German · A1 · Unit 4 of 5

Fragen und Finden Asking and finding

You can already describe your world — now learn to ask about it. In this unit you'll ask real questions with every W-word, flip the verb to the front for yes/no questions, find your way around a German town, and say how you get there.

By the end of this unit, you'll be able to

Ask open questions with every W-word (Wo? Wann? Wie? Warum?) and put the verb in the right place
Ask yes/no questions by flipping the verb to the front (Sprichst du Deutsch?)
Name places in a town and ask where they are (Wo ist der Bahnhof?)
Understand directions and say how you travel (Gehen Sie links. Ich fahre mit dem Bus.)

5 sessions · about 15 minutes each · 2 chat missions · 1 story

Sessions

Missions (unlock as you progress)

💬

Chat Mission 1 Das Interview — get to know a new neighbor with W-words and yes/no questions. Unlocks after Session 2

💬

Chat Mission 2 Auf der Straße — ask a local for directions and follow them. Unlocks after Session 4

📖

Story Mission Lena sucht den Bahnhof — read & extend a "finding your way" story. Unlocks after Session 5

Unit progress: not started Complete all 5 sessions to unlock A1.5 — Was ich kann und will

Session 0 · Foundations · optional, always open

Das Alphabet & die Aussprache — The alphabet & pronunciation

Two minutes that make every later session easier: the German letters (including the four English doesn't have), why nouns are always capitalised, and how to actually type ä, ö, ü and ß. Nothing here is graded — tap 🔊 on anything to hear it.

🔤 The German alphabet

26 familiar letters — a few with new sounds

German uses the same 26 Latin letters as English, but several are pronounced differently. Tap a letter to hear it in a real German word (the classic „A wie Apfel" spelling style).

💡

A few sounds surprise English speakers: W sounds like English "v" (Wasser = "vasser"), V usually sounds like "f" (Vogel = "fogel"), Z is "ts" (Zebra = "tsebra"), and J is "y" (Junge = "yunge"). Audio is your friend here.

🔡 The four letters English doesn't have

ä · ö · ü · ß — the ones that trip people up

Three are umlauts (a vowel with two dots — the sound shifts), and one is the ß (called Eszett or scharfes S, a sharp "s"). Tap each to hear it.

Ä ä a-Umlaut Like the e in "bed". Käse (cheese), Bär (bear). Type without the key: ae → Kaese

Ö ö o-Umlaut Like "i" in "bird", lips rounded. schön (beautiful), Öl (oil). Type without the key: oe → schoen

Ü ü u-Umlaut Say "ee" with rounded lips. über (over), Tür (door). Type without the key: ue → ueber

ß Eszett / scharfes S A single sharp "s" sound — equals ss. Straße (street), dreißig (30). Type without the key: ss → Strasse. Never starts a word.

🔠 Every noun is capitalised

one rule, zero exceptions

In German, every noun starts with a capital letter — not just names and sentence-starts, but all of them, anywhere in the sentence. It's the single most visible feature of written German.

der Hund · die Familie · das Auto · die Straße

Ich habe einen Bruder und eine Schwester.

💡

This matters in the exercises too: answers like Arzt, Lehrerin or Familie are written with their capital. When you're asked to type a noun, start it with a capital letter.

⌨️ Typing ä, ö, ü and ß

the quick fix vs. the real fix

⭐

Best option — add a German keyboard. It takes a minute and gives ä ö ü ß their own real keys (and you'll switch layouts with one shortcut). The ae/oe/ue/ss spellings below work and this tool accepts them — but they're a stopgap, not the real thing. If you're at all serious about German, add the keyboard now; it pays off every single session.

Your device	How to get ä ö ü ß
Add German layout (recommended)	Adds a dedicated key for each of ä ö ü ß. Windows: Settings → Time & Language → Language → add German. Mac: System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → +German. Then switch layouts with ⊞ Win+Space (Win) or ⌃+Space (Mac).
Mac (no layout change)	Hold ⌥ u, release, then the vowel → ä ö ü. And ⌥+s → ß.
Windows (US-International)	Type " then the vowel → ä ö ü. And AltGr+s → ß.
Phone / tablet	Long-press the base letter on the on-screen keyboard, then slide to the accented one: long-press a → ä, o → ö, u → ü, s → ß.
Anywhere (fallback)	Type the two-letter spelling: ae oe ue for the umlauts, ss for ß. schoen = schön, Strasse = Straße. Accepted here — but the German keyboard is much better.

This page stays open under Before you begin on the unit map — come back any time.

Session 1 of 5

Die W-Wörter — The W-words

Phase 1 of 4 · 🔓 Unlock

~3 min

🔓 The seven little words that open every door

Phase 1 · notice the puzzle

Almost every question in German starts with one of these little "W" words. Each one unlocks a different kind of answer — a person, a place, a time, a reason. Tap any word for a hint, then watch where the verb sits.

“Wo wohnst du? Wann kommt der Bus? Wie heißt du?”

Tap any word for its meaning · tap ▶ to hear it spoken

💡

Spot it? Three different question words (Wo, Wann, Wie) — but the verb (wohnst, kommt, heißt) always sits in exactly the same spot: right after the question word, as the second idea in the sentence. That's the whole puzzle of this session — and you already own that spot.

🔍 Where does the verb go?

Phase 2 · notice before you're told

Here's the same idea, said two ways — once as a statement, once as a W-question. The verb is highlighted in both. Read them out loud, then watch what happens to it.

Statement (slot 1 = idea)	W-question (slot 1 = W-word)
Du wohnst in Berlin.	Wo wohnst du?
Der Bus kommt um acht.	Wann kommt der Bus?
Sie heißt Lena.	Wie heißt sie?

🔎

Did you spot it? In every statement the verb sits in second place — the V2 rule you already know from A1.3. Look at the questions: the verb is still second! The W-word just took over the first slot, and the verb never moved.

So — using that rule — how would you ask "Why is he laughing?"? (statement: Er lacht. — W-word for "why": Warum)

Er lacht. →

🛠 W-words & question word order

Phase 3 · the full picture

A W-question is built from one fixed frame: the question word claims slot 1, the verb stays in slot 2 — exactly where it always lives — then the subject, then everything else.

W-word (1st)	Verb (2nd)	Subject	…rest
Wo	wohnst	du	?
Wann	fährt	der Bus	ab? (separable: prefix still flies to the end!)

The W-Wörter — your key ring

Ten little words — tap any for its meaning. Each one unlocks a different kind of answer.

German	English	Unlocks…
Wer?	Who?	a person
Was?	What?	a thing
Wo?	Where?	a place you are
Wohin?	Where to?	a place you go to
Woher?	Where from?	a place you come from
Wann?	When?	a time
Wie?	How?	a manner / a name
Wie viel? / Wie viele?	How much? / How many?	a quantity
Warum?	Why?	a reason
Welche(r/s)?	Which?	a choice

💡

Memory hook — the wo-family: wo (where you are), wohin (where you're going to — the -hin points away), woher (where you came from — -her points back here). Picture an arrow: hin shoots out, her comes home.

⚠️

English trap: Wie heißt du? literally means "How are you called?" — Germans ask how you're called, not what your name is. And there's no "do/does" helper: English says "Where do you live?", German just says Wo wohnst du? — drop the "do" entirely.

See it in action

Max: "Wo wohnst du?" 
Lena: "Ich wohne in München. Und woher kommst du?" 
Max: "Ich komme aus Hamburg." 

Translation: "Where do you live?" — "I live in Munich. And where are you from?" — "I'm from Hamburg."

⚡ Practice

Phase 4 · five quick rounds

Five short rounds, mixed formats. Don't worry about being perfect — a wrong answer just flags what to come back to.

📌 Forgot a W-word? Your quick-reference card is one tap away: — also pinned in the left rail.

1 / 5Pick the W-word

Choose the question word that fits the answer.

„___ wohnst du?" — „Ich wohne in Berlin."

„___ kommst du?" — „Ich komme aus Spanien."

„___ heißt du?" — „Ich heiße Anna."

„___ ist das?" — „Das ist Max."

„___ kommt der Bus?" — „Der Bus kommt um acht."

„___ fährst du?" — „Ich fahre nach Berlin."

2 / 5Build the question

Pick the version with the correct German word order: W-word → verb → subject.

Where do you live?

When does the bus come?

What's your name? (lit. how are you called)

Why are you laughing?

Where are you going?

3 / 5Statement → question

Each statement answers a question. Write the W-word that starts it.

1. Statement: Du kommst aus Spanien. → ___ kommst du?

2. Statement: Der Bus kommt um acht. → ___ kommt der Bus?

3. Statement: Sie heißt Lena. → ___ heißt sie?

4. Statement: Das ist mein Bruder. → ___ ist das?

5. Statement: Ich fahre nach München. → ___ fährst du?

4 / 5Spot the wrong order0 / 5 found

Below are 8 questions. Some have the verb in the wrong slot — English word order leaking in. Click every broken question you can spot.

1. → Wo wohnst du?

2.

3. → Wann kommt der Bus?

4.

5. → Was machst du heute?

6. → Warum lacht sie?

7.

8. → Wie heißt du?

0 / 5 mistakes found

5 / 5Interview a partner—

Write 5 W-questions you'd ask a new classmate — use as many different W-words as you can. We won't grade this — just see it on the page.

Try: Was machst du gern? Wie alt bist du?

Session 2 of 5

Ja/Nein-Fragen — Yes/No questions

Phase 1 of 4 · 🔓 Unlock

~3 min

🔓 Flip the verb to the front

Phase 1 · notice the puzzle

In Session 1 a W-word (Wo, Wann, Wie…) claimed the first slot. But how do you ask a question that just wants a yes or a no — with no W-word at all? Watch what moves.

“Du sprichst Deutsch.” → “Sprichst du Deutsch?”

Tap any word for its meaning · tap ▶ to hear both

💡

Spot it? This question has no W-word at all. So what moved? The verb (sprichst) jumped all the way to the front — to first place. That's the whole trick for a yes/no question. Why does it work, and what do you answer? Let's find out.

🔍 The empty first slot

Phase 2 · notice before you're told

Here are three statements, each turned into a yes/no question. The verb is highlighted in both. Read them out loud, then watch where the verb lands.

Statement	Yes/No question
Du hast Hunger.	Hast du Hunger?
Der Zug fährt um neun.	Fährt der Zug um neun?
Es gibt hier ein Café.	Gibt es hier ein Café?

🔎

Did you spot it? There's no W-word filling slot 1 this time — so the verb has nowhere to hide behind. It slides straight to the front (position 1), the subject follows, then the rest. The rule: leave slot 1 empty, send the verb to first place, subject next. Your voice rises at the end. (A separable prefix still flies to the very end: Kommst du mit?)

So — using that rule — how would you turn "Du hast Hunger." into a yes/no question?

Du hast Hunger. →

🛠 Yes/No questions + answering

Phase 3 · the full picture

Step 1 — the inversion frame

No W-word claims slot 1, so the conjugated verb moves to first place — then subject, then the rest.

Verb (1st)	Subject	…rest
Sprichst	du	Deutsch?
Fährt	der Bus	zum Bahnhof?
Kommst	du	mit? (separable prefix still flies to the end!)

Put all three "front-slot" patterns side by side and the whole system clicks:

Type	Slot 1	Slot 2	Example
Statement	an idea	verb	Du sprichst Deutsch.
W-question	W-word	verb	Wo wohnst du?
Yes/No question	(empty)	→ verb to front	Sprichst du Deutsch?

Step 2 — answering: ja, nein, and the special doch

You're asked	You answer	Means
Kommst du mit?	Ja, ich komme mit.	Yes
Kommst du mit?	Nein, ich komme nicht mit.	No
Kommst du nicht* mit?* (negative)	Doch, ich komme mit!	"Yes I do!" — contradicting the negative

💡

Fun fact — doch has no English word: when someone asks a negative question ("Don't you want coffee?"), English has to fumble ("Yes, actually I do…"). German has one perfect word: doch — "yes, on the contrary!" Drop a confident Doch! and you sound like a native.

⚠️

English trap — no "do/does": English asks "Do you speak German?" German just flips the real verb: Sprichst du Deutsch? The verb you already conjugate is the question — never add a helper.

See it in action

Max: "Hast du Zeit?" 
Lena: "Ja! Kommst du mit?" 
Max: "Doch, natürlich!" 

Translation: "Do you have time?" — "Yes! Are you coming along?" — "Of course I am!"

⚡ Practice

Phase 4 · five quick rounds

Five short rounds, mixed formats. A wrong answer just flags what to come back to.

📌 Need the frame or the answer words? Your quick-reference card is one tap away: — also pinned in the left rail.

1 / 5Make it a question0 / 0

Turn each statement into a yes/no question. The verb moves to the front — type the first word of the question.

1. Du hast Zeit. → ___ du Zeit?

2. Du sprichst Deutsch. → ___ du Deutsch?

3. Der Bus fährt zum Bahnhof. → ___ der Bus zum Bahnhof?

4. Du kommst mit. → ___ du mit?

5. Es gibt hier ein Café. → ___ es hier ein Café?

2 / 5Tap the front verb

Pick the correctly inverted yes/no question — verb first, subject second.

Do you drink coffee?

Are you hungry? (lit. do you have hunger)

Do you live in Berlin?

Are you coming along?

3 / 5ja, nein or doch?

Pick the right answer word. Watch for negative questions — those want doch.

„Kommst du mit?" — „___, ich komme mit."

„Trinkst du Bier?" — „___, ich trinke kein Bier."

„Kommst du nicht mit?" — „___, ich komme mit!"

„Hast du Zeit?" — „___, natürlich."

„Magst du keinen Kaffee?" — „___, ich mag Kaffee!"

4 / 5Spot the wrong order0 / 5 found

Below are 8 yes/no questions. Some have the verb in the wrong slot, or a stray English "do"-helper. Click every broken question you can spot.

1.

2. → Trinkst du Kaffee?

3.

4. → Sprichst du Deutsch? (no "do"-helper)

5. → Hast du Hunger?

6.

7. → Kommst du mit?

8. → Hast du Zeit?

0 / 5 mistakes found

5 / 5Twenty questions—

A friend is thinking of a hidden object or place. Write 5 yes/no questions to guess it — verb in front each time. We won't grade this — just see it on the page.

Try: Ist es rot? Hat es vier Beine? Kommt es aus Deutschland?

Session 3 of 5

In der Stadt — In the city

Phase 1 of 4 · 🔓 Unlock

~3 min

🔓 Drop into a new town

Phase 1 · notice what you already know

You've just arrived in a German town. You can already ask Wo…? — now you need the names of the places, plus one handy phrase to ask whether a place even exists nearby. Which buildings can you already guess?

🚉 der Bahnhof · ✉️ die Post · 💊 die Apotheke · ☕ das Café · 🏛️ das Rathaus · 🌳 der Park

Tap any place for its meaning · tap ▶ to hear them

💡

Recognize a few? Café, Park, Post look almost like English. Each place carries its own colour-coded article (der / die / das) — and to ask about them you only need two little openers. Let's meet them.

🔍 Wo ist…? / Gibt es…?

Phase 2 · notice before you're told

Here are three little street exchanges. Read them out loud, and watch the two different ways of asking about a place.

Question	Answer
Wo ist der Bahnhof?	Der Bahnhof ist dort.
Gibt es hier eine Apotheke?	Ja, gleich um die Ecke.
Wohin gehst du?	Ich gehe zum Supermarkt.

🔎

Did you spot it? Two ways to ask: Wo ist…? ("Where is the…?") when you know the place exists, and Gibt es…? ("Is there a…?", from A1.2) when you're not sure. And the answer to Wohin? uses zum — that's zu ("to") + dem squashed together. What do you think zum means?

So — you know the café is in this town and you want its location. Which opener do you reach for?

You know it's here — where exactly? →

🛠 Places in the city + wo / wohin

Phase 3 · the full picture

Step 1 — asking about places

Ask	Meaning	When
Wo ist …?	Where is …?	a place you expect to exist
Gibt es hier …?	Is there a … here?	a place you're checking for
Wohin gehst / fährst du?	Where are you going (to)?	asking about movement
Ich gehe / fahre zum* / zur …*	I'm going to the …	answering "wohin?"

🧩

zum / zur — just recognize them for now. zum = zu + dem (der/das places): zum Bahnhof, zum Café. zur = zu + der (die places): zur Post, zur Apotheke. The full system (the dative case) comes in A1.5 — here they're just fixed travel phrases.

Step 2 — places in the city

Every place noun keeps its colour-coded article — der, die, das, and the plural is always die.

German	English
der Bahnhof / die Bahnhöfe	(train) station
die Post	post office
der Supermarkt / die Supermärkte	supermarket
die Apotheke	pharmacy
das Café / die Cafés	café
das Rathaus	town hall
die Bank / die Banken	bank
der Park / die Parks	park
die Straße / die Straßen	street
der Markt / die Märkte	market

💡

Fun fact: A Rathaus has nothing to do with rats — Rat means "council / advice," so it's the "council house" (town hall). And die Apotheke is a pharmacy, not a place for apostrophes — German pharmacies sell medicine and are marked with a big red A.

⚠️

English trap — wo vs. wohin (recap): Wo asks where something is (no movement): Wo ist der Park? Wohin asks where you're going (movement): Wohin gehst du? English uses "where" for both — German keeps them apart.

See it in action

Tourist: "Entschuldigung, wo ist die Apotheke?" 
Local: "Die Apotheke ist dort, neben der Bank." 
Tourist: "Gibt es hier ein Café?" 
Local: "Ja! Ich gehe zum Café — komm mit!" 

Translation: "Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?" — "The pharmacy is there, next to the bank." — "Is there a café here?" — "Yes! I'm going to the café — come along!"

⚡ Practice

Phase 4 · five quick rounds

Five short rounds, mixed formats. A wrong answer just flags what to come back to.

📌 Need the place names or the openers? Your quick-reference card is one tap away: — also pinned in the left rail.

1 / 5Name the place

Pick the German name — with the right article — for each building.

🚉 the (train) station

✉️ the post office

💊 the pharmacy

☕ the café

🏛️ the town hall

🌳 the park

2 / 5Wo or Wohin?

Wo? = where something is (no movement). Wohin? = where you're going (movement). Fill each blank.

„___ ist die Post?"

„___ gehst du?"

„___ ist der Bahnhof?"

„___ fährst du — zum Markt?"

„___ ist die Apotheke?"

3 / 5Wo ist…? or Gibt es…?

Use Wo ist…? when you know the place exists; Gibt es…? when you're checking whether one is nearby.

You know the station is in this town — you just need its location.

You're new here and not sure a pharmacy even exists nearby.

The town hall definitely exists — where is it?

Is there a café somewhere around here? You're not sure.

4 / 5Spot the mistake0 / 5 found

Below are 8 questions. Some have the wrong article, or mix up wo / wohin. Click every broken question you can spot.

1.

2.

3. → Wo ist die Apotheke?

4. → Wohin gehst du? (movement)

5.

6. → Wo ist die Post?

7. → Wo ist der Bahnhof? (no movement)

8. → Wo ist das Rathaus?

0 / 5 mistakes found

5 / 5Map yourself—

You've just arrived in a new town. Write 3 questions you'd ask a local — mix Wo ist…? and Gibt es…?. We won't grade this — just see it on the page.

Try: Wo ist das Rathaus? Gibt es hier einen Park? Wohin gehst du?

Session 4 of 5

Wie komme ich…? — Which way?

Phase 1 of 4 · 🔓 Unlock

~3 min

🔓 Lost in the city

Phase 1 · notice what you're about to need

You know the places. Now — how do you actually get there? You stop a passer-by and ask one magic question: Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? Then you have to understand the answer — and it comes back as an arrow.

⬆️ geradeaus? · ⬅️ links? · ➡️ rechts?

Tap any arrow for its meaning · tap ▶ to hear them

💡

One question, three little answers. The three direction words are almost all you need to follow a route — but the verb the local uses to point the way has a special shape. It jumps to the very front, yet it isn't a question. Let's meet it.

🔍 The pointing verb

Phase 2 · notice before you're told

Here are three answers a local might give. Read them out loud, and watch what the highlighted verb is doing.

Direction	German
⬆️ straight on	Gehen Sie geradeaus.
⬅️ left	Gehen Sie links.
➡️ right	Nehmen Sie die erste Straße rechts.

🔎

Did you spot it? These aren't questions and they aren't normal ich/du sentences — they're commands. The verb sits at the very front with Sie right after it: Gehen Sie…, Nehmen Sie… It looks just like a yes/no question, but there's no question mark and your voice falls instead of rising. This is the formal imperative — the "pointing" form.

So a helpful local wants to tell you to go straight ahead. Which of these would they actually say?

telling you the way → go straight on →

🛠 Directions + the imperative

Phase 3 · the full picture

Step 1 — asking the way

Ask	Meaning
Wie komme ich zum* Bahnhof / zur Post?*	How do I get to the …?
Entschuldigung, wo ist …?	Excuse me, where is …?
Ist es weit?	Is it far?
Es ist gleich um die Ecke.	It's just around the corner.

Step 2 — the formal imperative (giving directions)

Verb to the front + Sie. That's the whole recipe.

Infinitive	Imperative (Sie)	Use
gehen	Gehen Sie …	go (on foot)
nehmen	Nehmen Sie …	take (a street/turn)
fahren	Fahren Sie …	drive / ride …
abbiegen (sep.)	Biegen Sie … ab	turn off (prefix to the end!)

Step 3 — direction words

German	English
links	left
rechts	right
geradeaus	straight ahead
um die Ecke	around the corner
die erste / zweite Straße	the first / second street
neben / gegenüber	next to / opposite (recognize)

💡

Memory hook: geradeaus = gerade (straight) + aus (out) → "straight on out." And links / rechts match the hand you write with — picture pointing the way with your right hand: rechts!

⚠️

English trap — command vs. question: Gehen Sie geradeaus. (a command) looks identical to Gehen Sie geradeaus? (a yes/no question) — same words, same order! Only the punctuation and your voice tell them apart: a question rises (?), a command falls (.). Context — a map, an Entschuldigung… — makes it clear.

See it in action

Tourist: "Entschuldigung, wie komme ich zum Bahnhof?" 
Local: "Gehen Sie geradeaus, dann links." 
Tourist: "Ist es weit?" 
Local: "Nein, es ist gleich um die Ecke." 

Translation: "Excuse me, how do I get to the station?" — "Go straight ahead, then left." — "Is it far?" — "No, it's just around the corner."

⚡ Practice

Phase 4 · five quick rounds

Five short rounds, mixed formats. A wrong answer just flags what to come back to.

📌 Need the imperative or the direction words? Your quick-reference card is one tap away: — also pinned in the left rail.

1 / 5Read the map

Match each arrow to the right direction word.

⬆️ (straight on)

⬅️

➡️

⬆️

➡️ (turn this way)

⬅️ (turn this way)

2 / 5Give the command

Turn the infinitive into a formal command — verb to the front, then Sie.

gehen → go straight ahead

nehmen → take the first street

fahren → drive around the corner

abbiegen (sep.) → turn off to the left

gehen → go right

3 / 5Command or question?

Same words — the punctuation gives it away. A period (.) = an instruction; a question mark (?) = a yes/no question.

„Gehen Sie geradeaus."

„Gehen Sie geradeaus?"

„Nehmen Sie die erste Straße rechts."

„Fahren Sie zum Bahnhof?"

4 / 5Spot the mistake0 / 5 found

Below are 8 commands. Some have the verb in the wrong place, or a separable prefix in the wrong spot. Click every broken command you can spot.

1.

2.

3. → Gehen Sie links. (verb to the front)

4.

5. → Nehmen Sie die zweite Straße.

6. → Biegen Sie rechts ab. (prefix to the end)

7. → Biegen Sie links ab. (prefix goes last)

8. → Fahren Sie rechts.

0 / 5 mistakes found

5 / 5Direct a tourist—

A tourist asks Wie komme ich zum Bahnhof? Write a 3-step route using the formal imperative + direction words. We won't grade this — just see it on the page.

Try: Gehen Sie geradeaus. Dann links. Biegen Sie rechts ab.

Session 5 of 5

Mit dem Bus oder zu Fuß? — Getting around

Phase 1 of 4 · 🔓 Unlock

~3 min

🔓 How do you travel?

Phase 1 · notice what you're about to need

Last piece of getting around: the how. You've found the place and followed the arrows — now, how do you actually go there? Bus, train, bike… or on foot?

🚌 Bus? · 🚆 Zug? · 🚲 Fahrrad? · 🚶 zu Fuß?

Tap any option for its meaning · tap ▶ to hear them

💡

One neat little phrase — and one surprise. German has a single tidy way to say "by [transport]" for almost everything on wheels or rails. But there's one exception hiding for "on foot." Can you guess which verb you use for a bike but not for walking?

🔍 mit dem … vs. zu Fuß

Phase 2 · notice before you're told

Here are three quick exchanges. Watch the highlighted travel phrase — and one odd one out.

Question	Answer
Wie fährst du zur Arbeit?	Ich fahre mit dem Bus.
Und du?	Ich fahre mit dem Fahrrad.
Wie kommst du zur Schule?	Ich gehe zu Fuß.

🔎

Did you spot it? For almost everything you say mit dem … ("with the …") and the verb is fahren (to ride/drive): mit dem Bus, mit dem Fahrrad. But walking is the odd one out — you don't ride your feet — so it's not fahren and not mit: it's gehen and zu Fuß ("on foot").

Your neighbour cycles everywhere. How does she say she travels?

she travels by bike → →

🛠 Transport + mit dem …

Phase 3 · the full picture

Step 1 — saying how you travel

German	English
Ich fahre mit dem* Bus / Zug / Auto / Fahrrad.*	I go by bus / train / car / bike.
Ich fahre mit der* Bahn / Straßenbahn / U-Bahn.*	I go by train / tram / subway (die → mit der)
Ich fliege mit dem* Flugzeug.*	I fly by plane.
Ich gehe zu Fuß.	I walk / go on foot. (gehen, not fahren!)

🔑

The whole trick: mit dem for der- and das-words, mit der for die-words. (This is the dative case — but for now just treat mit dem / mit der as two fixed phrases. The full system arrives in A1.5.)

Step 2 — means of transport (with articles)

German	English	"by …"
der Bus	bus	mit dem Bus
der Zug	train	mit dem Zug
die Bahn / die U-Bahn	railway / subway	mit der Bahn
die Straßenbahn	tram	mit der Straßenbahn
das Auto	car	mit dem Auto
das Fahrrad	bicycle	mit dem Fahrrad
das Taxi	taxi	mit dem Taxi
das Flugzeug	plane	mit dem Flugzeug
zu Fuß	on foot	(gehen, not fahren!)

💡

Fun fact: fahren covers almost any wheeled or rail travel — bus, car, bike, train — where English splits "drive / ride / take." But step out of the vehicle and German switches verbs entirely: you don't fahren on your own feet, you gehen zu Fuß. One verb for wheels, another for walking.

⚠️

English trap: German uses mit ("with") where English uses "by": mit dem Bus = "by bus," literally "with the bus." Don't reach for bei — for transport it's always mit.

See it in action

Anna: "Wie kommst du zur Arbeit?" 
Max: "Ich fahre mit dem Bus. Und du?" 
Anna: "Ich gehe zu Fuß — es ist nicht weit." 
Max: "Und nach Berlin? — Mit der Bahn!" 

Translation: "How do you get to work?" — "By bus. And you?" — "I walk — it's not far." — "And to Berlin? — By train!"

⚡ Practice

Phase 4 · five quick rounds

Five short rounds, mixed formats. A wrong answer just flags what to come back to.

📌 Need the transport words or mit dem / mit der? Your quick-reference card is one tap away: — also pinned in the left rail.

1 / 5Match the transport

Pick the German word (with its article) for each icon.

🚌 (bus)

🚆 (train)

🚲 (bicycle)

🚗 (car)

✈️ (plane)

🚊 (tram)

2 / 5mit dem or mit der?

Choose by the noun's gender: der/das → mit dem, die → mit der.

Ich fahre ___ Bus.

Ich fahre ___ Bahn.

Ich fahre ___ Fahrrad.

Ich fahre ___ Straßenbahn.

Ich fahre ___ Auto.

3 / 5fahren or zu Fuß?

Wheels and rails → fahren mit dem/der …. On your own two feet → gehen zu Fuß.

🚆 by train

🚶 on foot

🚲 by bike

🚌 by bus

4 / 5Spot the mistake0 / 5 found

Below are 8 sentences. Some use bei instead of mit, the wrong article (mit dem/der), or fahren with zu Fuß. Click every broken sentence you can spot.

1.

2. → Ich fahre mit dem Zug. (by = mit, not bei)

3.

4. → Ich fahre mit der Bahn. (die Bahn → mit der)

5. → Ich gehe zu Fuß. (feet → gehen, not fahren)

6.

7. → Ich fahre mit der Straßenbahn. (die Straßenbahn → mit der)

8. → Ich fliege mit dem Flugzeug. (by = mit)

0 / 5 mistakes found

5 / 5How do you get around?—

Write 3 sentences about how you travel to different places — reuse mit dem / mit der + places + zu Fuß. We won't grade this — just see it on the page.

Try: Ich fahre mit dem Fahrrad zur Schule. Ich gehe zu Fuß zum Park.

🏆

Session 5 complete — A1.4 done!

+150 XP · "Stadtnavigator" badge unlocked

You can now get around a German town from start to finish: ask questions, find the place, follow the directions, and say how you travel — Ich fahre mit dem Bus or Ich gehe zu Fuß. That's the whole Fragen und Finden unit. One last victory lap below.

You learned

mit dem / mit der … zu Fuß gehen transport vocab by = mit (not bei) fahren vs. gehen zu Fuß

📖Story Mission — Lena sucht den BahnhofClosed vocabulary

Your victory lap: read one short story — every word has appeared in this unit. Tap any word for its meaning, tap ▶ to hear a line, then answer the three questions.

Lena ist neu in der Stadt. Sie fragt einen Mann: 
„Entschuldigung, wie komme ich zum Bahnhof?" 
„Gehen Sie geradeaus, dann links. Der Bahnhof ist um die Ecke." 
Lena geht zu Fuß zum Bahnhof. Dort fährt sie mit dem Zug nach Berlin. 

1 · Wohin geht Lena?

2 · Wie geht sie?

3 · Wie fährt sie nach Berlin?

🏅 Read it all and answer the three questions to earn the „Geschichtenleser" (Story Reader) badge. Want to keep going? Extend the story in Chat.

Next up: A1.5 — Was ich kann und will. Your reference cards stay available any time you revisit a session.

Session 2 of 5 · Locked preview

Woher kommst du? — Where are you from?

Same shape as Session 1

Every session in this unit follows the same four-phase rhythm: 🔓 Unlock → 🔍 Discover → 🛠 Build → ⚡ Sprint. Once you complete Session 1, this session unlocks with full content.

What you'll learn here

Fragen und Finden Asking and finding

By the end of this unit, you'll be able to

Das Alphabet & die Aussprache — The alphabet & pronunciation

🔤 The German alphabet

🔡 The four letters English doesn't have

🔠 Every noun is capitalised

⌨️ Typing ä, ö, ü and ß

Die W-Wörter — The W-words

🔓 The seven little words that open every door

🔍 Where does the verb go?

🛠 W-words & question word order

The W-Wörter — your key ring

See it in action

⚡ Practice

Session 1 complete

Ja/Nein-Fragen — Yes/No questions

🔓 Flip the verb to the front

🔍 The empty first slot

🛠 Yes/No questions + answering

Step 1 — the inversion frame

Step 2 — answering: ja, nein, and the special doch

See it in action

⚡ Practice

Session 2 complete

In der Stadt — In the city

🔓 Drop into a new town

🔍 Wo ist…? / Gibt es…?

🛠 Places in the city + wo / wohin

Step 1 — asking about places

Step 2 — places in the city

See it in action

⚡ Practice

Session 3 complete

Wie komme ich…? — Which way?

🔓 Lost in the city

🔍 The pointing verb

🛠 Directions + the imperative

Step 1 — asking the way

Step 2 — the formal imperative (giving directions)

Step 3 — direction words

See it in action

⚡ Practice

Session 4 complete

Mit dem Bus oder zu Fuß? — Getting around

🔓 How do you travel?

🔍 mit dem … vs. zu Fuß

🛠 Transport + mit dem …

Step 1 — saying how you travel

Step 2 — means of transport (with articles)

See it in action

⚡ Practice

Session 5 complete — A1.4 done!

Woher kommst du? — Where are you from?

Same shape as Session 1

Reference