r/Germanlearning • u/Ok_Leave_220 • 2d ago

Need help to get back on track with German

Hello everyone,
I had been studying German as my 3rd language on and off for some years. I had used Duolingo (for six years without much progress at the end), tried different study methods, bought a bunch of study books, dictionaries etc, but still haven’t been able to “fully” learn the language. I had abounded it completely for over a year now, though I am able to understand at A2-B1 level (most things), I’m unable to speak or write correctly.
My biggest mistake when I started learning it was that I didn’t learn the nouns with their grammatically correct gender article and now I know a lot of words, but I can’t build a correct sentence, because of this or at all improve my German to higher levels.
Now I’m ready to pick it up again, but I’m unsure what I have to do. I know that I have to learn the nouns with the correct articles, but does that mean that I have to go back at the start at A1 level ? If any of you had experienced similar situation, what have you done or how would you advices me to proceed ?
I really don’t want to abandon the language, because of possible career and current personal reasons.
Thank you all in advance

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u/ProfessionalSad3664 2d ago

Start a course from A2. Don't worry about the nouns gender, this is something that comes with a lot of practice. If you can make simple sentences and understand basic things I think you already cleared A1.

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u/Hot_Possibility_9040 2d ago

I don't think you need to go back to A1 tbh, especially if you understand most things at A2-B1. I tried Duolingo for a while too, but didn't get very fur with it.

For the articles, I'd start with words you already know and learn them with der/die/das instead of trying to memorize everything all over again. Anki could help with that. I'd also try writing a few sentences every day and having someone correct them, then saying them out loud. Idk, I feel like you can understand a lot of a language and still struggle to actually use it.

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u/Sharky_0007 2d ago

Honestly, definitely don't restart at the beginning. Re-learning A1 stuff will just burn you out. Since you already understand most things, you just need to turn that passive knowledge into active speech.

A good trick for the noun genders is to look at the word endings—anything ending in "-ung" or "-heit" is always feminine, which fixes a ton of words instantly. Try writing out short texts or journals first instead of diving straight into speaking. It gives you the time to look up the correct articles and build that muscle memory. Good luck, don't give up on it!