71 comments

1. UgurC. on November 8, 2025, at 7:46 a.m.

   In my opinion, this is the best podcast so far. It’s exactly the kind of format that German learners are looking for. The slow and normal speaking pace is great.

2. André Rodrigues on January 17, 2023, at 2:17 p.m.

   That's a great idea, because dialogue is one of the best forms of text for learning from.

3. abi on September 26, 2022, at 12:32 p.m.

   sooooooo good

4. Christos Vissariou on November 28, 2021, at 1:18 p.m.

   Good morning! I just found your website.
   I'm learning German, and this method using videos is really helpful.
   Especially the option to listen to the dialogues at a much slower pace.
   Thank you very much!

5. Kourosh on March 6, 2021, at 2:00 a.m.

   Hello, Annik:
   Thank you very much for the podcast. It's very helpful.

   I'm from Iran.

   Best regards.
   Kourosh

6. Annik Rubens on January 23, 2021, at 12:48 p.m.

   No, all the dialogues are free.

7. Ellen on January 22, 2021, at 4:34 p.m.

   Dialogues are best for beginners. Is there a lot of dialogue in Premium?
   🙂

8. Anonymous on June 8, 2020, at 10:59 p.m.

   Simply brilliant! Thank you so much!

9. Yongming on March 3, 2020, at 10:07 p.m.

   Awesome!

10. Annik Rubens on October 8, 2019, at 8:35 a.m.

    Anytime!

11. Anonymous on October 5, 2019, at 9:15 p.m.

    That works great for me.
    Thank you very much.

12. Klaus Gehrmann on November 19, 2018, at 2:08 a.m.

    Very useful! Especially the idiomatic expressions—many of my students aren’t familiar with them at all. That’s exactly what they need to understand what people here say when they’re hanging out at a café or in the supermarket. More of that, please, Annik! Thanks.

13. Annik Rubens on November 4, 2018, at 5:49 p.m.

    Either is fine. I was taught that “Du” and “Sie” should be capitalized. Today, that’s no longer necessary.

14. Moeist on November 4, 2018, at 5:39 p.m.

    Thanks! But…why are all the “you”s capitalized? I thought only “Sie” was…

15. ANTONY on August 17, 2018, at 4:01 p.m.

    Yes, it was very helpful for me. It was very interesting and exciting. I really enjoyed it.

16. Annik Rubens on April 9, 2018, at 9:58 a.m.

    I do that in the "Fun Facts" section of the Premium section—there’s one short episode per week with two recording speeds.

17. Margit on April 4, 2018, at 9:08 a.m.

    I really loved that the "normal speed" conversation was included in the second half of the episode.

18. Caro on February 6, 2018, at 7:31 a.m.

    This is so helpful! :) I'm going to show it to my German as a Foreign Language student today and read it with her (hope she likes it) :)—thank you so much!

19. BS CHO on August 8, 2017, at 11:32 p.m.

    Thank you very much!!!

20. Dmitry on May 20, 2017, at 6:34 p.m.

    Dear Annik, thank you for these important and helpful conversations! That's how it goes)

21. Milos Maksimovic on January 30, 2017, at 4:08 p.m.

    Dear Annik, thank you very much for this conversation. It’s helpful and easy to understand. In Serbia, people also have these kinds of conversations while drinking coffee. Personally, I prefer to drink coffee with my mother at home and talk with her. But I often go out with my friends, and we talk about everything. Best regards from Serbia

22. Al Hamed on January 29, 2017, at 2:10 p.m.

    Great!

23. Al Hamed on January 29, 2017, at 2:08 p.m.

    Thank you for suggesting that idea.

24. Hirsa on February 12, 2016, at 12:47 p.m.

    That's very helpful; thank you very much.

25. Mónica on November 3, 2015, at 11:13 a.m.

    Thank you for these great dialogues. They're really helpful if you want to learn everyday German.

26. Annik on June 29, 2015, at 9:52 a.m.

    Thank you so much!!!

27. Peter Keevil on June 26, 2015, at 11:14 a.m.

    Hello, Annik

    I just wanted to write to you to thank you very much for your excellent work on slowgerman.

    Forty years ago, I used to speak German quite well, but I haven’t used it since then, so my German is now extremely rusty! I now listen to one of your recordings every day, and by doing this and reading parallel texts in German and English, I plan to brush up on my German.

    Your work is absolutely perfect for me...thank you so much

    Peter, from Gloucestershire, England

28. Arzu on June 19, 2015, at 8:53 p.m.

    I just found this site. It's great. I'd like to say a big thank you to Slow German.
    I've already memorized it.

29. Carmen on June 17, 2015, at 8:23 p.m.

    It's great!

30. Atef on August 11, 2014, at 7:17 a.m.

    It's very good
    Thank you very much

31. Hiba on July 7, 2014, at 1:06 p.m.

    I find dialogues like these very useful, and it would be great if you could create more dialogues based on everyday life in Germany.

    Thank you in advance

32. Kahn Lioh on June 5, 2014, at 5:29 p.m.

    Dear Annik,

    Thank you very much for these helpful resources that you’ve carefully put together for everyone. It’s very kind of you to help us foreigners so much. I’ve already recommended Slow German to my classmates who are learning German with me. You and I visit Slow German almost every day. As a result, my reading skills have improved a lot. We really hope you’ll be able to offer us more episodes.

    Thank you so much again!!

    Kahn Lioh
    in Beijing, China

33. guitar107 on May 25, 2014, at 6:18 a.m.

    These dialogues were very helpful to me. Thank you!

34. Ray on May 20, 2014, at 3:28 p.m.

    That's very practical and useful. Thank you!

35. Iris on May 9, 2014, at 3:11 p.m.

    Conversation is very, very, very useful, but even though I passed the TestDAF, I still have a lot of trouble when I speak German. Please include more conversation and everyday German!

36. Theresa Reagan on May 8, 2014, at 10:12 a.m.

    Dear Annik,

    I really love Slow German! I live in Zurich now and am learning High German. (Swiss German is so funny! I’ll get to that later…) Usually, I listen to Slow German while I’m out running. Thanks for these helpful and interesting episodes. (The dialogues are great. More, please!)

    I'm very happy to support Slow German with a small donation.

    Thank you very much,
    Theresa

37. Daniel Léo Simpson on May 7, 2014, at 3:35 a.m.

    You’re awesome, Annik, thank you—we really do appreciate the great work you and your team are doing. There’s nothing like this site for German (at any level) on the web. And the current educational trend is for even beginners to listen to Slow German to get a feel for the “sound” and “flow” of the language—even though I don’t understand everything, the words I DO know tend to “jump out” of your dialogues. This is a very rewarding experience.
    Best regards from California, where the sun always shines. 🙂
    Daniel Léo Simpson
    Composer
    San Francisco

38. Annik on April 30, 2014, at 8:52 p.m.

    Hey Daniel, don’t worry, I think I got the gist of your message…. And I know there are so many people learning the language—all languages, actually. I’d really like to help all of you as much as I can. I know I need to produce more beginner episodes. Well, I need to produce more of everything, I guess. 😉 I’ll try, and if you guys want to help, I’d be more than happy to! There used to be a forum for students, but it didn’t work out—hardly anyone used it…

39. Daniel Léo Simpson on April 30, 2014, at 4:56 a.m.

    Hi Annik – Oh man, I knew I was going to get in trouble when I posted on April 11th.

    1) The Google translation might be terrible and of no use to you, but I assure you it’s very helpful to me when a beginner like me knows nothing but the first two lines: “Hello, how are you?” :).

    2) The site may be, as you say, “intended for advanced students of the language, B1 and above,” but many, many beginners and lower-intermediate students are visiting it. I’m not suggesting you change anything to accommodate them—it’s your site. But there are more beginners and intermediate learners here than you probably realize.

    3) You said: “…It’s just too much work. I hope you all understand. This isn’t my job,”

    Wait a minute! Hold on! Please read my post again! My whole point was:

    “Let’s start doing some of the work ourselves!!!”

    I’m talking to other students, not you. What I’m saying is, instead of everyone expecting YOU to do it for them, we should be willing to do the translations ourselves if that’s important to us. The comment section isn’t the place to do this—I shouldn’t have posted the Google translation there—I apologize for that—the place for that is the “Slow German community forum”—that’s where you should share translations with those who are interested.

    Why are beginners and intermediate learners coming to Slow German? Because it’s almost impossible to find the quality of what you offer anywhere else on the web. And also, there is now a movement and a shift away from standard grammar and textbook-based language learning—thanks to sites like LingQ and others like it, there is a movement to learn a language by listening, listening, and listening to interesting content and following along with the transcript. The textbooks then become the supplements and the content the core of the course—not the other way around. This content is exactly what you’re offering here, which is what makes your site so great, and why we’re so grateful for the great work you’re doing, Annik. To be clear, I don’t think it’s your job to provide translations. That’s why I said in my April 11 comment: “What? In all world languages?”
    I believe it’s the students’ job to do this (if they even want it, which, as you say, advanced students may not.)

    I hope that clears things up for you ;).

    Bye, Annik – wait, I mean, Bye 🙂

    Daniel Léo Simpson
    Composer
    San Francisco

40. Mohamed Yehia Badreldin on April 27, 2014, at 12:37 a.m.

    Dear Annik,

    Of course, we don't need a translation. Language isn't just about translation; it's more about practice (listening and reading) and understanding the culture. I like Slow German because it opens a window onto the German language and culture. Thank you, and we look forward to more from you.

41. Ikuko on April 18, 2014, at 1:08 a.m.

    Hi, Annik!

    I’ve been listening to “Slow Germann” on the podcast a lot since last year. I think almost every day.
    I used to learn German; that was over 20 years ago.
    Back then, there weren’t as good methods for learning a foreign language as there are now.
    Your programs help me a lot and bring me great joy.
    Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I look forward to new episodes.

42. Mehrnoosh on April 17, 2014, at 4:55 a.m.

    Hello, Annik,
    Thank you so much. I think dialogues like these are great for learning German.
    Please keep it up! 😉
    Have a nice day
    Mehrnoosh

43. Maria Casanova on April 14, 2014, at 4:26 p.m.

    Please do that again 🙂 It's great for people learning German

    Greetings from Venezuela

44. Annik on April 14, 2014, at 10:33 a.m.

    Hi Daniel, thanks for this comment! But I’m not sure if a Google translation is very helpful. Sure, you can understand some of it, but most of it is simply awful. 🙂 Slow German is intended for advanced learners of the language, B1 and above; I don’t think they need translations. Or do they? Maybe I could offer translations as premium content, but not for free. It’s simply too much work. 🙂 Hope you all understand. This isn’t my job, I don’t make much money from it, and I have to make sure it doesn’t take up too much of my time…

45. Brian Sullivan on April 13, 2014, at 8:44 p.m.

    Hi Annik.
    It's nice to hear something different. It was interesting and useful. Please post more.
    Thank you very much
    Brian

46. Abd Kh on April 12, 2014, at 10:55 p.m.

    Thank you very much... I'd like to ask you a favor... please send me a few more of those... Thank you in advance for everything...

47. Andrea on April 12, 2014, at 8:21 a.m.

    This is great! I'm teaching German to a friend, and this dialogue is a great way to practice and review. I like that it's written in colloquial language but the pronunciation is very clear—it's just the right material for beginners and very helpful!

48. Daniel Léo Simpson on April 11, 2014, at 10:19 p.m.

    People want translations and for someone else to do it for them—all for free—but I did this one in exactly 30 seconds using Google Translate at translate.google.com. Obviously, there will be flaws, but 90% of it is there, or at least easy enough to understand—everyone seems to want someone else to do the work for them. “Oh, this would be better if it were translated.” Into what? English? Hindi? Japanese? All the world’s languages? Let’s start doing some of the work ourselves!!!

    But still, I’m happy to share if it helps someone.

    Today, we’re trying something a little different with Slow German—a dialogue. Please let us know in the comments if you find these dialogues helpful! It’s an experiment.

    Hello!
    Hello! Well, how are you?
    Oh, quite well. I have a sore throat. Hopefully I won’t get sick.
    Oh, I’m sorry. Well then, get well soon. Take it easy for now.
    Thank you. Have you been here long?
    No, I just arrived. Luckily, I found a parking spot.
    Lucky. Have you ordered yet?
    No, the waitress hasn’t shown up yet.
    Ok. And, what’s new?
    Not much. But I was at the movies. The day before yesterday.
    What did you watch?
    The new one from the Coen brothers.
    Which I haven’t heard anything about yet.
    If you look at it! It really is a beautiful film.
    Thanks for the tip! But I haven’t finished reading my book yet—it’s just so exciting that I didn’t want to do anything else.
    Really? That sounds good! Do I know the author?
    I don’t think so. He’s a very obscure Japanese writer.
    And how did you get the book?
    A colleague recommended it to me.
    Practically speaking, if you have colleagues like that. How are things at work for you? Actually, pretty quiet. Not much going on. The boss is on vacation, and we can pretty much do whatever we want.
    I see… Well, it’s not exactly normal.
    I’ve been taking care of the most important things. But I just don’t want to get stressed out.
    You’re right. Shall we order something? The waitress is over there.
    Yes, of course. Wave to her.
    Excuse me? Good afternoon! We’d like two pots of milk coffee, please. And I’d like a slice of raspberry cake as well
    Oh yes, me too. Thank you!
    Have you actually ever been to that new café over there on the corner?
    No, is there a new café? I hadn’t noticed.
    But it just opened a few weeks ago.
    And, is it worth it?
    I found that they have homemade cakes, and the service was really very friendly when I was there.
    Sounds good. We can meet there next time, yes.
    Why not?

49. Andrea Yan on April 11, 2014, at 7:30 a.m.

    This article is really helpful for me! I hope Slow German can keep producing articles like this for us beginners.

50. Patrick on April 9, 2014, at 2:14 p.m.

    Hi Annik

    I live in England and have been learning German for several years. I think your "Slow German" website is excellent. I also found this "In the Café" dialogue very interesting, useful, and helpful.

    Thank you very much for all your hard work.

    Best regards

    Patrick

51. Charlie Chu on April 6, 2014, at 10:16 p.m.

    That's awesome!!!!!!!
    More of this!

52. Cindy on April 4, 2014, at 12:30 a.m.

    Excellent! This is my first time visiting the site—the podcasts are wonderful.

53. Annik on April 2, 2014, at 3:16 p.m.

    Hi Chris, sorry, but I can’t provide translations. It’s already too much work!

54. Chris from Liverpool on April 2, 2014, at 3:14 p.m.

    Good afternoon, I found this really helpful for a beginner like me, so thank you. An English version would be helpful (if possible?), as some phrases are difficult to translate.

55. Amola on April 1, 2014, at 7:07 a.m.

    Hi Annik,

    I like this type of dialogue because it helps me prepare for my oral exam.

56. YI on March 30, 2014, at 4:29 p.m.

    This kind of dialogue is really useful, and I really like it! Thank you so much!!!!!

57. Jan on March 29, 2014, at 12:08 p.m.

    And where can I find the transcript of this episode as a PDF?

58. Huyen on March 29, 2014, at 3:42 a.m.

    I think this is really useful. I've been learning German for three months, and I really like dialogues like this. Thank you very much!

59. Ylva on March 27, 2014, at 9:20 a.m.

    This dialogue is really helpful! I need to hear and read more everyday German, so this is great!

    Thank you! 😀

60. Dana on March 26, 2014, at 9:43 p.m.

    That's wonderful :) I really like it :)

61. Jane on March 26, 2014, at 8:57 p.m.

    Hello Annik,

    This is a nice dialogue, but I think it contains some colloquial language that might be difficult to translate. It would be very helpful if you could provide the English translation as well.

    Thanks again for this!

    J

62. Kasia on March 26, 2014, at 10:18 a.m.

    I'd like to add one more thing—please try to use idioms in your next conversations!

    Best regards,

    Kasia

63. liping on March 26, 2014, at 8:28 a.m.

    Hello, dear Annik

    It's a great idea that they posted the dialogue.
    Thank you very much

64. Julian on March 26, 2014, at 2:58 a.m.

    Thank you,
    I think the chat feature is really useful. I’ve been learning German for about five months now. But the problem is that I’m just studying without actually using it. I’d love to watch Slow German and chat with others,

65. Peter on March 25, 2014, at 11:01 p.m.

    That's great! We'd love to read more dialogues like this.

66. Doug on March 25, 2014, at 8:49 p.m.

    That's great! It's really helpful for me to listen to this coffeehouse conversation. And I also like that we get both Slow German and Not So Slow German versions, so we can figure everything out slowly and then practice listening at the right pace.

67. Megan on March 25, 2014, at 3:49 p.m.

    Very, very useful! Great idea, and thanks!

    I’m going to memorize it so that I can use these sentence structures and common phrases when I want to say, for example, “Get well soon.” And that way, I can sound like a native German speaker, not like an American speaking German.

68. Pablo on March 25, 2014, at 12:45 p.m.

    That's a great idea! It's very useful because Slowgerman only had lists, and dialogues are very important in everyday life.

69. Post on March 25, 2014, at 11:53 a.m.

    I find the dialogue very helpful. It’s based on a situation in a café. It also gives me practical information that I can use in cafés in Germany. But I hope the dialogue can be a little longer next time.

70. Annik on March 25, 2014, at 11:41 a.m.

    Hi Richard, episodes 1–7 aren't available. And the email address is working now—I was just on vacation and had an "out of office" message set up.

71. Richard on March 25, 2014, at 11:33 a.m.

    Dear Annik,

    Very interesting and useful.

    May I ask—where are episodes 001 through 007? I can't find them!

    AND I've tried sending an email many times, but the address— annik@schlaflosinmuenchen.com —doesn't work…

    Thank you in advance,

    AND Bye

    Richard Power