Our detailed guide covers the best practices for learning German using the Duolingo language app.
Learning German is all about practice and consistency. You need a means of getting regular exposure to the language, while simultaneously mastering fundamentals like grammar and sentence structures. In this guide, we’ll discuss how long it takes to learn German with Duolingo, as well as how you can make faster progress.
How Many Minutes Per Day Should You Study German?
More is always better when it comes to studying a new language, but the answer to how much time is needed to learn depends on several factors. Most experts recommend spending about 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
This, however, could take more time than some people have. If you have to pick up German quickly (say less than a month), you might want to put aside a few hours a day for your Duolingo training and other learning activities. Bottom line though, immersing yourself is the most effective way to learn German (or any language).
How Many Hours Does It Take To Learn German on Duolingo?
The Foreign Service Institute reports that it takes an average of 36 weeks to learn German, or 900 hours of classes and training. That’s because German is moderately difficult to pick up. On the plus side, it has a lot of grammatical similarities to English, which really helps. But you’re still taking on an entire language from scratch, and the pronunciation definitely has a learning curve.
Again though, the level of hours needed varies depending on how quickly you retain information and how fluent you’d like to be.
For some people who pick up language naturally, it might take just 300 or 400 hours of using the app. For others though, it might take well over 1,000 hours of dedication.
With that said, you can also pick up German faster by adding to your Duolingo learning, but we’ll talk about that more in a minute.
How Long Does It Take To Complete The Duolingo German Course?
The Duolingo course can take anywhere from 6 to 36 months to complete, depending on how extensively you want to learn the language and how much time you dedicate.
If you’re doing just one lesson per day, expect your journey to take closer to that three year mark. If you’re blowing through lessons daily though, expect faster results. It also depends on which subscription you choose. The free version is pretty limited. You can move through units much faster by upgrading to Super Duolingo, which removes apps and provides unlimited hearts so you can keep moving forward no matter how many mistakes you make. To practice spontaneous conversations with their AI-powered character, Lily, you have to be on the highest tier, Duolingo Max, which also includes AI tools like “Explain My Answer” and Roleplay.
For reference, Duolingo German is one of the lengthiest programs available from the platform, mostly due to the complex nature of the German language.
If you are trying to learn German from Duolingo more quickly, you may want to dedicate multiple hours per day to your training.
Tips For Learning German with Duolingo
Learning German is a difficult and lengthy process, but it’s far from impossible. In fact, the Duolingo platform makes it a lot easier and more enjoyable, thanks to their gamification includes rankings, leagues, and other features. If you want to make the most of your learning:
- Set Goals: The best way to make progress is to set goals for yourself and keep yourself accountable along the way. Don’t overdo it. Short goals are good to start. Once you’ve established a regular German habit, you can set more challenging goals.
- Focus on What Matters: It’s easy to get distracted by things like leagues and gems, but your focus should really be on your own weekly goals and personal efforts. Don’t focus on beating other users. Just try to outdo yourself.
- Take Notes: Write down German words and phrases you don’t recognize or struggle with. Make notes on pronunciation or anything you found confusing.
- Pace Yourself: German is more complicated than Spanish or French. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you more time than you anticipated. Just set realistic goals and go at your own pace.
- Take Advantage of All Resources: Putting in more time to use Duolingo’s bonus features, like listening to DuoRadio in German, following along with audio Stories, and tracking your progress with the Duolingo Score will engage every area of your brain.
Best Ways To Supplement Your German Learning Process
In addition to the tips above, there are extra resources you can also take advantage of. In reality, Duolingo works best as a complement to more robust German apps, but if it’s your primary program, here are some ways to round it out.
For starters, take advantage of online resources like pronunciation tools, translator apps, and more. You can also speed up the process by:
- Watching German TV or videos
- Listening to podcasts or audiobooks in German
- Using the captions while watching shows and movies
- Reading children’s books
- Listening to songs and read lyrics
- Having a conversation with a German speaker
A platform like Duolingo is really just the core of your language learning process. In order to be most successful, you’ll want to add in other practice opportunities.
A few alternative apps I recommend based on my own personal use: Rocket German is great for speaking and listening, Babbel works in lots of easy grammar tips in brief 15-minute lessons, and Pimsleur has a driving mode for busy commuters. These apps contain audio lessons, more in-depth exercises, and bonus tools (like podcasts) to immerse you in German and help you learn faster.
The answer to this question obviously depends on how much time you are committing to German, how many lessons you are completing each week, and what level of fluency you desire to achieve. If you’re doing two or three lessons per day, it will likely take more than a year to achieve any level of basic fluency.
There are over 150 units in the Duolingo German course, with new ones being added frequently (and others being expanded). Thus, it depends on your rate of lesson completion. If you are only doing one lesson per day, it will take years to finish Duolingo German.
The short answer is not really. Even if you finish the entire German course on Duolingo, the highest level of fluency you’ll likely achieve is B1 or B2. I find it very hard to believe you’ll become fluent at a conversational level using Duolingo alone.
Most Duolingo German users spend between 10 and 30 minutes per day. At that pace, progress is steady but slow, especially beyond beginner levels.
Duolingo is best suited for reaching an early beginner to lower-intermediate level in German. Advancing beyond that usually requires additional speaking, grammar, and immersion practice.
Daily use helps with consistency and vocabulary retention, but it does not dramatically shorten the overall time needed to learn German without outside practice.
