Goal: German
Learn German instead of scrolling Instagram
Sorry Scroll (sorryscroll.com) puts two new German words in front of Instagram, TikTok or any app you block. Learn them, answer a quick check, and the app opens. At 25 opens a day that's 12 new words a day, so your first week covers 84 words and all 500 take about 6 weeks.
| Words | 500, the most-used everyday German words, in a set order |
|---|---|
| With every word | meaning, an example sentence with its translation, and audio for both |
| Learner tips | 130 of the 500 words, where there's a common trap |
| Each step | 2 new words, a check on each, then 1 older word to recall; about 30 seconds |
| Pace | Up to 12 new words a day · all 500 in about 6 weeks at 25 opens a day |
| Price | Free for 1 blocked app · Pricing |
Nouns come with der, die or das, so you learn each word's gender with it.
Day one: your first 12 German words
In the order the app teaches them, two per step:
| Word | English meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| hallo | hello | |
| danke | thank you | |
| bitte | please | |
| ja | yes | |
| nein | no | |
| tschüss | bye | |
| Entschuldigung | excuse me | |
| das Wasser | the water | |
| das Brot | the bread | |
| der Kaffee | the coffee | |
| das Haus | the house | |
| der Hund | the dog |
The rest of week one
Twelve new words a day, plus reviews of the ones before. By day seven you've met 84:
Day 2 die Katze · das Buch · der Tisch · der Stuhl · die Tür · das Fenster · das Auto · der Zug · die Stadt · das Land · die Straße · die Schule
Day 3 die Arbeit · der Freund · die Familie · die Mutter · der Vater · der Bruder · die Schwester · das Kind · der Mann · die Frau · der Tag · die Nacht
Day 4 der Morgen · der Abend · die Woche · der Monat · das Jahr · heute · morgen · gestern · jetzt · immer · nie · oft
Day 5 hier · dort · eins · zwei · drei · vier · fünf · sechs · sieben · acht · neun · zehn
Day 6 hundert · tausend · sein · haben · machen · gehen · kommen · sehen · wissen · können · wollen · sagen
Day 7 sprechen · essen · trinken · schlafen · lesen · schreiben · lieben · kaufen · suchen · finden · geben · nehmen
Tips you'll meet first
130 words in the deck carry a tip, where there's a common trap. The first few:
hallo
hello
Works everywhere and at any time. Guten Tag is the formal version.
danke
thank you
Careful: answering an offer with danke alone means no thanks. Say ja, gerne to accept.
bitte
please
Also you're welcome and here you go. One of the most useful words in German.
ja
yes
Doch says yes to a negative question: 'Kommst du nicht?' 'Doch!'
nein
no
Casually you'll hear nee or nö.
tschüss
bye
Casual. Auf Wiedersehen is the formal goodbye.
How fast, by how often you open your apps
| Blocked-app opens a day | New words a day | All 500 in |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 6 | about 13 weeks |
| 15 | 8 | about 9 weeks |
| 25 | 12 | about 6 weeks |
Your own numbers: the calculator. Every word: The 500 most common German words, with audio.
Also on Sorry Scroll: Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, English. How the language goal works step by step: the language goal.
Questions
Can you learn German while scrolling?
You can learn German vocabulary, a little at a time, in the moments you'd open an app anyway. Sorry Scroll asks for two new words and a quick check each time; words come back for review after 20 minutes, then 1, 3, 7 and 21 days, and a word counts as learned after two correct recalls.
How long does it take to learn 500 German words this way?
About 6 weeks at 25 blocked-app opens a day, because new words are capped at 12 a day. At 10 opens a day, about 13 weeks.
Which words come first?
The most-used everyday ones, in the order shown above: day one starts with hallo, danke, bitte.
Is this enough to speak German?
It's a vocabulary habit, not a full course. 500 everyday words make a course, a show or a conversation much easier to follow, but grammar and speaking practice need a course or a tutor alongside.
Can I see meanings in Hindi?
Yes. Meanings and tips can be shown in Hindi, as well as English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean.