Are you planning on moving to Germany, Austria, or other High German speaking region or country? If the answer is yes, you’ve landed in the right post. We’ve put up a list with the best books to learn German, to help you get familiar with this language!
Books are a great resource to learn a language. They often include writing exercises, so if you can complement them with listening and speaking, they’ll help you a lot. This is why we have put up this list of the best books to learn High German.
The books in this list include grammar books, books with stories, with pictures, travel phrases, and even complete all-in-one books. To ensure that you get the best learning experience, you can choose between them according to your preferred learning type.
If instead you’re planning to move to or travel Switzerland, or simply want to learn the dialects spoken here, don’t forget to check our post for Swiss German books!
1. Grammar Books
German Grammar for Beginners Textbook + Workbook, by My Daily German: this book is designed to help you build the habit of learning German if you study only 30 minutes by day for 30 days. Its short lessons make the book dynamic, and the exercises after each lesson keep you engaged with the concepts. Audio is also provided to help you practice pronunciation.
Grammatik aktiv: Ubungsgrammatik A1-B1, by Friederike Jin and Ute Voß: this book is very complete since it covers contents from A1 to B1 levels. It also includes plenty of grammatical exercises with solutions, as well as audios to practice your speaking.
Menschen A1: Deutsch als Fremdsprache, by Sandra Evans, Angela Pude, and Franz Specht: this is the first book I used when I started learning German. What I like about it is the use of small images that help you learn alongside the text. One small disadvantage is that each book only covers one level, and that books are divided between course book and workbooks, so you will have to buy them separately, but the content is very complete.
2. Books with Stories
Learn German With Stories: Café in Berlin , by André Klein is a great book that includes 10 short stories for German learning beginners. It tells the story of a young man that arrives in Berlin from Italy. It also also includes a German-English dictionary at the end of each chapter. Vocabulary is also very simple and adapted to everyday life.
German: Short Stories for Beginners + German Audio, by My Daily German: this book is very recommended for beginners, since it not only includes very simple stories with easy vocabulary, but also a glossary to clear all your doubts about new words.
3. Books with Pictures
German Picture Dictionary Coloring Book, by Lingo Mastery: although some people might think this book is aimed for children, turns out lots of adults are visual learners too. This great book includes a basic German guide at the beginning to help you with vocabulary and even pronunciation. It also has +1000 images for you to color while learning new words.
4. Travel Phrases Books
Easy German Phrase Book: Over 1500 Common Phrases For Everyday Use And Travel, by Lingo Mastery: this complete book includes not only over 1500 phrases for daily use, but also a phonetics guide to pronounce each word. By being simple and intuitive, it helps you improve your speaking skills without lots of effort.
5. All-in-One Books
Practice Makes Perfect: Complete German All-in-One, edited by Ed Swick. As the title of this book says, practice makes perfect, and that’s why it includes more than 400 exercises for you to improve your German grammar. It also comes with audio exercises that include conversations with answer keys, and even a progress tracker. Don’t miss out on this book if you’re a beginner looking for an all-round material to improve your grammar and speaking skills.
The Everything Learning German Book: Speak, write, and understand basic German in no time, by Ed Swick. This book is quite similar to the one above, although a bit more focused on everyday life. It can be your first complete go-to material to learn about everyday phrases without missing out on grammar and pronunciation.
If you enjoyed this article, let me know of more German learning books you enjoyed and that you think should be part of this list!