Looking for audiobooks in German? See our list of resources, as well as the best way to enjoy German audiobooks.

Audiobooks in German

German literature is full of gems that remain undiscovered by native English speakers. Audiobooks are an excellent choice whether to expand your book interests or practice the German language.

You can find many paid and free audiobooks, from short stories for beginners to international best-sellers. This article will show you where to look and how German learners can practice their new language more effectively.

Why look for German audiobooks?

The most obvious reason to browse German audiobooks is if you’re a native speaker. If this goes for you, fear not, as many of the country’s famous titles have been turned into audiobooks.

Another good reason is, of course, language learning. Listening to German dialogues is an excellent way to learn Deutsch, as the German language is referred to in Germany. Not to mention, audiobooks are cheaper than a personal language coach or programs like Paul Noble or the Pimsleur Method.

There are a plethora of audio courses and audiobooks that can help you learn conversational German more easily. A great example is the Baumgartner & Momsen German short stories. Through an engaging series of detective stories, you can learn German phrases, improve your listening skills, and practice proper sentence structure.

So, where can you find the materials that will let you do this? Let’s see some of the best resources.

The best places to find German audiobooks

Audible

Audible’s library has a dedicated category for non-English books. There are many German titles, from Andre Klein’s language learning books to unabridged fairy tales.

Audible is a paid app, but you can use the 30-day free trial to see if it’s for you. If so, you can subscribe to one of two plans, Plus or Premium Plus.

The former gives you access to the Plus library of hundreds of thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and other content. However, if you want access to premium titles and new releases, you’ll have to use the Premium Plus plan.

Buecher.de

Buecher.de is a German retailer that can deliver books for free to your door—but only if you live in germany. If you’re in Europe, you can also order books, though you’ll pay for shipment.

As for audiobooks, you can download them from the website. Unfortunately, this is true for European countries as well, as you can’t get audiobooks or paperbacks if you live outside of them.

Hörbucher

Hörbucher is a YouTube channel with lots of German videos. However, many people don’t know it also offers audiobooks.

The channel is great if you want to find some older books you can’t get elsewhere. They feature high-quality narration so that you can have a great listening experience.

MosaLingua

This is an excellent app for beginner and intermediate learners of German. You can find courses, lessons, and other materials you can use to improve your skills.

Among them, you’ll see a wide selection of books alongside their audio versions. You can practice reading and listening at the same time to supercharge your progress.

Spotify

Spotify is more than just a music streaming platform. It offers lots of audiobooks, many of them in German.

You can type “hörbuch” (German for “audiobook”) in the search bar to find them. You’ll see many results, including some of the most popular titles from different genres. So if you have a Spotify subscription, you can take full advantage of it to listen to audiobooks.

Turn any German book into an audiobook with text to speech software

Despite a large number of German audiobooks, many titles still don’t have narration. So, it’s likely that you can’t find your favorite book in audio format. In this case, you should use a text to speech (TTS) platform to turn an existing e-book or even paperback into an audiobook.

Text to speech tools let you convert more than books, too. You can listen to PDFs, Word docs, study materials, and all other online or offline texts. Doing so has many benefits, including a more enjoyable experience, multitasking, and convenience.

With TTS, you can take a library’s worth of books wherever you go. They’ll all be on your device, and you can listen to them on the go.

Of course, not every TTS platform will let you do this—especially if you need to hear audio in a language besides English like German.

Create audiobooks with Speechify

Speechify is a capable TTS generator and screen reader you can use to create your own audiobooks without hassle. Just scan the text you want to listen to, and let the app’s powerful AI generate natural-sounding audio.

Speechify offers over 30 human-like voices, so you can find the one that will match your books the best. Besides German, it offers over a dozen languages, so you can listen to audiobooks from across the globe. Speechify will be an excellent learning companion if you're learning new languages.

In addition, Speechify lets you choose the reading speed to match your preferred listening pace. If you’re in a rush, you can speed the content up to 5x.

Finally, language learners love taking notes, and Speechify lets you do it conveniently with its built-in highlighting and note-taking tools.

Wondering how all these features work in action? Go ahead and try Speechify for free.

FAQs

Does Audible have books in German?

Yes, Audible has many German books narrated by talented voice actors.

How do you say audiobook in German?

The German word for an audiobook is Hörbuch.

How do I listen to Audible in German?

You can listen to the selected titles narrated in German. There’s a specific category for them, so you can find them easily.

What are some popular audiobooks in German?

Some of the most popular titles are Der Wald (The Forest), Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis), and Sturmhöhe (Wuthering Heights).

How can I download audiobooks in German?

You can download German audiobooks from streaming services like Audible and Spotify. You may also find them on the retailers’ websites. If you can’t find an audiobook version of the book you want to read, you can use Speechify to turn it into a German audiobook for you.

What are the best audiobooks for children in German?

You can check out Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), as well as the Rico und Oskar (Rico and Oscar) series.