Is Deutsch lernen (A1) | Nicos Weg | Folge 1: Hallo! good for learning German?

Yes, this is built for true beginners. Nicos Weg is Deutsche Welle's A1 course told as a drama, and this first episode covers greetings and introductions with subtitles, so you can begin German with almost no prior knowledge.

Level

Beginner

Format

YouTube

Where

Free on YouTube from the official DW Deutsch lernen channel

Why it works for learners

Unlike a native show, this is learner-made from the ground up: lines are short, repeated and matched to A1 goals. The story helps those lines stick, since you see Nico as a newcomer needing the very phrases you are learning, like saying hello and who you are. Because it comes from a large public broadcaster's teaching department, it also has a clear next step, with later episodes following him further.

What makes it hard

Very little, as it is the first step, but the danger is overconfidence. Clear, staged dialogue is much easier than Germans speaking in real life. If you have absolute zero German, you may still need to replay it several times for sounds like ch and ü.

How to use it

Watch once with subtitles, then again repeating every greeting aloud. Introduce yourself in German using the same pattern, and record it if you can. Then go straight on to episode two, since the course depends on building from one episode to the next.

More for German learners: our German guides.