   Hello: Hallo (neutral), Guten Tag (formal/daytime). Goodbye: Auf Wiedersehen (formal), Tschüss (informal), Bis bald ('see you soon').

8. How do you ask 'What is your name?' formally and informally in German, and how do you answer?

   Formal: Wie heißen Sie? Informal: Wie heißt du? Answer: Ich heiße … ('My name is …') or Ich bin … ('I am …').

9. What are the German greetings for morning, midday, and evening?

   Morning: Guten Morgen. Midday/day: Guten Tag. Evening: Guten Abend. (At night when going to bed: Gute Nacht.)

10. How do you ask 'Where are you from?' and answer 'I am from Germany' in German?

    Question (informal): Woher kommst du? (formal: Woher kommen Sie?). Answer: Ich komme aus Deutschland.

11. Count from 1 to 10 in German.

    eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn.

12. What are the German numbers 11, 12, and the pattern for 13–19?

    11 = elf, 12 = zwölf. From 13–19, add the suffix -zehn to the unit: dreizehn (13), vierzehn (14), fünfzehn (15), sechzehn (16, note dropped 's'), siebzehn (17, note dropped 'en'), achtzehn (18), neunzehn (19).

13. In German, how are two-digit numbers like 21 or 45 constructed? Give the rule and an example.

    The unit is said before the ten, joined by 'und': unit + und + ten. So 21 = einundzwanzig ('one-and-twenty') and 45 = fünfundvierzig ('five-and-forty').

14. What are the German words for the tens: 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100?

    20 = zwanzig, 30 = dreißig (note ß), 40 = vierzig, 50 = fünfzig, 60 = sechzig, 70 = siebzig, 80 = achtzig, 90 = neunzig, 100 = hundert (einhundert).

15. How do you ask and tell the time informally in German, e.g., 7:30 and 7:15?

    Ask: Wie spät ist es? / Wie viel Uhr ist es? 7:30 = halb acht (literally 'half eight' = halfway to 8). 7:15 = Viertel nach sieben ('quarter past seven'). 7:45 = Viertel vor acht ('quarter to eight').

16. What are the seven days of the week in German?

    Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag (or Sonnabend), Sonntag.

17. What is a fundamental capitalization rule in German that differs from English?

    In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence (e.g., der Hund, das Haus, die Liebe). English capitalizes only proper nouns.

18. In German, is the polite pronoun 'Sie' (you, formal) capitalized? What about 'ich' (I)?

    The formal 'Sie' (and its forms Ihr/Ihnen) is always capitalized to distinguish it from 'sie' (she/they). The pronoun 'ich' (I) is NOT capitalized unless it starts a sentence.

19. What are the three grammatical genders in German and their definite articles (nominative)?

    Masculine → der, Feminine → die, Neuter → das. Every German noun has one of these three genders, which must be memorized with the noun.

20. What gender clues help predict a German noun's gender? Give one example each for masculine, feminine, and neuter endings.

    Masculine: endings like -er, -ig, -ismus (der Lehrer). Feminine: endings -ung, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tion, -e (die Zeitung, die Freiheit). Neuter: endings -chen, -lein, -um, -ment (das Mädchen, das Zentrum). These are guidelines, not absolute rules.

21. What is the definite article for plural nouns in the nominative case, for all genders?

    In the plural, the definite article is 'die' for all three genders in the nominative (die Männer, die Frauen, die Kinder).

22. What are the German indefinite articles ('a/an') in the nominative for each gender?

    Masculine: ein (ein Mann). Neuter: ein (ein Kind). Feminine: eine (eine Frau). There is no plural indefinite article ('some' is expressed with no article).

23. Why is grammatical gender not the same as biological gender? Give the classic German example.

    Grammatical gender is a property of the noun, not always the object's sex. The classic example is 'das Mädchen' (the girl), which is neuter because the diminutive suffix -chen always makes a noun neuter, despite referring to a female.

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