Basic German Vocabulary

by Jutta Müller and Heiko Böck

Via topically oriented lists and contextual sentence usage, both in English and German, the students learn the most important 4000 words in the German language. Handy size for study anywhere: at home,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3468494017
• ISBN13: 9783468494017
• Release Date: December 1992
• Publisher: Langenscheidt Publishers
• Length: 322 Pages

Customer Reviews

A big help

Very practical vocabulary builder: gives pronunciation guide (didn't know that "der Auftrag" is pronounced with a "k")next to each word along with a sample sentence to aid with proper usage.

How to extend your German Vocabulary

I wanted to know, how rich my German vocabulary was. This book allowed me to gauge the extend of my vocabulary. I would not recommend it to a total beginner. One has to absorb around 500-600 very basic words (not to mention, basics of the German grammar) prior to studying from this book. There is one aspect worth remembering. This book is a companion to another, very important aid (buy a German edition) by Langenscheidt entitled "Grundwortschatz Deutsch - Übungsbuch" (a key to all exercises is provided). Both books are by the same pair of authors who designed them as complementing each other(along the same word groupings and typographical conventions). I study regularly from both, first absorbing (or reviewing) a number of words (grouped by a subject area) with simple sentence examples from the Basic German Vocabulary and then, study more advanced exercises dealing essentially with the same word-groups in the Exercise Book (Übungsbuch). There are two general divisions of words, the basic 1-2000 words and more advanced 2001-4000 most useful or, most commonly used words. Note that this is not the same as dividing words by frequency of appearance of words in a language of choice. What is most important in this approach is that it complements any course or self-study program one might undertake. In addition, it re-enforces a habit of working with one's vocabulary in an imaginative way by subject areas (body parts, health, travel etc). This has been proven the most effective way to extend vocabulary in any language, avoiding hammering words into one's head by rote. Finally, the approach just mentioned is a good preparation for the final step in studying a foreign language and, that is transition to a monolingual dictionary such as Langenscheidt Taschenwörterbuch - Deutsch als Fremdsprache or even better (this is the ultimate dictionary for a student of German) Langenscheidt Großwörterbuch - Deutsch als Fremdsprache. By the way, vocabulary of 4000 words as presented in the Basic German Vocabulary book covers 95% of all written texts in German !!! In brief, any person who has done some German (knows very basics of grammar and about 600 words) and wants to keep extending his/her vocabulary should by all means buy the two books mentioned earlier on. All the best in your studies. Remember the saying: Übung macht den Meister !

Optimal intro to a base layer of vocabulary

The theory behind this basic vocabulary as stated in the introduction, is that 2000 words make up 80% of daily language in German. An additional 2000 words cover another 5-10%. This vocabulary list is split thematically (e.g. Trinken und Rauchen / Drinking and Smoking), with the most common word set in that category (1-2000): Alkohol, Bier, Getränk, Milch, etc. followed by the 2nd most common set of words in that category (2000-4000). The idea is that you learn the first 2000, and then the next 2000. Each entry has the German word, English word, IPA pronunciation, gender, (or verb type: e.g. transitive, intransitive, reflexive), imperfect and perfect past tenses, plural form, and a sample usage sentence. This is not a dictionary, you still need that, especially since words are organized by theme, and then by spelling of the German word. There is an index of all the German words, but not for the English words. The introduction is in English but otherwise everything is listed in both German and English, e.g. sections: Menge und Maß = Quantity and Measure. My copy was printed in Germany and I only found it at a small European bookstore in San Francisco. It seems not easily found in the states. That's too bad, because this is a perfect starter tool for people who are beginning to learn German. (like people who don't live in Germany!)