polyglots - did you truly "learn" a new language, or simply memorized it?

I'm an American who learned German (kind of), and am currently trying to learn Hawaiian (Creole). I learned German through Duolingo all the way to level 13 and I basically memorized all the sounds, so I'm able to recognize German when I hear it. But I still can't speak and don't understand a thing anyone says. I can pick out individual words, but it's not like the sounds connect into anything. How did you all learn a new language? Was there some point where you suddenly understood, or was it just months/years of practice?