Reading is an essential component of language learning, and German is no exception. I’d even go as far as saying that it is the MOST essental component above even speaking. I know that’s an unpopular opinion nowadays in times of social media and apps that make you speak (not in a good way IMHO) but hear me out. Let’s begin with an analysis of your reading habits – if still existent.
- How often do you read things for leisure? You know, novels and short stories and poetry or song lyrics?
- What do you spend more time on: reading the things above or browsing through social media?
- How do you feel reading things for pleasure and how do you feel browsing through social media?
- How often do you call your mother?
Just kidding with the first three questions. Your relationship to your mother is the key to all your problems. Call her right now.
Now, that I got your attention, let’s explore some tips to make your German reading practice both fun and effective so that you will end up reading more than scrolling through dopamin inducing shorts.
German Reading Practice: Effective, Entertaining, and Scientifically Backed
Let me quickly list the benefits of reading:
It helps with vocabulary retention, grammar intuition, and overall comprehension even of spoken German. More importantly, it lets you stop memorizing isolated vocabulary equations like “der Hund = the dog” and you’ll start seeing how real German breathes on the page. And yes, it can actually be enjoyable. With the right approach, reading becomes less of a chore and more of a discovery you are looking forward to. Here’s a few tips on how to rediscover or experience for the first time the true joy of reading:
1. Read What You Actually Like
Forced reading is for tax forms, IKEA manuals and meeting notes. Choose topics that spark curiosity. Crime, romance, vegan baking blogs – whatever gets your blood cooking. If you have to ask someone about what to read to learn German you are thinking this the wrong way. You simply remember what you deeply enjoy reading and find a German version of it. Sure, a German translation of Mongolian poetry of the middle ages might be a bit hard to come – but just in case, here you go – by but I’m certain there’s also simpler topics that would cast a smile on your face.
The brain retains what it emotionally connects with. If you’re fascinated, your hippocampus will gladly cooperate. If you’re bored, it won’t. Simple enough right? And yes, you can get motivated by the stick instead of the carrot but long term joy beats pain by far and comes with a lot less side effects.
2. Graded Readers & Dual-Language Books
Maybe you can start with books labeled for your level A1 to B1. From B2 onwards you should read real books, bestsellers or classics that are bestsellers or classics for a reason. These so called Easy Readers are designed to help you make sense of what you read without having to look up every other word in a dictionary. And they often have a glossary of the most difficult words at the end of the story or at the bottom of the very same page. Dual-language books are great too: left page German, right page English. Less panic, more fun.
Recommendation: Hueber’s “Der Hundetraum” and other stories of the same author or the Penguin parallel texts (both affiliate links). Make sure to also always get the audio with the book. This will boost your German learning by 300%.
BUT as we live in the 21st century, you might as well just get any book you’d be interested in reading and use a fabulous tool like Readlang.com which would allow you not only to look up any words upon a single mouse click but also adds any new word into your personal dictionary which you can use to memorize these words. It’ll also save the context in which the word first appeared and therefore provide you with everything you need to extend your vocabulary. And you would not have to read stuff that was articifially created to teach you German but you could get early exposure to the real thing, the reason why you actually got interested in learning German: real life, but in German.
3. Context Is King
But be careful with tools like readlang.com. You might be tempted to look up every word you don’t understand. That’s not necessary and can easily kill all joy from reading. First of all, you really don’t need to understand every single word. Learn to figure out meaning from context. It’s a skill, and it can be trained. Use surrounding verbs, nouns, and tone to deduce unknown terms. The better you get at this skill, the better your overall German comprehension will be.
4. Read Aloud – Even If You Feel Silly
Reading aloud improves pronunciation and fluency (Shanahan, 2006). Bonus: you’ll finally hear what German sounds like when you say it. In my A1-B1 courses I have an exercise for that which gives you feedback on your pronunciation. You don’t need that tool for such a simple exercise but it doesn’t harm to have a rough idea whether what one says out loud is actually German or Dutch.
If you have got the audio for the books you are reading as I recommended above, you can also first listen to a paragraph and then read out loud and then again listen to the original voice. Let’s call that the sandwich technique. Very powerful stuff. You can read more on Prof. Butzkamm’s page.
5. Join a Reading Club or Forum
Humans are social creatures. Talking about books (or whining about tricky words) with others solidifies understanding. Look for online forums or language-specific book clubs on platforms like Reddit. Or create your own group. Invite friends. Bribe them with Streuselkuchen. It can be a read-write only group, no need to speak. And you can discuss books in English even with the occasional German word thrown into the discussion. The main purpose of such a club would be to motivate you to read on your own not to be able to review it professionally in German.
6. Don’t Fear Real Books
Yes, novels like metamorphosis by Kafka or Juli Zeh will be difficult at first. But you’ll grow. Tackle them like you would a mountain: with preparation, stamina, and snacks. Maybe don’t start with them before you have worked through B1 because nothing is more frustrating then understanding all the words but still not being able to make sense of them. But after B1 you should be able to work through such masterpieces.
As a beginner, maybe start with shorter works: “Momo” by Michael Ende or “Tschick” by Herrndorf. They’re both modern classics with clear language and quite engaging stories.
7. Fairy Tales Are Not For Children and Not For Language Learners
Fairy tales like any good (!) book for children are culturally interesting stuff and can be wildly entertaining but they are also quite advanced in regards of vocabulary and sentence structure. Even though they might be made for children – though I think fairy tales were not really created for that target group initially, they are far too gruelsome – they are not simple. And I’m not talking about Peppa Pig level of language here. That’s for little idiots (up to 3-4 years of age). I would expect much from stuff like that. And I’ve had more than enough exposure of this nonsense.
Instead of Peppa or Dora the annoying explorer maybe check out Piggeldy and Frederick on Yabla (aff. link). And then there are Janosch’s stories which might also be interesting for you as an adult as they often come with a twisted yet gentle sense of humor.
FAQs: German Reading Practice for Real People
Q: I only understand 60% of what I read. Am I failing?
A: No. That’s the sweet spot for learning (Nation, 2001). If you understood everything, you wouldn’t be learning. If you understand nothing, you’re reading Kafka too soon. There’s people that claim that one should be able to understand as much as 95% in order to fully benefit from reading in German but I find that to be far too theoretical. How would you ever be able to know this before hand. Sure, if you have to look up every 2nd word of a text, maybe consider an easier one but on the other hand as long as you enjoy plowing throug the text, nothing wrong with keep doing it. You’ll pick up more and more words as you persist. Learn to pay attention to how you feel about what you do when learning German.
Q: Should I look up every unknown word?
A: No. Look up some words, especially if they keep reappearing or block your understanding. The rest? Take an elaborate guess and move on. There will always be words that simply won’t stick or don’t need to be remembered like “an auto-ambul.ation took place”. I had never heard that word before but I figured it might be related to “ambul.ance” and I found out the origin of that word which I found fascinating.
Q: How many books should I read per month?
A: However many you can manage without starting to hate German. One good book is better than three abandoned ones. And don’t think you have to stick to a book if it is a bore. I forced myself through too many books because others recommended them to me or bec. they were classics. Never again. You can not get back that time. It’s okay to toss a book into the corner if it simply doesn’t click with you.
Q: Is listening to audiobooks helpful?
A: Pairing reading with audio improves both pronunciation and comprehension. By all means, always try to get the audio version of any book you are reading even if it differs a bit.
Q: Can I count comic books or manga?
A: Absolutely. Especially if they’re in German. Language is language. Text is text but keep in mind that most Manga stem from the Japanese culture and most comics are strongly influenced by US culture so you won’t necessarily learn anything about the German culture by reading those. I tried to find Mangas relating to German culture but it seems to be too much of a niche. Maybe you are a better researcher than me and find something. Let me know. German comics however are easier to find. I love this one in particular for it’s creative presentation: https://www.das-hochhaus.de/
Conclusion: Reading
Reading is not just another box to tick on your “Learn German” to-do list. It’s a highly effective tool for building vocabulary, internalizing grammar, and getting a feel for the living, breathing language beyond textbooks.
Make it personal. Make it joyful. And above all, make it a habit.
Need a bit of structure before you dive in? Join one of my beginner courses and let me help you learn to read real stuff instead of dumbed down “literature” and sooner or later you might find yourself tackling Goethe’s Faust.