Everyday German
Build real conversational ability in German from your very first sentence. Master essential daily interactions, conquer sentence structure, and speak with confidence in everyday situations.
Like Duolingo, but for Everyday German. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
24 levels across 3 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Making First Contact, Navigating Daily Life, and Expanding Expression. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Everyday German
- 'Guten Morgen' belongs strictly to the morning, switching to 'Guten Tag' midday
- 'Hallo' serves as an all-day casual greeting among peers but is too informal for strangers or business
- 'Gute Nacht' is used exclusively when parting to sleep, not as a general evening greeting
- 'Ich komme aus...' means 'I come from...' and introduces your origin or hometown
- 'Ich heiße...' introduces your name, not your origin
- 'Ich wohne in...' states your current residence, not where you are originally from
- 'Sie' is the mandatory polite form for adult strangers, officials, and service staff
- 'du' is reserved for family, close friends, children, and fellow students
- Switching between 'du' and 'Sie' changes the verb ending (e.g., 'heißt du' vs. 'heißen Sie')
- 'Und dir?' is the quick conversational bounce-back for someone you address as 'du'
- 'Und Ihnen?' is the polite equivalent used for someone you address as 'Sie'
- Short reciprocal phrases keep a conversation flowing without restating full question clauses
- English 'd' frequently shifts to 't' in German (e.g., 'drink'/'trinken', 'day'/'Tag', 'dance'/'tanzen')
- English 'th' regularly shifts to 'd' in German (e.g., 'brother'/'Bruder', 'this'/'dies')
- Recognizing these regular shifts gives beginners immediate reading comprehension of basic vocabulary
- Recognizing how the social divide between 'du' and 'Sie' affects verb forms and social distance in German
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Everyday German the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When is 'Hallo' the right greeting to use?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
How to learn Everyday German, step by step
Go in order. 24 short levels across 3 sections, about 48 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Making First Contact
- Breaking the Ice: Greetings and Introductions
- Ordering and Buying: Café and Shop Essentials
- Present Tense Basics and Word Order
- 2
Navigating Daily Life
- Finding Your Way: Directions and Places
- Daily Routines, Schedules, and Time
- Direct Objects and the Accusative Case
- 3
Expanding Expression
- Wants, Rules, and Abilities: Modal Verbs
- Talking About the Past: The Spoken Perfect
3 sections · 8 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Everyday German
How do I learn Everyday German?
Go in order: start with Making First Contact, then Navigating Daily Life, then Expanding Expression. On Tomo that's 24 short levels, about 48 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Everyday German?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Everyday German is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Everyday German course free?
Yes. Everyday German is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Everyday German?
24 levels across 3 sections, about 48 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Everyday German?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Everyday German is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Everyday German today.
Download Tomo, search Everyday German, and play your first lesson in under a minute.