German rewards memorisation more transparently than most languages, because so much of it is table-shaped: four cases, three genders, and adjective endings that follow from the combination. Tables are what spaced repetition is best at. The vocabulary is also highly compositional, so every root you retain unlocks compounds you have never seen — a compounding return that only materialises if the roots actually stick.
Why spaced repetition suits German
What English speakers find hard about German
- Four cases governing articles, adjectives and pronouns, with endings that shift by gender and number.
- Three genders with only partial rules, so each noun must be learned with its article.
- Verb-final word order in subordinate clauses, and the separable prefixes that strand at the end of a sentence.
- Compound nouns that are transparent once parsed and impenetrable before.
Cards you might meet
Generated from whatever theme you name — these are the kind of thing that comes back.
die Sehnsucht
a deep, aching longing
der Feierabend
the free time after the working day ends
doch
a contradiction particle — "yes it is", after a negative
die Verabredung
an arrangement to meet
gemütlich
warm, cosy, unhurried
German conjugation drills
Name a verb, pick the tenses, and get five fill-in-the-blank sentences with every answer marked — including near-misses where only an accent is wrong. Available tenses:
PräsensPräteritumPerfektPlusquamperfektFutur IFutur IIKonjunktiv IIImperativ
What you get
- SM-2 scheduling with four grades and keyboard shortcuts
- Generated German vocabulary on any theme you name
- Pronunciation for every card
- Conjugation drills across 8 tenses
- Writing feedback on your own sentences
- Photo vocabulary — name what is in front of you
Popular German themes
work & officetravelhomeeveryday lifecity & transport
German questions
- How long does German take to learn?
- The US Foreign Service Institute groups German just above the Romance languages in difficulty for English speakers, largely because of the case system. Most of that extra effort is front-loaded: the grammar is regular once memorised, which is why drilling it early pays off.
- Do German cards include the article?
- Yes — nouns are generated with der, die or das attached, because a German noun without its gender is only half a fact.
- Does the conjugation drill cover the German tenses?
- It covers Präsens, Präteritum, Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt, Futur I and II, Konjunktiv II and the imperative.