Show HN: Learn German with Games

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reception & UX

  • Many found the idea appealing and the site visually polished, intuitive, and mobile-friendly.
  • Several users liked the article (“Artikel”) quiz in particular, especially where no typing was required.
  • Others felt the difficulty curve was steep and suggested more scaffolding and prompts (e.g., Duolingo-style, multiple choice).

Nature of the “games”

  • Multiple commenters argued these are essentially interactive quizzes/flashcards, not “games” in the usual sense.
  • Suggestions included adding more game-like mechanics and a leaderboard to increase engagement.

Language accuracy & edge cases

  • Numerous correctness issues were flagged:
    • Misspelling “halb” as “habl” and mismatched time text vs clock image.
    • Confusing or unnatural time phrases (e.g., “fünfunddreißig vor zwölf”, “punkt acht” vs “um acht”, “eins Uhr” vs “ein Uhr”).
    • Article game problems where words can be singular/plural or have multiple genders/meanings: “Ausländer”, “Jugendliche”, “See”, “Schild”, “Geschwister”, etc.
  • Users stressed the need to accept multiple valid answers or exclude rare/technical forms, and to do more QA, especially when relying on AI.

Time expressions & regional variation

  • Strong disagreement over “viertel vor/nach” vs “dreiviertel vier”–style expressions; both sides insist their variant is “normal,” highlighting regional differences.
  • One thread explained historical “Bahnhofszeit” (railway time) and bell-strike conventions, noting that precise digital-style times belong more to formal/technical contexts than everyday speech.

Learning value vs testing

  • Some argued tests only verify existing knowledge and do not teach; without clear corrective feedback, they’re of limited use.
  • Others countered that repeated practice with immediate feedback helps memorize noun genders and grammar patterns, especially when full immersion isn’t possible.
  • Recommendations included making correct answers more prominent after mistakes and designing tasks that force learners to actively look things up.

Tech, bugs, and AI use

  • Users reported a signup redirect to localhost:3000, a substring-matching bug in the verb game, and the time games accepting only one “correct” phrasing.
  • The stack (React/Tailwind/Vercel/Supabase) and “clean” look led some to suspect heavy AI use; the builder confirmed using AI as assistance but emphasized it’s a personal weekend project.