Learn German YouTube-style: 30 Must-watch Channels for German Learning Videos
By AROMIEKIM, PAULARNOLD and MICHAEL CRISTIANOLast updated: JUNE 10, 2022
Learn German YouTube-style: 30 Must-watch Channels for German Learning Videos
The internet is chock-full of instructional videos to learn German with YouTube. But as you can guess, some are rubbish, others are mediocre and a few are excellent.
This list of awesome German learning YouTube channels will provide you with quality learning experiences and top-notch entertainment.
Every listed channel is well worth a watch. Check them all out, try them on for size and see which channel suits you and your language learning routine best!
Contents
- 1. Deutsch für Euch (German for You)
- 2. Easy Languages
- 3. Learn German with Herr Antrim
- 4. GermanPod101
- 5. Get Germanized
- 6. smarterGerman
- 7. Lingoni German
- 8. Deutsch mit Marija (German with Marija)
- 9. DeutscheWelle Deutsch (German Wave, German Edition)
- 10. Deutsch Verstehen (Understand German)
- 11. Learn German with Anja
- 12. My German Short Stories
- 13. MrWissen2go (Mr. Knowledge2go)
- 14. Schoolseasy
- 15. Mel’s Kanal (Mel’s Channel)
- 16. Life to Go
- 17. Easy Online German
- 18. Blitztag1
- 19. Girls4Teaching
- 20. Deutsch Happen
- 21. DeutschMitJulia (GermanWithJulia)
- 22. Gute Arbeit Originals (Good Work Originals)
- 23. DontTrustTheRabbit
- 24. Dinge Erklärt (Things Explained)
- 25. Leeroy will’s wissen (Leeroy wants to know)
- 26. Ultralativ
- 27. Hallo Deutschschule (Hello German School)
- 28. Business Deutsch mit Vasilena Petkova (Business German with Vasilena Petkova)
- 29. Slow German – lerne Deutsch mit Annik (Slow German – learn German with Annik)
- 30. Fröhlich Deutsch (Happily German)
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1. Deutsch für Euch (German for You)
Self-confessed language nerd Katja from southern Germany is on a mission to teach people German and take the stuffiness out of learning languages.
She launched her highly informative German learning YouTube channel in 2013, and it’s brimming with well-structured lessons for beginners.
In most of the videos, Katja talks directly to the camera in English.
She has a friendly disposition and always seems to be smiling, which draws in viewers and makes the lessons more palatable. This is particularly important when she tackles tricky areas such as German articles.
Deutsch für Euch covers a broad range of topics including German greetings, irregular verbs and German pronunciation.
2. Easy Languages
Easy Languages has come up with a wonderful format for teaching German—go out in the street and speak to actual Germans!
You, the listener, benefit from hearing real German spoken at normal speeds by native speakers.
Don’t worry if you’re a beginner and the prospect of this is making the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention. The videos are supported by both German and English subtitles.
The conversations and street interviews aren’t random pieces of dialogue, but rather each lesson focuses on different language learning topics such as German pronunciation, conjugating verbs and basic phrases.
By being out and about on the streets, these German learning videos keep things fresh, giving the viewer lots of interesting visuals.
Plus, it’s a great preview of what types of conversations you might have while traveling throughout Germany.
3. Learn German with Herr Antrim
This entertaining channel has turned up the fun dial to the max position with a series of German-language videos hosted by puppets.
A small army of plastic and soft toys helps Herr Antrim explain key grammar topics with puppet shows that are conducted in German with English subtitles.
These German learning videos are shot in numerous locations such as the host’s living room, kitchen and outdoor spaces. Sometimes his young daughter gets in on the act.
A few examples of the topics covered are body parts and word order of questions and statements.
Herr Antrim’s channel was created for his students but contains a wealth of material for anyone starting out on their German language adventure.
4. GermanPod101
Fast, easy and fun.
That’s the German language learning experience promised by GermanPod101’s YouTube channel, and it certainly does its best to live up to those aims.
There are dozens of videos organized into such categories as “Learn German Holidays,” “German in Three Minutes” and “German Listening Practice.”
One of the neat aspects of the channel is that GermanPod101 likes to mix it up a bit with a variety of formats. So, some videos feature a presenter on camera while others rely on just pictures and audio.
Language students will find the German listening practice videos particularly useful. Each one presents dialogue and questions in German, which you have to respond to in German. The answers are given at the end of the lesson.
Love what you’re seeing here? GermanPod101 goes way beyond YouTube.
It’s an extensive German learning program with over 1,200 German video and audio lessons—and counting! You’ll frequently see updates with new materials and lessons.
With a membership, you’ll not only have access to all the lessons and their learning materials, but you’ll also get to work with interactive learning tools like SRS flashcards, PDF downloads, community forums and an app for on-the-go learning. Try it out for free!
5. Get Germanized
Cool title for a channel, right?
I’m pumped already!
Students of German can hone their language skills to a tee by watching Get Germanized. The videos are aimed at all levels—from beginners to experts—and are produced and presented by a native German speaker.
He started the channel to boost his English skills, but the community and his ambition have both grown. There are brand spanking new videos to learn German every week.
In addition to language learning, there are many insights into Germany and German culture.
As well as covering all the basics such as pronunciation, numbers and lessons about individual letters, there are also videos that discuss many fascinating topics.
They have intriguing titles like “Zombie Makeup Tutorial,” “10 Untranslatable German Words” and “10 Funny German Words.”
6. smarterGerman
Here’s a challenge to set yourself: Professional German tutor Michael Schmitz believes you can learn to speak basic but proper German in 30 days.
So what are you waiting for?
On your marks, get set and go!
His German learning YouTube channel is full of tutorials that are divided into days, so there’s Day 01, Day 02 and so on.
Each video lasts for about five minutes and most of them feature Michael either hosting in a classroom or on location.
All of the basics are covered here, from pronunciation to grammar essentials. It’s like having your own personal tutor on call whenever you want him.
7. Lingoni German
Previously known as “German with Jenny,” Lingoni German is a relatively new German-learning website, app and YouTube channel.
Over the years, its creator, known (unsurprisingly) as Jenny, has amassed quite the following on her German YouTube channel.
And now that she’s rebranded as Lingoni, she offers targeted German-language tutorials and practice for beginner and intermediate learners.
One of the best things about Lingoni German is that it offers comprehensive playlists of nearly 450 videos taking learners from the A1 (beginner) to B2 (high intermediate) level.
The videos focus on grammar skills, vocabulary and listening comprehension exercises specific to each level, and there are some uncategorized videos for general interest content and vlogs in German.
8. Deutsch mit Marija (German with Marija)
Deutsch mit Marija is a YouTube channel created by Marija, a Latvian-turned-German teacher who helps students at all stages of their German learning journeys, particularly as they prepare for proficiency Prüfungen (tests) in German.
While all learners of German will find useful content, Deutsch mit Marija creates content predominantly in German. As such, it’s recommended that learners have a B1 level in the language or higher.
Video topics oscillate between tackling German grammar points and vocabulary explanations to lifestyle topics such as work, learning and productivity.
The channel also offers in-depth guides on how to succeed at completing official German language proficiency exams.
9. DeutscheWelle Deutsch (German Wave, German Edition)
DeutscheWelle is one of the biggest news organizations in Germany, and they create news content, documentaries and special reports in over 30 languages.
Not only is their news content in German expansive, but they’ve also created a large amount of content for German learners, much of which is available on their YouTube channel.
Primarily, DeutscheWelle’s YouTube channel is updated with topical news content. The videos focus on short clips about trending current events happening in Germany, Europe and the world.
They also upload longer documentaries, and many of them have captions in German and/or translations in English.
In addition to DeutscheWelle’s news content, it also runs “Deutsch lernen mit der DW,” (Learn German with the DW), a sister YouTube channel that focuses on its German-learning offerings. Many of these videos correspond to their German-language courses, available on their website.
10. Deutsch Verstehen (Understand German)
Deutsch Verstehen teaches the German language through short animated videos. Many of these videos are dialogues or short stories focusing on topics relevant to beginner and intermediate German learners.
The videos are completely in German with German transcripts as speech bubbles or descriptions on the screen. English subtitles and translations can be toggled on and off using YouTube’s caption feature.
Many of the videos focus on topics surrounding everyday life, work, love and school.
In addition to the animated videos, there are also German grammar lessons such as the active and passive voices in German as well as general interest videos like the longest word in German.
11. Learn German with Anja
Learn German with Anja is a very popular YouTube channel for learning German.
The videos are a mix of languages, which means that each video has content in dual English and German. Because of that, I would recommend this YouTube channel for those just starting out with German.
Being for beginner and low-intermediate learners, videos from Learn German with Anja focus on beginner and intermediate grammar and vocabulary topics.
Anja, the creator of the channel, often takes viewers through various scenarios and gives useful German vocabulary or grammatical explanations with immediate feedback in English.
In addition to videos aimed at teaching a specific vocabulary or grammar topic, there are also short listening comprehension topics spoken in slow, clear German.
12. My German Short Stories
My German Short Stories is a YouTube channel that features original short stories by its creator, Sherin.
The stories are written in German and recited in YouTube videos with accompanying images and an on-screen transcript.
While there aren’t always English captions available on each video, there are auto-translations from YouTube that are pretty good.
For that reason, I recommend this channel for learners who already have a solid foundation in the German language. The vocabulary and grammatical structures are simple enough that they’re perfect for high beginner and intermediate learners, and the stories themselves are told in slow, clear German.
Viewers who support the channel on Patreon are also able to download supplementary materials for each short story such as downloadable transcripts, practice vocabulary exercises and story audio files.
13. MrWissen2go (Mr. Knowledge2go)
MrWissen2go is a YouTube channel that gives history, politics and current events a pop spin.
Created by Mirko Drotschmann, MrWissen2go’s videos are focused on current happenings and they often include commentary by Drotschmann himself as well as occasional guests.
Since the channel is aimed at native German speakers, all of MrWissen2go’s videos are completely in German with German subtitles.
There are English subtitles available under YouTube’s auto-translate feature, but even then, the level of spoken German is quite advanced.
As such, I recommend this channel for high intermediate learners with varied experiences in German.
In addition to its main channel, MrWissen2go also has a sister channel that uses Geschichte (stories) as a medium to present information.
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You can find a video from this channel on FluentU for a more active learning session. When you watch this video (and others) on the FluentU program, you get access to interactive subtitles in German and English, which offer on-demand contextual definitions. You can also add any word to your flashcards for later review through personalized quizzes.
Besides this Wissen2Go video, you’ll find plenty of other authentic German content on the FluentU program, including a few of the other names in this list like clips from DeutscheWelle. You can also study with movie clips, news segments, commercials, inspirational talks, music videos and many other native German videos.
FluentU can be used on the website or through the iOS and Android apps, so you can take advantage of the program’s learning tools wherever you are.
14. Schoolseasy
Much like MrWissen2go, all of Schoolseasy’s videos are completely in German and were created for the purpose of teaching students (and adults!) how to succeed in academics.
Because of that, this channel is best for intermediate learners, but high beginners may also find this channel useful.
The vocabulary is geared toward school subjects (which are commonly taught in beginner German resources) and the German used is slow and easy to follow.
Videos focus on common school subject matters such as Das Auge (the eye), explaining how the eye and vision work, and Fotosynthese (photosynthesis). There are also videos available that detail effective study skills and tips for school success and self-study.
15. Mel’s Kanal (Mel’s Channel)
Mel’s Kanal follows a family of five living in Germany.
The main video creator is Melanie, and she often features her husband, Dennis, as well as their three children, who are all under the age of 10. The videos consist mostly of vlog content, hauls as well as parenting and lifestyle videos.
Being a German family, the videos are completely in the German language, although some videos have auto-generated German subtitles and translations in English.
If you already know some German and are looking for a fun authentic YouTube channel, you might enjoy this channel.
The videos here are done mostly vlog-style, making it a good way to learn informal German as well as pick up some expressions and vocabulary related to the family, the home and general life.
16. Life to Go
In the same vein as Mel’s Kanal, Life to Go is a vlog-style YouTube channel.
Instead of focusing on the family, children and everyday life, however, this channel follows two German travelers, Daniel and Jessica, and quite often they are—you guessed it!—on the go.
In fact, these two have been on their world trip since 2015!
The majority of their videos focus on vlogs from their numerous trips around the world. Additionally, a number of them focus on the practical considerations of traveling long-term, such as tips for specific places, budgeting and financial updates, or what and how to pack.
Like other native German channels, Life to Go is completely in German, and their videos are without official German captions and English subtitles. For this reason, I recommend this channel for intermediate German learners.
17. Easy Online German
Easy Online German videos have quite a formal structure and approach, but the lessons are comprehensive and very well-paced.
Although no longer updated, the existing video lessons are presented by a native German speaker from what looks to be her living room, and give a thorough grounding in fundamentals—gender of compound nouns, personal pronouns and prepositions of change, to name a few.
The lessons are conducted in English and when German words are used, they’re supported by subtitles in both German and English.
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This lady also sure loves animals, and loves to focus language lessons on words and phrases associated with rabbits, ducks and other creatures. They’re accompanied by lovely filmed clips of the wildlife.
18. Blitztag1
Blitztag1 just gets straight down to teaching German. No frills, fuss, special effects or anything else that might distract you from your German language learning journey.
There’s no host in sight. All you see are word sheets and occasional pictures. All of the text is in German followed by their English translations.
The channel was created by a German teacher and there’s an archive of more than 500 free videos. There’s material here for all ability levels, from the beginner to the advanced speaker.
These German learning videos are of varying durations, but many are between four and 10 minutes long. The outliers are as short as 30 seconds or as long as 14 minutes.
19. Girls4Teaching
Learn about German culture, practice your listening skills, pick up new vocabulary and get a grip on the basics with Girls4Teaching.
Eva is your host, a native German speaker who leads you gently through each video.
Behind her on the screen are some impressive graphics of a classroom environment and a board on which German words and their English subtitles are displayed.
During each German video lesson, there’s an opportunity for interaction as you repeat phrases with Eva. If you feel in the mood for a challenge, you can watch the handful of videos that are conducted entirely in German.
20. Deutsch Happen
From Kirsten Winkler’s brain to yours. Kirsten’s got an inventive take on teaching German that might just provide you with the crystal clear explanations you were missing.
Kirsten has created a crisp and concise yet colorful German YouTube channel which covers an enormous diversity of language topics. It’s all too easy to navigate and find the specific topics you’d like to learn about.
She breaks everything down into easily digestible lessons, usually no more than 10 minutes in length.
Some videos are voiced-over PowerPoint-style presentations featuring her lovely cursive handwriting, and others follow her on excursions where she teaches you relevant vocabulary.
Due to her pleasant manner and well-crafted lessons, a rather large following of language learners has formed to learn German with her videos. The channel no longer updates but is still a treasure trove of content!
21. DeutschMitJulia (GermanWithJulia)
Get your German language learning off to a flying start or fill up your rapidly expanding knowledge banks with DeutschMitJulia.
The rich resources of this superb German learning YouTube channel are aimed squarely at beginner, intermediate and advanced learners.
The channel no longer uploads new videos, but there’s something here for several different language abilities with numerous lesson categories.
At the ground level, there are German learning videos covering the absolute basics. These are well-structured lessons featuring flashcards.
For the learner who needs German for work, there’s also a section on business German.
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The more advanced beginner can profit from the Elaine and Kieron videos. These are conversations between a fictional Irish couple who can speak perfect German.
22. Gute Arbeit Originals (Good Work Originals)
Want to throw in some laughs with your German studies? Comedy can really liven up your learning without downplaying the educational experience.
Gute Arbeit produces hilarious skits that are sure to add a humorous tinge to the German you learn.
While the contexts are comedic and absurd, the use of the German language is quite natural in both vocabulary and tone, so you’ll be hearing a lot of familiar phrases and vocabulary. You can hear overt shifts in tones and understand when characters say something off or befuddling.
There’s also another great plus with Gute Arbeit.
Although the videos themselves are fully in the German language, the channel acknowledges its non-native audience, and offers plenty of videos with English titles, descriptions and subtitles!
23. DontTrustTheRabbit
Trixi is a friendly young woman from Germany who offers fun and easy German lessons presented in English.
If you ever had some pretty specific questions regarding the German language and culture, Trixi may have talked about it in one of her videos!
Much of her content offers a quick list of context-dependent terminology or phrases. She also offers some information about social situations and typical German behavior.
There are also some funny discussions that non-natives may wonder about, such as the perceived “aggressiveness” of spoken German.
Trixi’s content works best as a fun supplement to your studies, or if you want to learn some lingual “red flags” that you’d want to avoid if you travel to Germany.
24. Dinge Erklärt (Things Explained)
You probably already know about the hit channel Kurzgesagt (and you also likely know that that means “shortly said” or “in a nutshell” in German).
But did you hear about its German cousin Dinge Erklärt?
Dinge Erklärt offers some of the same, brilliantly animated content as Kurzgesagt, but the narration is entirely in German.
Each clip offers thought-provoking information on all kinds of topics, including but not limited to historical events, philosophical debates and (everyone’s favorite) looming existential questions.
Even better, subtitles are also provided!
These will be pretty helpful since the vocabulary can get a bit more technical or advanced.
25. Leeroy will’s wissen (Leeroy wants to know)
Even though he’s bound to a wheelchair, that doesn’t stop young Leeroy from exploring both the space and residents of his locale!
And as it turns out, there’s plenty of things to learn just as there are people to meet!
Leeroy conducts casual, candid interviews with all kinds of folks. His roster includes people who’ve undergone certain experiences, some of which are quite unique or curious.
However, Leeroy is a great interviewer and transitions fluidly from what was last said, providing an honest but informative profile of his guests.
One of the best points about the videos is Leeroy’s genuine curiosity.
While interviews from other sources may often involve a lot of talking-over and interrupting, Leeroy gives his interviewees the time and space to speak without pause. This means that whatever German you pick up will be flavored with unique, interesting context.
26. Ultralativ
Ultralativ posts short video essays that mainly focus on YouTube culture and the internet.
The channel originally centered on certain YouTubers and their questionable antics, but the content has since broadened in scope to include general media analysis.
This channel is great if you’re interested in web culture and the YouTube platform. The narrator is quite witty, makes fun references and has plenty of opinions to share. He also doesn’t speak too quickly and has clear enunciation.
27. Hallo Deutschschule (Hello German School)
This channel provides informative mini German lessons that mainly focus on vocabulary and grammar. Many are taught with scripted dialogues and scenarios to give you a background context.
To make sure that learners can follow along, the narration is quite slow and the phrases are repeated often. To get some extra practice, you should repeat out loud what’s being said.
The channel also includes the appropriate learner level for its videos, so you can easily pick out which ones suit you.
Plus, it uploads a new video every Sunday, so you can slip the newest lesson into your schedule for that day!
28. Business Deutsch mit Vasilena Petkova (Business German with Vasilena Petkova)
Working to get your foot into a German company?
Want to start a professional relationship with German businessmen?
Vasilena Petkova offers tips and strategies for both native and non-native speakers to help them create better first impressions for employment.
Although any matters related to business can be intimidating or dry, Vasilena has a friendly and understanding approach that can put you at ease. Plus, she speaks at a measured and patient pace, so you won’t have much trouble following her.
Also, if you ever catch one of Vasilena’s occasional live streams, you can hop in to chat or ask questions (in German, naturally)!
29. Slow German – lerne Deutsch mit Annik (Slow German – learn German with Annik)
Since 2007, Annik Rubens has run her German learner podcast “Slow German.”
As its name suggests, the podcast features Annik speaking slowly in German about a variety of topics beyond just language lessons, such as cultural norms in Germany.
If you’re a beginner learner or working to improve your listening comprehension skills, Annik’s videos can be a great help.
They’re quite short in length (usually less than 10 minutes long) and Annik practices great intonation to make sure you’re getting all the unique German sounds.
More of her recent videos show Annik narrating. It’s recommended you watch these videos so you can observe and mimic Annik as she speaks.
30. Fröhlich Deutsch (Happily German)
Are you having trouble losing your accent?
Struggling to nail proper pronunciation of those few German letters?
Michaela is happy to help you out!
When it comes to speaking German, learners can fall into plenty of traps that can bungle up what they want to say. Michaela talks about how you can avoid the common problem areas so that you can communicate with confidence.
Her channel offers tips on how to improve your German pronunciation and the lessons are taught in German, so you’re bound to be getting a lot of learning and practice.
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These channels show just how easy it is to learn German with YouTube. The German video lessons are rich with information, well-presented, most often entertaining and, best of all, they won’t cost you a single cent.
With all of these great videos to watch, you’ll have no trouble finding something that fits what you’re looking for.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
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