It helped me a lot along the way, that I listened to podcasts to learn German. It’s convenient and lets you get used to this first very harsh-sounding language.
I used to listen to some of the podcasts listed below while making train rides or riding in my car. But I also heard some at home if I needed to use a pen and some paper to take notes.
Besides the podcasts for beginners, I also took the chance to list some for intermediate and advanced learners. I hope you like my recommendations and get some fun back into your learning efforts.
Topics in this article
Podcasts to learn German for beginners >>
Podcasts for intermediate learners >>
Podcasts for advanced learners >>
Podcasts for beginners
1. Coffee Break German (A1 – B1)
The Coffee Break German is a fascinating and sometimes on the advanced side of learning German. I highly recommend listening to it. It covers many typical German habits, traditions, dishes, and cultural topics. It’s a mixed-language podcast with an English speaker and many explanations around the specific topic covered in each episode.
By purely listening to it when you are on your way to work, you may miss many of the helpful explanations, so I recommend listening to it in a quiet environment where you can take down some notes and rewind easily if necessary. Sometimes, the information shared can be very dense.
2. Speaking of Berlin
Babbel launched some German podcasts. One I can recommend is Speaking of Berlin. The concept is quite simple. They interviewed different people in Berlin to tell their stories in native German. The English-speaking host explains vocabulary, provides more background to the report and gives you some information.
3. Deutsch – Warum nicht?
The educational broadcasting station Deutsche Welle (DW) started a podcast specifically for those who need support with the A1, A1, and B1 levels. Their podcast with the title „Deutsch – Warum nicht?“, meaning „German – why not?“ is more of a language course with English commentary to the German content.
It’s only available via their website, which is the only caveat from my perspective. On the other hand, they provide free study material with each episode as a PDF file.
4. Slow German (A2 – B2)
In the podcast Slow German, German podcaster Annik Rubens talks slowly about topics of everyday German life, from beer gardens to recycling. It’s purely in German, and she sometimes uses difficult words but short sentences.
5. Learn German
LinguaBoost published a great podcast made up of an audio course book called „Learn German.“ There is room for you to train your conversational skills and learn phrases by simply repeating them. It’s a dual-language podcast that explains German sentences in English.
6. Long Story Short
Catterbug’s Long Story Short Podcast usually consists of 1 hour-long episodes, which is outstanding compared to other podcasts. Chatterbug, as a language learning website, only released ten episodes on Spotify. I still recommend listening to it as it’s remarkably produced and helpful.
German podcasts for intermediate learners
7. Auf Deutsch gesagt (B2+)
The podcast „Auf Deutsch gesagt“ is an excellent choice for intermediate to advanced learners of the German language. About two new episodes are published monthly with stories on different topics. He explains many vocabularies in more accessible German that are coming up in the stories he shares.
8. DaZPod (B1 – B2)
DaZPod is a slightly older production from 2014 with 50 episodes. Some episodes are also suitable for A1 – A2 level German students. The audio quality is excellent, and the hosts speak clearly and slowly, making it easier for most of you to listen to and comprehend immediately.
The podcast is unfortunately not available on Spotify but can be found on iTunes.
9. Easy German
Easy German is a long-lasting and well-thought-of German podcast available on. You can listen to them for free. If you sign up on their website, you can download additional bonus material from their site for each episode. The bonus material on its own already justifies signup on their website.
10. So ist Berlin
This is the second time I am listing a German-language podcast by Babbel. Its name is „So ist Berlin, “ and it’s similar to the Speaking of Berlin podcast mentioned above. The podcast tells local stores from Berlin, the German capital. Since there are no English explanations, but the sentences are short, and it’s spoken slowly, I can recommend this interesting Podcast to intermediate language learners.
11. Das sagt man so
The public broadcasting station DW (Deutsche Welle) has a podcast named „Das sagt man so“. It explains German „Redewendungen,“ or in English, „figures of speech,“ in short clips that are usually no longer than 2 minutes. The podcast helps better to understand the many peculiarities of the German language.
12. Deutsch Wieso Nicht?
Deutsch Wieso Nicht? originally is a language course you could take with you for free as a podcast. Even if it’s slightly older material you might be learning with, it’s still suitable for all with at least a B1 level of German. On the website of the public broadcasting station DW or Deutsche Welle, you can download additional that support you with learning from those episodes.
13. News in Slow German
News in Slow German is a weekly podcast for all who possess a basic vocabulary and some knowledge of German grammar. This podcast is an excellent choice if you want to listen to some weekly news and trends in Germany.
Both speakers pronounce German in a very standardized and slow manner which is perfect for everyone that’s not yet that familiar with the language.
Podcasts for learning German for advanced learners
14. Alltagsdeutsch
With the Alltagsdeutsch Podcast, the broadcasting station DW or Deutsche Welle launched another podcast for people who want to learn German at an advanced level. They are not focused on the most recent news but on cultural elements of German-speaking countries.
Sometimes they share interviews, speak about historical topics, and provide recreational tips. The podcast is very informative and well-presented.
15. Der Anruf
The podcast „Der Anruf,“ meaning the call in English, is fascinating, with interviews of ordinary people covering many different topics of the daily life of people in Germany. Both interviewer don’t know whom they are talking to and what they will learn about the other person calling.
I personally like this podcast a lot, even if it’s one of the advanced German podcasts. The speed of the speech is average, but the quality is excellent.
16. Sprachbar
Sprachbar is again a podcast produced by DW or Deutsche Welle. You can see they are putting much effort into educating foreigners about the German language in a perfect way. This podcast is for more advanced learners at a C1 level and above.
You will be introduced to the secrets and peculiarities of the German language. Look forward to explanations of headlines, literary quotations, idioms, or grammar.
17. Fest & Flauschig
Fest & Flauschig is a podcast by Jan Böhmermann & Olli Schulz that does not explicitly target people learning German. If you reached a C2 level, it should be ok to listen to this podcast. The podcast uses colloquial Germ initially, making it hard to follow the entire podcast ally. Also, the podcast is not necessarily suitable for children.
18. Elementarfragen
The Elementarfragen podcast is exciting and well thought out. It covers socio-critical topics in the form of interviews, and you can learn a lot about areas of German society. The podcast is of very high quality, unbiased and neutral, does not follow any political direction, and highlights different opinions and approaches.
I highly recommend the podcast from a C2 level, as the quality is outstanding.
19. Learn Business German
If you want to deepen your knowledge of business-related German, you should look at the Learn Business German podcast. It will help you to become fluent and confident in effortlessly speaking German. You will learn more about typical vocabulary and grammar from a career/business point of view.
It’s suitable for Intermediate and advanced learners of the German language.
20. Schmutzige Geschäfte
If you love to listen to true crime stories, Schmutzige Geschäfte is the podcast to go to. It has only a few episodes online on Spotify, but I highly recommend them. It’s a remake of the famous American podcast „swindled.“ The translated version is made exceptionally well!
21. Methodisch inkorrekt
The Methodisch inkorrekt podcast is another niche podcast, this time coming from the science corner. It is very professionally produced and hosted by two physicists from Germany. So if you want to spice up your knowledge or need to learn some specific German terms from that science field, I recommend listening to it.
This is one of the podcasts for the more advanced German learners that want to specialize in their profession or learn more about scientific German in a fun way.
22. Geschichten aus der Geschichte
If you are historically interested and want to learn more German, I recommend the Geschichten aus der Geschichte podcast. The title of the podcast means „stories from history“ in English. The two podcasters are historians and have been running the project for over seven years.
Even though it is not a specific podcast for learning German, it offers exciting historical topics for learning the peculiarities of the German language.
23. Geheimnisse der Deutschen Sprache
Last but not least follows the podcast „Geheimnisse der Deutschen Sprache,“ meaning secrets of the German language. As you can already tell from its title, it’s designed for those who want to deepen their knowledge of the German language. Local dialects are highlighted, as well as cities, especially places in and around Germany.
Conclusion
Learning German by listening to podcasts is a perfect way to practise and get used to the language. Moreover, you will learn a lot of new words, expressions and useful facts about German culture.
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT GERMANY
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WORKING IN GERMANY
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LEARNING GERMAN LANGUAGE
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