The Great White Shark
Deutsch: Der Weiße Hai
- Animal words: fin, gills, cartilage, snout
- Comparing sizes: a shark, your child, a grown-up and a car
- Finding where great white sharks live on a world map
Learn German for kids, one game at a time
Every Play & Learn game can be played in German, read aloud by the same natural voice your child already knows. Whether you live in Switzerland, Germany or Austria, or German is the language of the grandparents, your child hears clear German words about sharks, dinosaurs, colors and feelings. It is not a language course, just playful extra time with German.
How it works
1
Pick a game below and tap Play: it opens straight in German.
2
Your child plays as usual and hears every word in German, so no reading is needed.
3
Switch back to English anytime under Language in the options.
Games your child can play in German
Dinosaurs
Deutsch: Dinosaurier
- Dinosaur words: fossil, herbivore, carnivore, paleontologist
- Comparing lengths: dinosaurs next to your child, a grown-up and a bus
- Sorting plant eaters and meat eaters
Lions and the savanna
Deutsch: Löwen und die Savanne
- Savanna words: pride, mane, lioness, cub, watering hole, tracks
- Comparing heights: a meerkat, your child, a lion, a zebra, an ostrich, an elephant and a giraffe
- Who eats what: meat for the lion, leaves for the giraffe, grass for the zebra, bugs for the meerkat
Capital letters A–Z
Deutsch: Großbuchstaben A–Z
- Knowing the 26 capital letters by name and by shape
- Writing each capital letter line by line, in the usual order
- Hearing a letter name and finding the right letter
Letter sounds
Deutsch: Laute der Buchstaben
- Linking 16 letters, from B to W, to the sound they make at the start of a word
- Hearing the first sound of a word, like the mmm in moon
- Telling whether two words start with the same sound or not
Counting 1 to 10
Deutsch: Zählen bis 10
- Counting up to 10 things, one number for each thing
- Matching a number to a group: dots, fingers and pictures
- Writing the numbers 0 to 10 with a finger
Counting to 20
Deutsch: Zählen bis 20
- Counting up to 20 things, and counting on from ten
- Seeing 11 to 19 as ten and some more, for example 14 is ten and four
- The number words from eleven to twenty
Colors
Deutsch: Farben
- Naming 11 colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, white and gray
- Color words linked to things: a red strawberry, a yellow banana, a gray elephant
- Mixing paint: red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green
Shapes
Deutsch: Formen
- Naming 8 shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, star, heart and diamond
- Counting corners and sides: three for a triangle, four for a square, six for a hexagon, none for a circle
- 3D shape words: cube, ball (sphere), cone and cylinder
Space
Deutsch: Der Weltraum
- Space words: star, planet, astronaut, rocket, comet
- Why there is no air or sound in space, and where moonlight comes from
- Comparing sizes: the Moon, Mars, Earth, Jupiter and the Sun
Weather and seasons
Deutsch: Wetter und Jahreszeiten
- Eight weather words: sunny, cloudy, rain, snow, wind, fog, thunderstorm and rainbow
- The water cycle: the sun warms water, it rises, makes a cloud and falls back down as rain
- The four seasons: spring blossoms, summer sun, fall leaves and winter snow
Feelings
Deutsch: Gefühle
- Naming eight feelings: happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, calm, proud and shy
- Feeling words to say out loud: I feel sad, I feel proud
- Guessing how someone else feels, and that two people can feel different things
Healthy habits
Deutsch: Gesunde Gewohnheiten
- Why we brush and wash: germs on teeth and hands, and how brushing, soap and water clear them away
- Eating a rainbow: fruit and vegetables in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple
- Food and body words: broccoli, cucumber, blueberries, palms, fingertips, baby teeth
Questions parents ask
We don’t speak German at home. Can my child still play?
Yes. Everything is read aloud in German, and the pictures and topics carry a lot of the meaning. If you want to know what a game is about, play it in English first.
Does my child need to read?
No. Every word is read aloud, in German just like in the other languages. Your child listens, taps and plays. The games are made for children aged 3 to 7.
Will this make my child fluent in German?
No. Play & Learn is not a language course. It is a playful way to hear more German, alongside daycare, school, a playgroup or calls with family.
Tips for parents
- Play a game in English first, then again in German. Your child then already knows the topic and the pictures when words like “Hai” or “rot” come.
- If your child goes to a Kita or Kindergarten, pick topics they talk about there, such as Farben or Zählen bis 10, so the words from daycare and the game meet.
- Say one or two German words together, laugh about the sounds, and stop while it is still fun.