A1 German course. The one you will still open on day 30.
Eight units, taught with real grammar and modern interactivity. Built for people who tried apps, abandoned them, and still need to learn the language.
The A1 course, unit by unit
8 units · follows the Hueber Motive grammar progression
Wie? Woher? Wann?
Introduce yourself, ask simple questions, talk about where you are from.
Grammar: V2 word order, W-questions, nominative articles.
Wie gut kennst du...?
Family, friends, jobs, numbers up to 100.
Grammar: Possessive articles, noun plurals, numbers.
Was ist für Sie wichtig?
Food, restaurants, what matters to you.
Grammar: Accusative case, mögen and möchten, irregular verbs.
Muss ich heute...?
Home life, obligations, daily crises.
Grammar: Modal verbs, separable verbs, Satzklammer.
Wo ist...?
City navigation, apartments, furniture.
Grammar: Dative case, spatial prepositions.
Was ist dein Problem?
Health, body, medical appointments.
Grammar: Imperativ, dative verbs, Präteritum basics.
Wohin fahren Sie?
Travel, hotels, weather.
Grammar: Perfekt with haben, irregular Partizip II.
Hast du schon gehört?
Media, leisure, festivals, clothing.
Grammar: Perfekt with sein, modal sollen, dative verbs.
Why A1 is where most learners quit
The first 100 hours are the hardest. Skip the grammar and nothing sticks by week four. We built A1 as a real course, so you are still on it in month three.
One Who Learns
Good atA1 to B1 grammar spine. Theory before drills. Vocab that reviews itself.
What you getA1 free, then €12 a month for A2 and B1. Self-paced. Built for the Goethe exam.
Textbooks
Good atReal grammar progression, tested in classrooms.
What is missingNo audio. No feedback between sessions. You do it once and forget it by Thursday.
Language apps
Good atDaily habit, clean UI, good for vocab.
What is missingPattern matching, not grammar. You finish a tree and still cannot say why the article changed.
Private schools
Good atStructure and accountability in a group setting.
What is missingEUR 400 to 1,500 a course. Fixed schedule. Pace set by the slowest student, not by you.
The real problem was never a missing feature. It was four products that never talk to each other. One Who Learns closes the gap.
One place to learn. Everything connected.
One Who Learns replaces your textbook, your apps, and your flashcard grind, and works alongside your tutor.
Memory palace flashcards
Learn vocabulary through image-based association — not rote repetition. Each word is paired with a visual scene that anchors meaning in memory. Combined with spaced repetition: forget a word, it comes back more often.
/hʊnt/
Tap to see details
dog
Examples
Wir haben einen kleinen Hund.
We have a small dog.
Der Hund spielt gerne im Garten.
The dog likes to play in the garden.
/ˈkat͡sə/
Tap to see details
cat
Examples
Meine Katze schläft viel.
My cat sleeps a lot.
Die Katze spielt mit dem Ball.
The cat plays with the ball.
/ˈap͡fl̩/
Tap to see details
apple
Examples
Ich esse jeden Tag einen Apfel.
I eat an apple every day.
Der rote Apfel ist sehr süß und knackig.
The red apple is very sweet and crisp.
/ˈbluːmə/
Tap to see details
flower
Examples
Ich kaufe eine schöne Blume.
I buy a beautiful flower.
Die Blume ist sehr rot.
The flower is very red.
/buːx/
Tap to see details
book
Examples
Ich lese ein Buch.
I am reading a book.
Dieses Buch ist sehr interessant.
This book is very interesting.
/ˈvasɐ/
Tap to see details
water
Examples
Ich trinke gern kaltes Wasser im Sommer.
I like to drink cold water in summer.
Ist das Wasser in der Flasche frisch?
Is the water in the bottle fresh?
/ʃvaʁt͡s/
Tap to see details
black
Comparative Forms
Examples
Ihr neues Fahrrad ist schwarz und modern.
Her new bicycle is black and modern.
Ich trinke gerne schwarzen Kaffee am Morgen.
I like to drink black coffee in the morning.
/ˈapˌʃlʊs/
Tap to see details
graduation, qualification, degree
Examples
Er feierte letzte Woche seinen Abschluss.
He celebrated his graduation last week.
Sie möchte einen guten Abschluss machen.
She wants to get a good qualification.
/ˈaːbn̩tɔɪ̯ɐ/
Tap to see details
adventure
Examples
Ich suche immer das nächste Abenteuer.
I am always looking for the next adventure.
Das war ein echtes Abenteuer für uns alle.
That was a real adventure for all of us.
/ˈaʊ̯sˌʃtɛlʊŋ/
Tap to see details
exhibition
Examples
Wir besuchten eine interessante Kunstausstellung.
We visited an interesting art exhibition.
Die Ausstellung ist noch bis nächste Woche geöffnet.
The exhibition is still open until next week.
/ˈaʊ̯toˌbaːn/
Tap to see details
motorway, highway
Examples
Wir fahren auf der Autobahn nach Berlin.
We are driving on the motorway to Berlin.
Auf der Autobahn gibt es oft Stau.
There is often traffic jam on the motorway.
/ˈd͡ʒʊŋl̩/
Tap to see details
jungle
Examples
Im Dschungel leben viele exotische Tiere und Pflanzen.
Many exotic animals and plants live in the jungle.
Sie träumt davon, einmal den Amazonas-Dschungel zu besuchen.
She dreams of visiting the Amazon jungle someday.
/detɛkˈtiːf/
Tap to see details
detective
Examples
Der Detektiv löste den Fall nach langer Ermittlung.
The detective solved the case after a long investigation.
Sie liest gerne Bücher über einen klugen Detektiv.
She likes to read books about a clever detective.
/ˈdiːpˌʃtaːl/
Tap to see details
theft
Examples
Der Diebstahl wurde sofort der Polizei gemeldet.
The theft was immediately reported to the police.
Leider nimmt die Zahl der Diebstähle in der Stadt zu.
Unfortunately, the number of thefts in the city is increasing.
/ˈbaːɐ̯ˌɡɛlt/
Tap to see details
cash
Examples
Ich habe leider kein Bargeld dabei.
Unfortunately, I don't have any cash with me.
Man kann hier nur mit Bargeld zahlen.
You can only pay with cash here.
/demokʁaˈtiː/
Tap to see details
democracy
Examples
Wir leben in einer stabilen Demokratie.
We live in a stable democracy.
Die Demokratie schützt die Rechte der Bürger.
Democracy protects the rights of citizens.
/ˈbuːxˌhandlʊŋ/
Tap to see details
bookshop
Examples
Ich kaufe meine Bücher immer in der örtlichen Buchhandlung.
I always buy my books at the local bookshop.
Die neue Buchhandlung hat eine große Auswahl.
The new bookshop has a large selection.
/bəˈvaɪ̯s/
Tap to see details
evidence / proof
Examples
Die Polizei sucht nach dem Beweis seiner Schuld.
The police are looking for the proof of his guilt.
Gibt es einen klaren Beweis für diese Behauptung?
Is there clear evidence for this claim?
/ˈaʊ̯sˌvɪʁkʊŋ/
Tap to see details
effect / impact
Examples
Klimawandel hat ernste Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt.
Climate change has serious effects on the environment.
Die langfristigen Auswirkungen sind noch unbekannt.
The long-term effects are still unknown.
/ˈdʁʊkɐ/
Tap to see details
printer
Examples
Mein Drucker funktioniert nicht, ich brauche einen neuen.
My printer is not working, I need a new one.
Kannst du bitte das Dokument am Drucker abholen?
Can you please pick up the document from the printer?
Grammar drills that build muscle memory
Conjugation tables and case drills with instant feedback. A1 covers present tense, accusative, dative, and modal verbs. Mistakes are tracked, so spaced repetition brings them back at the right time.
Grammar that explains why
Every section opens with a theory block in plain English. "The accusative marks the direct object, the thing being acted on." Not "fill in den, die, das, and hope."
A1 vocab list, already built
200 A1 words with gender colour coding, audio, example sentences, and visual flashcards. Complete a unit and its words auto-queue for spaced repetition. No Anki cards to make.
Interactive reference tables
Article endings, personal pronouns, common irregular verbs. All interactive. Tap a cell and see examples in context. The references you will still open in month three.
Connect your AI assistant via MCP
Connect Claude or ChatGPT to your account through the Model Context Protocol. Your AI reads your progress and vocab, grades writing, and explains grammar in context.
Start learning German. For real this time.
A1 is free. 8 units. Full features. No credit card.
Common questions
Duolingo is built around pattern matching rather than explaining why German grammar works the way it does. One Who Learns is a structured curriculum. 30 units with theory blocks, grammar drills, and exam-style exercises. Your vocab reviews itself through spaced repetition. You do not need a separate flashcard app.
Yes. Exercise formats mirror the Goethe exam modules you prepare on your own — reading (Lesen), listening (Hören), and writing (Schreiben) — plus the grammar and vocabulary that underpin all four. Progress is tracked by grammar point, so you always know what to work on next. At B1, the final unit is a full exam-strategy module covering Lesen, Hören, Schreiben, and Sprechen.
Your tutor gives you 1 to 2 hours a week. What about the other 5 to 10 hours of study? That is where One Who Learns lives. The tutor focuses on speaking and correction. The platform handles grammar, retention, and structure between sessions. They complement each other.
A1 is free forever. No credit card. A2 and B1 unlock with Premium at €12/month or €99/year, less than a single private tutor session.
No, and we are upfront about that. One Who Learns covers reading, listening, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. That is 3 of 4 Goethe exam modules plus the foundation for all of them. For speaking, pair the app with a tutor, a tandem partner, or an AI assistant.
A1 is free forever. Sections take 10 to 15 minutes each, built for real schedules, not idealised ones. Vocab reviews automatically, so even sporadic sessions still build retention.
The curriculum follows the grammar progression of Hueber Motive, a textbook used in German universities and Sprachschulen. Exercise types map to the Goethe B1 exam format. We built this to pass the exam, not to gamify learning.