How difficult is it to learn a new language from scratch?

[Eyechewer]

Hello.

I've been thinking of moving in with a friend of mine who lives in berlin, but i don't speak a word in german.
I speak 2 languages, one is the language that we speak at home so i didn't have to take a class for it or anything, and english i learnt from hours of binge watching, playing video games etc.

I was never exposed to german in my life and I don't know even one word. How difficult is it to study how to speak german? how long does it take to achieve a reasonable level? I'm mildly intelligent and I intend to devote a fair amount of time and effort for it.

So...anyone learnt a language by himself? (not english)

[Balazaar]

Depends on the person. Some people pick up languages quickly, some struggle. I know I'm the latter type. If you've already learned a second language you already know how hard it is for you.

[Deleted]

German is actually pretty easy

That said virtually everybody in Germany speaks English, I visited for 1 week with zero knowledge, picked up the basics fast

[Lightning-]

I am German, I know English, German, Spanish and French (Spanish has been my main language for the last 10 years) and in my opinion, German is the hardest language to learn in that pack. And i think the older you are the harder it is to learn. But its not impossible.

When I was a kid, a familiar from Spain came to us, 2 years, and he ended up speaking german really good, with a very good pronunciation. He was like 30 years old.

[MerinPally]

German is actually pretty easy

That said virtually everybody in Germany speaks English, I visited for 1 week with zero knowledge, picked up the basics fast

I've never heard anyone claim before that German is an easy language to learn.

Anyway - to the OP, what's your first language if not English? That will have an impact. If you're putting in time and effort and most importantly you're immersing yourself then you shouldn't have too many problems. You seem to manage fine with English and I imagine fine with whatever else you speak so I guess you'll be ok.

[obdigore]

I've never heard anyone claim before that German is an easy language to learn.

I do know that every animal name in German is based on its similarities or differences to pigs... So I'm sure that will help?

[Eyechewer]

The first language is Hebrew. Right now the plan is to live there and also maybe take a course. So I'll be completely immersed in German, and hopefully I'll be able to pick it up easily.

[Deleted]

I've never heard anyone claim before that German is an easy language to learn.

Anyway - to the OP, what's your first language if not English? That will have an impact. If you're putting in time and effort and most importantly you're immersing yourself then you shouldn't have too many problems. You seem to manage fine with English and I imagine fine with whatever else you speak so I guess you'll be ok.

Found it easier than French personally but then I probably embraced Germany more

[Deleted]

I was never exposed to german in my life

Apart from the Germanic language you're speaking?

The main difficulty would be the vocabulary, which is essentially just remembering things.

[slime]

isn't this a right brain, left brain thing? Like some people pick up languages like it's nothing - others have a great deal of difficulty with it.

I hear great things about the Rosetta stone product for learning languages.

[PChaosWM]

For me personally, learning another language is one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do.

I tried learning Spanish in High School, and after two semesters (and a relatively ineffective teacher) I could only remember a hand-full of words.

Recently, in College, I attempted to learn ASL (American Sign Language). I passed the first semester only because my professor got really sick near the end of the semester and had to cancel the final presentation and final exam (we all got 100% on those). The second semester was so difficult that I ended up dropping the class.

If you are capable of learning another language (especially after the age of 12), you are something special... because I couldn't do it to save my life.

[mitbrandir]

German is actually pretty easy

That said virtually everybody in Germany speaks English, I visited for 1 week with zero knowledge, picked up the basics fast

I'm pretty sure German has difficult grammar. Aside of that, learning basics is always easy, but it never means a language is actually easy.

[belfpala]

I can speak from experience. You'll learn just enough from immersion. Combine that with pointing and smiling. That's how I survived France.

[Wildtree]

German is actually pretty easy

That said virtually everybody in Germany speaks English, I visited for 1 week with zero knowledge, picked up the basics fast

No it isn't...
Picking up a few basics in a few days doesn't mean you can master it easy....
The grammar rules would quickly teach you otherwise.

Native English speakers have it a little easier...... That would be the right answer.
Given how English is a Germanic language.

[Krekal]

Depends on which language you were taught at the beginning, I'd say.
If your primary language is English (which is derived from Germanic languages, I've been told) then the other languages in the Germanic group is easier I think, examples: Dutch, Swedish, German, Icelandic in comparison to examples: Polish, Greek, Latin, Persian.

Don't know about pronunciation and grammar though, German & Finnish seems to have a pretty clear pronunciation imo compared to Danish (ugh) or French while I've heard that German grammar can be a b¤tch.

[Wildtree]

Hello.

I've been thinking of moving in with a friend of mine who lives in berlin, but i don't speak a word in german.
I speak 2 languages, one is the language that we speak at home so i didn't have to take a class for it or anything, and english i learnt from hours of binge watching, playing video games etc.

I was never exposed to german in my life and I don't know even one word. How difficult is it to study how to speak german? how long does it take to achieve a reasonable level? I'm mildly intelligent and I intend to devote a fair amount of time and effort for it.

So...anyone learnt a language by himself? (not english)

English - German dictionary
TV, TV, TV.....
A lot of communication.. Have your social circle teach you the language for the daily basis.
Which usually starts with a catalog of cuss words lol

And did I already mention, TV?
Watch a lot of it, it's an incredible effective way to pick up the language.

[belfpala]

A lot of communication.. Have your social circle teach you the language for the daily basis.
Which usually starts with a catalog of cuss words lol

At one point I knew how to say the equivalent of "Go fuck yourself" in over 20 languages.

[Deleted]

Mostly depends on your motivation and what your native language is. If the language you are trying to learn is somewhat similar to your native language, it can make things easier for you, but no language is "easy" to learn from scratch. With that said it is possible for you to become proficient in any language if you are truly passionate about learning it and put in the required effort.
Also immersion is important so you should try to find native speakers to communicate with and consume any media in that language.

[Wildtree]

At one point I knew how to say the equivalent of "Go fuck yourself" in over 20 languages.

It's really funny.....
When people discover the other person speaks a foreign language "How do you say <cussword> in <foreign language> ?
One of the first questions..... Always.

Fun fact.....
When you're in Berlin and learn German, you're going to learn the Prussian dialect influenced German. It's pretty distinctive.

[Deleted]

Depends on the person, but honestly, if you have the dedication and put in the time, it's not a problem. Especially living in the target country makes it a lot easier. I lived for one year in Japan (studying japanese) and went from knowing more or less no japanese to speaking it fluently (fluently as in able to converse about pretty much any topic, not fluent as in speaking like a native). Studied korean in Seoul for 3 months or so, went from no knowledge to at least being able to converse about basic matters.

If you want to learn the language and have an interest, you should have no problem at all while living there. Just make sure to immerse yourself and don't shy away from using your german as you attain it, you don't have to be fluent to start speaking.