Is there any resource online which has easy German (should use most common words in daily setting) and also has its English translation alongside?
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1"easy" and "should use most common words" seem to contradict each other. Could you give some examples on the level that you are looking for?– TimCommented Jun 16, 2011 at 15:03
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It can include most common easy words, no contradiction.– user508Commented Jun 16, 2011 at 15:28
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1@Gigili - Asking about beginner lesson and some easy text to read is totally different thing. The question you are mentioning is for those who don't know a bit about german and my question is for those who know a little bit about german but now wanted to increase their vocabulary and improve their reading skills in german.– itsaboutcodeCommented Jun 16, 2011 at 17:30
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@itsaboutcode: I proved that "easy" and "should use most common words" don't contradict each other, nothing to do with your question really.– user508Commented Jun 16, 2011 at 17:33
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@Gigili - I know that. I was answering to your possible duplicate comment.– itsaboutcodeCommented Jun 16, 2011 at 17:35
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7 Answers
The German part of about.com has a selection of dual-language texts. You will find them on this page. Note that not all of the texts are available in two languages, look for the ones marked dual-language.
However, they are not all elementary, but for example Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten should fit the bill. It even comes with German audio.
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Do you mean "dual language readings"?– user508Commented Jun 16, 2011 at 15:35
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No, I meant a "reader" as in "reading exercise". Anyway, the text is much clearer after Tim's edit.– StovnerCommented Jun 16, 2011 at 16:36
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@Tim N - I think that would be an interesting reading. Any other text out there with same purpose? Commented Jun 16, 2011 at 17:36
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1@itsaboutcode: Stovner is the one who answered your question!– user508Commented Jun 16, 2011 at 17:46
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Just had a look at german.about.com and learnt a new word: Rotationseuropäer. Evil. Commented Jun 16, 2011 at 21:52
I would suggest taking a look at these Google Chrome / Chromium extensions that can make your life easier while learning german or english for that matter.
I copy-paste my answer to this question
I'm not related to Yabla.
But I have appreciated their video demos very much. There are subtitles, both german and english that you can switch on and off. The speed of the video can be slowered. And all videos are done by genuine german people, and often real video content. I think something like 300 or more videos, i don't remember. You should at least give a try there german.yabla.com. And I am tempted to subscribe personnally, I just wait to have a little more time during the week.
answered Jul 18, 2012 at 20:24
I have learned quite a bit just reading the questions written in german.SE. Google Chrome recognizes the text and German and offers to translate. Then hovering the cursor over the English translation pops-up a little box with the original text.
While the translation is often a little imperfect, I have no problem getting the general idea. The well-written German is the key, as opposed to the poorer English.
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1I agree that a dictionary or machine translations usually are enough to understand a text in a language that you are learning. This solves the real problem though, not the one asked about :)– TimCommented Jun 16, 2011 at 15:54
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Google chrome translation service is very good and in fact I am using it daily to read "LEARN GERMAN WITH TOP-THEMA MIT VOKABELN" section of dw-world, but machine translation has some limitations, that's why I was looking for a text which was written with a purpose to teach english readers about german language. Commented Jun 16, 2011 at 17:34
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2Be very careful to only do this with original German text and english machine translation, not the other way around! :)– fzwoCommented Jun 16, 2011 at 18:20
http://www.linguee.de/ is a very good one.
It indexes web pages & documents, which is in dual language, so when you search, instead of a meaning of the word you can get full sentences and "learn" that word in contex.
Here: http://www.has.vcu.edu/for/grimm/grimm_menu.html has dual-language text (among other resources!) for many Grimm stories.
My german teacher plays Extr@ videos for us, you can find them all on youtube and i think they all have subtitles but I'm not sure. Just search youtube for "Extr@ in german" and they should come right up.
