{"id":11883,"date":"2020-07-15T23:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T23:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11883"},"modified":"2020-07-15T17:00:06","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T17:00:06","slug":"whats-the-difference-lernen-and-studieren-in-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/whats-the-difference-lernen-and-studieren-in-german\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s The Difference? Lernen And Studieren In German"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! I have three posts lined up about the difference in some very closely linked words. These are German words that are either similar in meaning or similar in appearance (or both), which often leads to these words being used incorrectly. This post looks at the words lernen<\/strong> (to learn) and studieren<\/strong> (to study).<\/p>\n

Lernen \u2013 to learn<\/h2>\n

Lernen<\/strong> means to learn<\/strong>. Here is the present tense conjugation of the verb lernen:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ich lerne \u2013 I learn\/am learning
\nDu lernst \u2013 You learn\/are learning (to one person; informal)
\nEr\/sie\/es lernt \u2013 He\/she\/it learns\/is learning
\nWir lernen \u2013 We learn\/are learning
\nIhr lernt \u2013 You learn\/are learning (to more than one person)
\nSie lernen \u2013 You learn\/are learning (formal)
\nsie lernen \u2013 they learn\/are learning<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A very simple sentence using the verb lernen is:<\/p>\n

Ich lerne Deutsch.<\/strong>
\nI am learning German.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

All very straight-forward so far! The confusion comes when people ask: What\u2019s the difference between saying ‘ich lerne Deutsch’ and ‘ich studiere Deutsch’ (I am studying German)?<\/strong> Is there even a difference, or can these be used interchangeably?<\/p>\n

This is where things can get muddled. In the English language, the words \u2018studying\u2019 and \u2018learning\u2019 are often used quite freely. You might say you are \u2018busy studying\u2019 or \u2018busy learning\u2019, and whether you\u2019re at school, university, or using a private tutor, you can say you\u2019re \u2018studying\u2019 or \u2018learning\u2019, and both words are acceptable.<\/p>\n

The difference with German, however, is that the verb studieren<\/strong> (to study) is used mainly by university (college) students.<\/p>\n

So, if you\u2019re studying German at university, that\u2019s when you\u2019d say ich studiere Deutsch<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

However, if you are learning German at school, with a private tutor, or studying it yourself using textbooks and videos (and perhaps Transparent Language<\/a> and this blog!) you\u2019d say ich lerne Deutsch<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here is the present tense verb conjugation of studieren<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

studieren \u2013 to study<\/h2>\n

Ich studiere \u2013 I study\/am studying
\nDu studierst \u2013 you study\/are studying (to one person; informal)
\nEr\/sie\/es studiert \u2013 he\/she\/it studies\/is studying
\nWir studieren \u2013 we study\/are studying
\nIhr studiert \u2013 you study\/are studying (to more than one person)
\nSie studieren \u2013 you study\/are studying (formal)
\nsie studieren \u2013 they study\/are studying<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A very simple sentence using the verb studieren<\/strong> is:<\/p>\n

Sie studiert Geschichte.<\/strong>
\nShe is studying history.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"

Photo by Hatice Yard\u0131m on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

So, for example: You are a student at the university, and your subject is history. You are also taking German lessons from a private tutor at home. You would convey that by saying:<\/p>\n

Ich studiere Geschichte<\/strong> \u2013 I am studying history (at university).
\nIch lerne Deutsch<\/strong> \u2013 I am learning German.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Side note: The verb studieren can also be used to mean ‘to examine or inspect something in great detail’. But, in all other contexts, if you wanted to say you were studying (ie. reading a textbook or your notes), you’d use the verb lernen.<\/em><\/p>\n

I hope this makes sense! Stay tuned for the next post, which will look at the difference between the words lehren and unterrichten.<\/p>\n

Bis dann (until then)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag! I have three posts lined up about the difference in some very closely linked words. These are German words that are either similar in meaning or similar in appearance (or both), which often leads to these words being used incorrectly. This post looks at the words lernen (to learn) and studieren (to study)…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":11890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[517059,95131,451644,376023,1851,980,1401],"class_list":["post-11883","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","tag-dont-let-it-confuse-you","tag-german-language","tag-german-words","tag-language","tag-learning","tag-same-words","tag-words"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t