Austrian German is the one to learn if you're moving to Vienna or elsewhere in Austria, studying there, or talking with Austrians. It's standard German with its own words. When Austria joined the EU in 1995, 23 Austrian food words, like Erdäpfel for potatoes, were given the same legal status as the German ones. Many German apps don't say which German they teach. Our German app comparison covers apps for any kind of German.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn German. You learn from German you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, that you're starting a job in Vienna. She writes you a lesson at your level about your first week at the office. Ask her what any line means, like why a coworker says Jänner.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, try a tutor in Practice With People From Austria.
- Lessons are in Austrian German, with Austrian words and places, like Jänner for January and Paradeiser for tomatoes.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Lessons are read aloud in standard German, not an Austrian accent, so listen to Austrian radio and TV too.
- Lessons teach standard Austrian German and don't cover local dialects, which many Austrians speak at home.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Preply
Ask a tutor from Austria to role-play ordering at a Vienna coffee house or calling your landlord, so you hear the words people use there.
- Preply's German page links to Austrian German classes.
- Filter tutors by country of birth, and look for Austria.
MobileWeb
italki
Tell your teacher you want Austrian German, so the examples fit the people you'll talk to.
- Use the Teachers from filter to look for German teachers from Austria.
- Pick a lesson time that suits you both.
MobileWeb
Sprachportal, from the Austrian Integration Fund, has free live online German courses from A1 to B2, plus practice exercises and downloads. Its topics come from life in Austria, like eating and drinking, transport, a doctor's visit, and a Viennese coffee house.
Österreich Spiegel, from the Österreich Institut, is a learner's newspaper with real Austrian articles, audio reports, and exercises from A1 to C2. It's a paid subscription, with some free trial pages. For video, ORF ON streams shows from Austria's public broadcaster.
Use any German course for shared grammar, and add the resources above for Austrian words.
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. |
| Preply | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each tutor sets their own price. If your first tutor isn't a good fit, you can try two more for free. |
| italki | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each teacher sets their own price. Practicing with the community and taking the level test are free. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Preply | 19 | App Store |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
Which Austrian German app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning German, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Sprachportal if you'd like free German practice about life in Austria.
Is Austrian German a different language from German?
No. It's standard German with its own words and a few grammar habits. Austrians say Jänner where Germany says Januar, and in speech they use the perfect tense more than the simple past. Many Austrians also speak a local dialect at home.
Will people in Germany understand Austrian German?
Yes. The differences are small, mostly a few everyday words, so what you learn here works in Germany too.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Austrian German (Österreichisches Wörterbuch since 1951; Protocol No. 10 gave 23 food terms the same legal status; Jänner, Paradeiser, Erdapfel)
- Bubblegum: German (Austria)
- Preply: German tutors (country of birth filter; Austrian German classes link; prices by tutor nationality)
- italki: German teachers (Teachers from filter)
- Sprachportal: free German for Austria from the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF)
- Österreich Institut: Sprachportal, a joint platform with the ÖIF
- Österreich Spiegel: German-learning newspaper with Austrian media articles
- ORF ON: ORF's video streaming platform
- Preply: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- italki: what's free
- Bubblegum
