Article: The quickest way to learn German is to find someone who speaks the language and strike up a conversation. More formally, Germans would greet each other by saying Guten Tag! However, if you're just chatting with someone your own age, a simple hallo will suffice. Follow up your hallo with Wie gehts? This means roughly "How are you?" If the other person asks first, respond with Mir geht es gut, danke and you've just said "I'm doing well, thank you" in German. Use ich heisse followed by your name to introduce yourself. More than likely, the person will tell you their name in return, at which point you can say es freut mich, dich kennen zu lernen, which means "pleased to meet you." If you want to carry on the conversation, ask the person questions that encourage them to talk about themselves or their own interests. Then you can jump in when you want to know more or have something to add. For example, you might ask them Was machst du beruflich? ("What do you do for work?") or Was machst du ausserhalb der Albeit? ("What do you do after work?") Think about the last conversation you had. It likely wasn't a series of questions and answers that played out like a script. Rather, it was probably filled with a lot of placeholder words such as "right," "sure," and "okay" to let your conversational partner know that you were listening and following along with what they had to say or that you agreed with them. Here are a few phrases you'll often hear native German speakers say: Alles klar (literal translation "all clear") is the German equivalent of "alright" in English. Genau means "right" or "exactly" and is very common in native German speech. It's used similar to the way English speakers might pepper their conversations with "right" or "sure." Stimmt is a good response if someone's said something you agree with. It's typically used in situations where someone has reminded you of something you haven't thought of before, kind of like how you might say "Oh! That's right!" in English. If you want to learn how to speak German, you likely want to learn the German that people today speak. Textbooks often teach you a more stilted, formal way of speaking. While that's fine and you'll still be understood, adding some slang will make for a more natural conversation. If you've agreed upon something, such as a date to meet, you can say gebongt sein, which essentially means the thing has been decided. The verb bongen refers to ringing up a transaction on a cash register, so the phrase means the transaction (or future plan) has been settled. Was geht ab? is a more casual slang expression that essentially means "What's up?" If someone asks you this, respond with nicht viel ("not much") or alles gut ("everything's good"). If a native German comes up to you and says Na? they're saying "hello" and asking after your well-being all in one short word. If you reply naaa it implies that you're doing okay. If you've ever taken a German course or used a language app, you might've felt that you were learning words and phrases you would never use in real life. If you study topics you're already interested in, you'll be able to have relatively fluent conversations about those topics. For example, if you enjoy watching soccer, you're in luck, because Germans love soccer. Look for Bundesliga games in German if you can't find them on your favorite streaming service or through your cable provider, you may be able to find them streaming online. Making mistakes is a good way to learn, but if you're afraid of making mistakes you may never even try. Remember that you are just learning a new language and no one expects you to become fluent overnight. If a German speaker corrects your speech, thank them and repeat back what they've said. For example, you might say Danke, Ich spreche kein Deutsch, which means "Thank you, I only speak a little German."

What is a summary?
Learn basic greetings and how to introduce yourself. Pick up a few conversational placeholders and fillers. Familiarize yourself with German slang to sound more natural. Focus on topics that interest you in German. Build the confidence to make mistakes with grace.