The iconic sound of German pronunciation can identify someone as a German-speaking person even to those who don’t speak the language. The good news is that, as an English speaker, you can learn to master the pronunciation of the German alphabet with little effort.
The German lexicon uses all 26 letters from the English alphabet that you already know and love, and simply adds on four new letters. If you want to learn German and sound more like a native, review this German pronunciation guide for the tips and tricks you need to sound authentically German.
Table of Contents
Overview of the German alphabet
The German alphabet serves as the building blocks for proper German pronunciation. It consists of 30 letters in total, most of which are the same letters “A” through “Z” that you know in the English alphabet, but some are pronounced differently than those with which you’re familiar. That accounts for 26 of the 30 letters, but what about the remaining four “new” German letters?
The four letters that the German language adds on to our alphabet is Ä, Ö, Ü, and ẞ. The first three letters, which look similar to English vowels, have an accent mark, sometimes known as a diacritical mark, called an “umlaut” to show that they’re said aloud differently than their umlaut-less counterparts. The final letter that looks like a capital “B” is called Eszett, and is much easier to pronounce than it looks.
How German word pronunciation differs from English
The main difference in how to pronounce German words vs. English is that you’ll need to get used to pronouncing just about every letter in a German word.
In English, there are often “silent” letters that are only used to alter the sound another letter makes, like the silent “e” at the end of “alone.” You wouldn’t pronounce the word as “a-lohn-uh” in English by saying the “e” sound, but in German pronunciation, you would! While some letters do combine to make new sounds in German, they’re always side-by-side. This pronunciation difference is particularly helpful to remember when reading German aloud.
Pronouncing German vowels like a native
The most common sounds are vowels, and you’ll need to master German vowel pronunciation. Just as in English, the German vowels are A, E, I, O, and U. There are also umlauted vowels, but you’ll learn more about them once you have these main ones down pat.
You’ll notice that all vowels have a short sound and a longer sound associated with them, so pay close attention to these differences. Here’s how to pronounce the main vowels you’ll commonly use:
A/a
Both the short A and long A are similar-sounding to the “ah” in “father,” but the short A is held for less time than the long A sound
- Short A examples: aber (but), Dachshund (basset hound)
- Long A example: ja (yes)
E/e
Short E is pronounced like the E in “set” or “bed,” while the long E sounds like the “a” in “laid,” but longer and more punctuated.
- Short E example: esst (eats)
- Long E example: Efeu (ivy)
I/i
For a short I sound, imagine the “I” sound in “kitten.” The longer “ee” sound in “need” represents the long I noise.
- Short I example: Brille (eyeglasses)
- Long I examples: Juli (July), Lidl (Lidl, the superstore chain)
O/o
Short O sounds like the “o” in “lot,” and the longer O sound in “snow” with more rounded lips.
- Short O examples: ob (whether), Volkswagen (Volkswagen, the car brand)
- Long O example: rot (red)
U/u
In German, a short U sound is like the “oo” in “foot,” and the long U is the more pronounced “oo” in “cool.”
- Short U example: und (and)
- Long U example: Hut (hat)
Get the hang of umlauts in German pronunciation
Time for the final vowels in German pronunciation: umlauts. These umlauts are accent marks that appear as the two little dots you see above the letters Ä, Ö, and Ü. Helpfully, they let you, as the reader, know to pronounce the letters differently than their umlaut-less counterparts.
They are called A umlaut, O umlaut, and U umlaut, respectively. You’ll also see them in lowercase form as ä, ö, and ü, but luckily their pronunciation doesn’t really change based on their upper vs. lowercase forms.
Because these don’t have direct equivalents in English, new learners may find it more difficult to remember how to pronounce the O umlaut in German. However, it can become clearer with examples and practice. Here’s a handy guide with examples to master this trickier part of German pronunciation:
Ä/ä
As the easiest umlaut to learn, the short and long Ä sounds mimic the short and long “E” sound in German.
- Short Ä example: Ärger (annoyance)
- Long Ä example: Zähne (teeth)
Ö/ö
Pronounce this letter by forming an “o” with your lips and saying the sound similar to the “e” in “her.”
- Short Ö example: öffnen (to open)
- Long Ö example: größer (larger/greater)
Ü/ü
Start by forming your mouth as if you’re planning to say the “oo” sound like in “food.” Then, while keeping your lips rounded, move your tongue forward and upward, almost like you’re aiming for the “ee” sound in “cheese.”
- Short Ü example: süß (sweet)
- Long Ü example: über (over)
How to pronounce German diphthongs
Sometimes the German language will place two or more vowels next to each other in order to make a new sound. You will know these vowel combinations as diphthongs, and they’re as commonplace in German pronunciation as they are in English.
Instead of attempting to sound each vowel out, you’ll recognize the grouping as a diphthong and pronounce the vowels as one new sound. Here are the diphthongs you’ll come across as you perfect your German pronunciation:
| German Diphthong | Sounds Like | German Example | English Translation |
| au | “ow” in now | Haus | house |
| ie | “ee” in kneed | Genie | genius |
| ei; ey; ai; ay | the word “eye” | schreibt | writes |
| eu; äu; aeu | “oy” in boy | äußern | to express |
Eszett (ß): The sharp, double ‘s’ sound
Your final “new” German letter to learn is Eszett. It is written as ß and is pronounced in German like a sharp “s” sound as in “snap.” Some German dialects choose to write the Eszett sound as “ss” instead, which is acceptable, but does not communicate the difference between the sharper “s” sound and the less sharp double “s” sound, as in wasser (water), that you’ll hear.
Listen to the three examples below to get a feel for how Eszett sounds when spoken by a native German:
- äußern (to express)
- größer (larger/greater)
- süß (sweet)
Consonants that sound similar in English and German
Simply put, a consonant is a letter in the alphabet that isn’t a vowel. Luckily, most consonants in German pronunciation sound just like they do in English, limiting the time you need to spend memorizing them and making German easy to learn!
| German Consonant | Sounds Like | German Example | English Translation |
| B/b | “b” in bed | haben | to have |
| D/d | “d” in dog | danke | thanks |
| F/f | “f” in fox | Frosch | frog |
| G/g | “g” in go | gern | gladly |
| H/h | “h” in hat | hallo | hello |
| K/k | “k” in kitchen | Kinder | children |
| M/m | “m” in most | Milch | milk |
| N/n | “n” in night | nur | only |
| P/p | “p” in pool | Paar | pair |
| T/t | “t” in tiger | Tasse | cup |
| X/x | “x” in excellent | Mexiko | Mexico |
| Y/y | “y” in yes | Yeti | yeti |
Did you notice the strange name German has given to the letter “Y?” This letter is spelled Ypsilon in German, pronounced like “oop-sih-lon.” This is a borrowing from the Greek name for the letter “U.”
Consonants that sound different in German
While fewer in number, there are some letters in German pronunciation that have a different sound to them when compared with their English equivalents. These consonants appear often in daily German conversation, so getting used to their differences is a vital skill to learn as you build towards full German fluency.
C/c
First, let’s cover the special case of the letter C. Except in consonant groupings like ch and sch and words borrowed from other languages, the letter C does not appear in the German lexicon, and therefore does not have its own pronunciation. In words borrowed from other languages, C follows the rules of that language’s pronunciation. Typically, this is either a “k” sound as in “keep” or an “s” sound like the “c” in “cent.”
- Example of a word borrowed from another language with C: Celsius (Celsius)
Below are the remaining eight consonants with a different sound from their English counterparts:
J/j
Pronounced like the English “y” in “you.”
- Example word: jung (young)
L/l
Similar to the “l” in the English word “less,” but with a curled tip of the tongue and a lowered back end of the tongue.
- Example word: laufen (to run)
Q/q
Since this letter is always followed by “u,” you’ll pronounce the QU as “kwuh.”
- Example word: Qualle (jellyfish)
R/r
Depending on the dialect, the R sounds like the “r” in “run” and is either very light or rolled as a deep trill.
- Example words: der (the, masculine), treiben (to drive, hustle)
S/s
Pronounced like the English letter “z” as in “zoo” when at the beginning or middle of a word. At the end of a word, S sounds like an English “s” as in “sun.”
- Example word: Sohn (son)
V/v
Said the same as the letter “f” in “fox.”
- Example word: Vater (father)
W/w
This letter sounds like the letter “v” in English, as in “very.”
- Example word: Wasser (water)
Z/z
Pronounced like the “ts” at the end of “hats.”
- Example word: Hochzeit (wedding/marriage)
Consonant combinations you can learn together
Similar to how you can put two vowels together in a diphthong to create a new sound, you can also put two or more consonants side-by-side to make a new sound. These groupings of consonants are known as consonant clusters.
For example, many new German language enthusiasts struggle with how ch is pronounced in German, so they don’t know how to pronounce ich (I) in German. As far as German pronunciation goes, ch isn’t the “chuh” noise as in “cheese” like we know it to be in English. Instead, imagine it like a cat’s hiss, but more guttural and made from the back of your throat:
- ich = I
- Mädchen = girl
Here are all the common consonant clusters you’ll have the joy of pronouncing while speaking German:
| German Consonant Combination | Sounds Like | German Example | English Translation |
| ch | a cat’s hiss, but more guttural | ich | I |
| sch | the “sh” noise in sheep or shears | schlafen | to sleep |
| chs | an “x” sound similar to the “x” in fix | sechs | fix |
| ig | the German cluster CH, with a guttural hiss | wenig | a little |
| pf | the “p” in party and the “f” in finish, pronounced independently, but shoved together | die Pfanne | pan |
| sp | a “sh” sound, followed by a “puh” like the “p” in pan | spielen | to play |
Tips to improve your German accent
If you want your German to sound more authentic, don’t copy the cartoonish German villain from old World War II movies. Despite what some funny online videos would have you believe, the German language is very beautiful when not over-emphasized for comedic effect.
To improve your German accent, try following these tips as you practice speaking German:
- Soften your “r” sounds. Outside of a few Southern German and Austrian dialects, most Germans do not roll their “r’s.”
- Speak slower. Germans have a slower cadence to their speech than other languages.
- Don’t overpronounce softer and short-sound vowels. Pay attention to long vs. short vowel sounds and don’t glide longer vowel sounds much.
Improve your German pronunciation with Rosetta Stone
Learning German for work, travel, or to connect with your Oma (grandma) on a deeper level? How you speak the language, your German pronunciation, matters just as much as correct grammar and word choice. With Rosetta Stone live lessons, you can hear a native German speaking the language on relevant cultural topics. This helps give you an idea of how Germans really sound on a daily basis and in normal conversation.
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