Take the ‘mindless’ out of ‘mindless social media scrolling’ by adding some excellent German language learning TikTok accounts to your timeline. Each TikTok is only a minute, so you’re not committing to a long stint of grammar or anything – and most of them are pretty funny too.
- Goethe Institut
- DW Deutsch Lernen
- Learn German Fast
- Learn German Camel
- Learn German for Life
- Learn German with Arsh
- Deutsch Eins
- DKH Sprachschule
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1. Goethe Institut
This account is pretty funny for what can be a serious German institution. The same bearded and bespectacled man goes through simple German phrases and interesting nuggets of German culture and history. From five things in the German kitchen to the grammar thing 75% of Germans get wrong. I know! It isn’t just us, German learners.
2. DW Deutsch Lernen
Our favorite German learning friends over at Deutsche Welle have put some of their content here on TikTok, but also made some little videos just for this platform. They focus more on bits of vocabulary, but in fun ways, which means you will remember the words. They even try some German tongue twisters, which is pretty funny to witness.
3. Learn German Fast
I like Natalia’s TikToks because she puts the German phrases she’s teaching in the context of a conversation. How to talk about the last holiday you went on, a plan for the weekend, or set up a meeting. It’s really helpful to hear these things in context, because it’s all well and good to try and memorize rules, but when you’re faced with replying to someone about whether you can call them this weekend, it’s hard to remember!
4. Learn German Camel
This one is a bit random, but I like that it picks up memes in German, as well as bits from German films and TV. Do keep an eye out, as they sometimes cover Swiss German and Austrian as well. There is some grammar, but this is mostly about vocabulary and phrases used in context.
5. Learn German for Life
Matthias explains the difference between words with the same root (for example ansparen, ersparen, einsparen), slang phrases, and more, as well as some useful tips for pronounciation. He speaks entirely in German in his videos with really big subtitles for most of the critical bits, but he does speak a bit quickly. Thankfully, you can just swipe and then down again to see the video again.
6. Learn German with Arsh
This account takes an interesting approach. Each phrase or situation is illustrated as he explains it, so it’s great for visual learners. Each word is illustrated as he says it, and he speaks nice and slowly, making this account a good one for beginners, as well as lining up the English word and its German translation right below, so you can see them both at once. I know this works really well for some language learners.
7. Deutsch Eins
Clara speaks very slowly and clearly, as well as putting everything she’s saying in subtitles on the video. I love that she covers how to sound more natural when speaking (don’t say ‘sehr’ all the time!), seasonal topics (pet names on Valentine’s Day), and new phrases common in conversation. She only speaks German in her videos, but with the subtitles it makes it easier to manage. I particularly like how she covers things you’re likely to actually say in conversation – not stilted-sounding role play dialogue from a textbook.
8. DKH Sprachschule
This account is a great combination of acting out the situations they’re discussing or using props, speaking German all the time, and subtitles. On top of all that good stuff, there’s also a line of subtitles in English as well as German. I feel like this hits a lot of learning styles at once, so this is a good one to try if some of the others feel too overwhelming or go too fast. The woman who records these is also a very clear and deliberate speaker, which helps as well.
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Erin McGann is a Canadian freelance writer focusing on travel, living abroad, parenting, history, and culture. After nearly a decade living in the UK, Erin settled in Heidelberg, Germany with her husband and son. Dragging her family to every castle and open-air museum is a favorite activity, along with sewing, cooking, and weaving. You can check out her travel blog, and follow her obsession with half-timbered houses on her Instagram account.
