Learn German by Podcast

If you're on vacation or on business abroad, it's almost a given that, at some stage you'll need to pay a visit to the local pharmacy. That's the focus of our attention in this lesson.

In the last lesson, Paul and Sabine were talking about Paul's sister, Steffi. Let's add some more detail to the discussion this time. We'll hear more about Steffi, and why she is feeling a little stressed at the moment.

In a previous lesson, we discovered how to introduce oneself. This time, we'll see how to discuss one's own family. In our role-play, Paul talks to Sabine about himself... and his sister.

This lesson involves a trip to the local market. We'll discuss some more numbers and, of course, discover the names of some common grocery items.

Buying a ticket - for the theatre, to a concert, for a bus to the city centre - is a common task. Let's see how to go about doing just that in this lesson. We also talk about directions. The setting for our dialogue is a bus station: Herr Schmidt needs to find out how to get to the city. Let's start with a short dialogue.

In this lesson, we'll discuss some numbers, and some colours, as as we buy a bouquet of flowers at the florist. Let's start with a role-play between Herr Meier and the florist...

Our task in this lesson will be to order something in a coffee shop. We'll make use of key vocabulary, including the verbs 'helfen', 'trinken' and 'essen'. But that's only the beginning...

In this lesson's dialogue, Herr Meier calls into an office looking for Herr Schmidt. Herr Schmidt is away, however. Herr Meier must arrange to come back again later.

This lesson expands on our discussion of family from the previous lesson. Frau Meier and Herr Schmidt bump into each other in the park. Though they are living in the same apartment block, it's the first time they have actually engaged in conversation.

In this lesson, we talk about family. In her conversation with Markus, Isabel talks about the people in a photograph she is holding.

In this lesson, Andrea and Frank are in an airport lounge. They briefly discuss where they're flying to. We'll pick up useful expressions, including the verbs for 'to fly' and 'to travel'.

In this lesson, Mr Meier meets Ms Mueller. They speak briefly about their work. Let's hear about what they do and whether or not Herr Meier likes his job.

In this lesson, Herr Meier bumps into Frau Schmidt, his new neighbour, for the first time. Their brief conversation contains some basic - but very important - expressions.

What is someone asks you to spell your surname, in the bank or post office, or when making a reservation? We cannot get far in German without knowing the alphabet. Let's familiarise ourselves with the key sounds and pronunciations in this lesson.

In this first lesson, our goal is to get a feel for the sounds of German. We start with a very short exchange between two people on a flight who are essentially talking about their nationality. It is our first encounter with the key verb 'sein'. We will also make use of the verb 'kommen'. Let's get started!