Resources

Best German Reading Material for the Beginner and Intermediate Level (A1, A2, B1, B2)

We have compiled a list of some of our favorite German books, articles, and reading materials to aid you in your quest to conquer the German language.

Best German Reading Material for the Beginner and Intermediate Level (A1, A2, B1, B2)

Books, Articles, and Reading Resources for German

Reading is one of the best ways to build your vocabulary, learn grammar rules, and acquire a new language. Once you reach a high enough level in your target language, it’s easy to find compelling comprehensible material to read; however, it isn’t as easy to find interesting reading material at the beginning of your language learning journey.

We have compiled a list of some of our favorite German books, articles, and reading materials to aid you in your quest to conquer the German language. Viel Glück!

Take a look at our favorite podcasts for learning German at Beginner to Intermediate Podcasts for Learning German

1. German.net - Short Passages (Beginner - Intermediate)

This website has a great collection of short A1-B1 passages that you can use to improve your German reading comprehension. The paragraphs have been divided by level, so if you aren’t ready to tackle authentic material or “full-length” graded readers right now, then this is a great place for you to start!

Check it out at German Reading and Comprehension - Texts for Beginners.

A screenshot of German.net as a recommendation for learning German.
If you are tired of reading, then check out some great Beginner to Intermediate German YouTube Channels!

2. Der Bibliotheken des Goethe Institut (Beginner - Advanced)

If you are learning German and haven’t stumbled upon this gem yet, then you are in for a surprise. This free online library is the king of German reading material. It provides not only a large selection of graded readers and articles from the A1 to C1 level, but also a good assortment of authentic German novels. Many of the books and graded readers come with audio as well, so you can improve your listening comprehension while you read.

Check out this link to one of the greatest free German resources in existence: die Onleihe der Bibliotheken des Goethe-Instituts.

A screenshot of Goethe Institut Library as a recommendation for learning German.
See here our round-up of our favourite German books, many of which can be accessed through Goethe Institut library for free.

3. The German Project  (Beginner)

Relive the fairy tales from your childhood with “Die Drei Kleinen Schweinchen” (The Three Little Pigs) and other well known stories. Narrated slowly in German with a transcript and English translations after each paragraph, these short stories are a wonderful way to pick up some new vocabulary and expose yourself to more of the German language.

Here is a link: German Children's Stories with Slow Audio.

A screenshot of The German Project as a recommendation for learning German.
Are you struggling to remember German noun genders?

Improve your Grammatik und Wortschatz (grammar and vocabulary) with visual learning to more easily remember common German words. Head over to the Visual Noun Library to get started.

4. LingQ Mini Stories

These sixty mini stories cover nearly two thousand words and are narrated by a native speaker. Each story is given from two perspectives, z.B. “I go to the store” | “He goes to the store”. Then, the story implements “circling questions”. z.B. “He went to the store” > “Did he go to the cinema?” > “No, he went to the store”. In short, this means by the end of each story you will have heard and read roughly the same sentence constructed in five different ways.

Start learning or enhance your German with LingQ Mini Stories*.

A screenshot of LingQ as a recommendation for learning German.

___

*By signing up through this link, you're supporting our platform at no extra cost to you.

How our platform works

Our goal is to create a tool that utilizes visual memory techniques to allow people to more effectively learn German noun genders.
feminine “die” nouns are red
masculine “der” nouns are blue
neuter “das” nouns are green
Learn nouns
Quiz