Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.

Repetition makes learning easier.

Breakdown of Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.

• machen: to make
• leicht: easy
• das Lernen: the learning
• die Wiederholung: the replay

Questions & Answers about Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.

Why is Wiederholung capitalized, and what kind of word is it?

Wiederholung is a noun, derived from the verb wiederholen (to repeat). In German, all nouns are capitalized, so Wiederholung must start with a capital W.

Literally, Wiederholung means “repetition”. So the sentence is structurally very close to English:
Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.
→ Repetition makes learning easier.

Why is there no article before Wiederholung? Why not Die Wiederholung?

In German, when you talk about something in a general, abstract way, you can often omit the article with certain nouns, especially in sayings, headings, or “rule-like” statements.

• Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.
  → Repetition (in general) makes learning easier.

If you say:

• Die Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.

it sounds more like you are talking about a specific repetition (e.g. “this particular review / this particular repetition makes learning easier”), or at least more concrete and less proverb-like.

So:

• Without article → more generic, like a general rule or proverb.
• With article → more specific or concrete.

Why is das Lernen capitalized, and why does it have das?

Here, Lernen is not used as a normal verb; it is turned into a noun (a nominalized infinitive). In German, verbs can become nouns like this:

• lernen (to learn) → das Lernen (the act/process of learning)

Because it is treated as a noun, it:

• must be capitalized: Lernen,
• often takes the neuter article das: das Lernen.

So das Lernen means something like “learning” as an activity / process.

This is similar to English gerunds like learning, but German usually shows the noun-like use more clearly with capitalization and often with an article.

What grammatical role does das Lernen have in this sentence? What case is it?

The structure of the sentence is:

• Wiederholung – subject (nominative)
• macht – verb
• das Lernen – direct object (accusative)
• leichter – predicative adjective, describing the object

So:

• Wiederholung (repetition) macht (makes) das Lernen (learning) leichter (easier).

Because das Lernen is what is being made easier, it is the accusative object, and its form das (nominative/accusative neuter) fits that role here.

Why is it macht das Lernen leichter and not something like macht das Lernen mehr leicht?

German usually forms comparatives of adjectives with -er, just like English uses -er or more:

• leicht → leichter (easy → easier)
• schön → schöner (beautiful → more beautiful)

So:

• leichter is the standard comparative form of leicht.
• mehr leicht is grammatically possible but sounds wrong or foreign here. Native speakers do not say mehr leicht when the comparative form leichter exists.

The pattern machen + Akkusativ + Adjektiv is very common:

• Das macht mich glücklich. – That makes me happy.
• Sport macht das Leben schöner. – Sport makes life more beautiful.
• Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter. – Repetition makes learning easier.

What kind of adjective is leichter here, and how is it used grammatically?

leichter is:

• the comparative form of the adjective leicht, and
• used as a predicative adjective describing the object das Lernen.

The pattern is:

• Subjekt
  • machen
    • Akkusativobjekt
      • Adjektiv

So:

• Wiederholung (subject)
• macht (verb)
• das Lernen (accusative object)
• leichter (adjective; says what learning becomes)

You could paraphrase it as:

• Wiederholung macht, dass das Lernen leichter ist.
  → Repetition causes learning to be easier.

Could you also say Wiederholung macht Lernen leichter without das? Is there a difference?

Yes, Wiederholung macht Lernen leichter is also possible.

Subtle difference:

• Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.
  – Sounds a bit more like a specific “activity of learning” is being talked about; stylistically a bit more “solid” or “complete”.

• Wiederholung macht Lernen leichter.
  – Sounds a bit more general/abstract, almost like saying “Repetition makes learning easier” as a very broad statement.

In practice, both are understandable and correct. Many speakers would use das Lernen here, but Lernen without the article doesn’t sound wrong.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Das Lernen macht Wiederholung leichter instead?

You can change the word order, but it changes the meaning.

Original:

• Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.
  → Repetition makes learning easier.

Reversed:

• Das Lernen macht Wiederholung leichter.
  → Learning makes repetition easier.

So in German, just as in English, swapping subject and object swaps who is doing what to whom. The verb form (macht) doesn’t change, so:

• The nominative (subject) is the thing that does the making.
• The accusative (object) is the thing that becomes easier.

You could also move elements for emphasis, as long as the cases are clear:

• Leichter macht Wiederholung das Lernen. (very unusual, poetic/odd)
• Das Lernen macht Wiederholung nicht leichter. (normal meaning but opposite direction as discussed above)

Could we say Wiederholen macht das Lernen leichter instead of Wiederholung?

Yes, you can also say:

• Wiederholen macht das Lernen leichter.

Here, Wiederholen is the nominalized infinitive of the verb wiederholen (to repeat). It is treated as a noun (so capitalized) and means “repeating” / “the act of repeating”.

Subtle nuance:

• Wiederholung – the noun “repetition”; sounds a bit more static or conceptual.
• (das) Wiederholen – more like “the act of repeating”, focusing on the activity.

In meaning, though, in this sentence they are practically equivalent. Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter sounds slightly more idiomatic and “proverb-like”.

What tense is macht, and why is the simple present used?

macht is 3rd person singular, present tense of machen.

German Präsens (present tense) is used both for:

• current or regular actions, and
• general truths or rules.

Since the sentence states a general rule (“repetition makes learning easier”), the present tense is the natural choice, just like in English:

• Repetition makes learning easier.
• Wiederholung macht das Lernen leichter.