How to Pronounce German Words
Pronounce the single consonants correctly., Pronounce consonant combinations correctly., Identify and pronounce short vowel sounds correctly., Identify and pronounce long vowel sounds correctly., Pronounce vowel combinations correctly., Pronounce...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Pronounce the single consonants correctly.
b
- Pronounced "Bay" c
- Pronounced "Say" d
- Pronounced "Day" f
- Same as in English, "Eff" g
- Pronounced "Gay" h
- Pronounced "Ha" j
- Pronounced "Yote" k
- Pronounced "Car" l
- Pronounced "Ee" (Same as saying the letter E in English) m
- Same as in English n
- Same as in English p
- Pronounced "Pay" (A way to remember is that German's pay to pee in most public places.) q
- Pronounced "Coo," the Q is almost always used in combination with U (similar to English), and is pronounced "KV" r
- Pronounced "Air" s
- Pronounced "Ess," when speaking German S tends to sound similar to the English Z.
Except: double S (ss or ß): a long S sound, like in fussy or messy after äu (oy): sounds like English Z.
So a word like Häuser is pronounced hoyzer . t
- Pronounced "Tay" v
- Pronounced "Fow," occasionally like the English V in voyage, especially in words borrowed from other languages w
- Pronounced "Vay" (German words with Ws tend to sound as if they start with Vs) x
- Pronounced "Ix" (Sounds similar to "Icks" in English) y
- Rarely at the beginning of a word; Pronounced "Oopsilong" (Usually sounds different in the middle of a word, depending on the word) z
- Pronounced "Tsett" (In English it sounds like "Tet," you don't pronounce the S) -
Step 2: Pronounce consonant combinations correctly.
sp
- Pronounced SHP, like the SH P in fish pond (if you say it quickly). st
- Pronounced SHT, like the SHED in wished sch
- Pronounced SH, as in the English word "shoe". ch
- Not an English sound.
CH is similar to the English H sound, but pronounced at the back of the throat (a bit like the sound a cat makes when it hisses). pf
- Pronounced PF, like the PF in the English word Pfooey ß
- the strange letter that looks a bit like B, but is actually a combination of s and z.
Pronounce as a long double S.
Because of reforms in German spelling rules, some words that were once spelled with ß are now spelled with SS. , Vowels are short when they are followed by a double consonant or followed by two or more consonants. a
- Pronounced "Ah," like the A in father; for example:
Mann (man, husband)
- mahn e
- Pronounced "Ay" i
- Pronounced "Ee" o
- Pronounced "Oh" (softly, similar to saying the letter O in English) u
- Pronounced "Ooh"
Vowels are long when they are doubled, followed by an H or followed by a single consonant. a
- like when you say Ahh at the doctor's; for example:
Saat (seed) = sahht e
- like the AY in bay; for example:
Beete (beet/beetroot)= bay-teh i
- like the EE in the English word greet; for example:
Stil (style) = shteel o
- almost like the OA in coat (careful: single sound
- not a diphthong!); for example: rot (red) = roht u
- almost like the double OO in hoop or the U in dune (but a little shorter, and not a diphthong), for example:
Kuh (cow) = kooh y
- although classified as a consonant, when within a word is used as a vowel and pronounced like the German U above; for example:
Typ (type, character) = toop , As in English, the pronunciation of vowel combinations is different from the vowel on its own. ie
- long E sound, as in see. ei
- long I sound, as in find; for example:
Ei (egg) = eye au
- pronounced like the English word ow , Umlaut vowels are a little more advanced in terms of German pronunciation.
They show up when words undergo a vowel change and do rarely show up as capitalized.
Similar to non accented vowels, umlaut's can be short or long as well. ä
- Pronounced like the AY in the English word face (but as a single sound, not a diphthong) or the A in the word "lacy ö
- Pronounced "Ooo" (Sounds similar to ü, try to not confuse the two) ü
- Pronounced "Euw," Similar to the English O in movie äu
- like the English OY in noise -
Step 3: Identify and pronounce short vowel sounds correctly.
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Step 4: Identify and pronounce long vowel sounds correctly.
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Step 5: Pronounce vowel combinations correctly.
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Step 6: Pronounce umlauted letters correctly.
Detailed Guide
b
- Pronounced "Bay" c
- Pronounced "Say" d
- Pronounced "Day" f
- Same as in English, "Eff" g
- Pronounced "Gay" h
- Pronounced "Ha" j
- Pronounced "Yote" k
- Pronounced "Car" l
- Pronounced "Ee" (Same as saying the letter E in English) m
- Same as in English n
- Same as in English p
- Pronounced "Pay" (A way to remember is that German's pay to pee in most public places.) q
- Pronounced "Coo," the Q is almost always used in combination with U (similar to English), and is pronounced "KV" r
- Pronounced "Air" s
- Pronounced "Ess," when speaking German S tends to sound similar to the English Z.
Except: double S (ss or ß): a long S sound, like in fussy or messy after äu (oy): sounds like English Z.
So a word like Häuser is pronounced hoyzer . t
- Pronounced "Tay" v
- Pronounced "Fow," occasionally like the English V in voyage, especially in words borrowed from other languages w
- Pronounced "Vay" (German words with Ws tend to sound as if they start with Vs) x
- Pronounced "Ix" (Sounds similar to "Icks" in English) y
- Rarely at the beginning of a word; Pronounced "Oopsilong" (Usually sounds different in the middle of a word, depending on the word) z
- Pronounced "Tsett" (In English it sounds like "Tet," you don't pronounce the S)
sp
- Pronounced SHP, like the SH P in fish pond (if you say it quickly). st
- Pronounced SHT, like the SHED in wished sch
- Pronounced SH, as in the English word "shoe". ch
- Not an English sound.
CH is similar to the English H sound, but pronounced at the back of the throat (a bit like the sound a cat makes when it hisses). pf
- Pronounced PF, like the PF in the English word Pfooey ß
- the strange letter that looks a bit like B, but is actually a combination of s and z.
Pronounce as a long double S.
Because of reforms in German spelling rules, some words that were once spelled with ß are now spelled with SS. , Vowels are short when they are followed by a double consonant or followed by two or more consonants. a
- Pronounced "Ah," like the A in father; for example:
Mann (man, husband)
- mahn e
- Pronounced "Ay" i
- Pronounced "Ee" o
- Pronounced "Oh" (softly, similar to saying the letter O in English) u
- Pronounced "Ooh"
Vowels are long when they are doubled, followed by an H or followed by a single consonant. a
- like when you say Ahh at the doctor's; for example:
Saat (seed) = sahht e
- like the AY in bay; for example:
Beete (beet/beetroot)= bay-teh i
- like the EE in the English word greet; for example:
Stil (style) = shteel o
- almost like the OA in coat (careful: single sound
- not a diphthong!); for example: rot (red) = roht u
- almost like the double OO in hoop or the U in dune (but a little shorter, and not a diphthong), for example:
Kuh (cow) = kooh y
- although classified as a consonant, when within a word is used as a vowel and pronounced like the German U above; for example:
Typ (type, character) = toop , As in English, the pronunciation of vowel combinations is different from the vowel on its own. ie
- long E sound, as in see. ei
- long I sound, as in find; for example:
Ei (egg) = eye au
- pronounced like the English word ow , Umlaut vowels are a little more advanced in terms of German pronunciation.
They show up when words undergo a vowel change and do rarely show up as capitalized.
Similar to non accented vowels, umlaut's can be short or long as well. ä
- Pronounced like the AY in the English word face (but as a single sound, not a diphthong) or the A in the word "lacy ö
- Pronounced "Ooo" (Sounds similar to ü, try to not confuse the two) ü
- Pronounced "Euw," Similar to the English O in movie äu
- like the English OY in noise
About the Author
Kathryn Sanders
Creates helpful guides on crafts to inspire and educate readers.
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