German pronunciation is fairly consistent once you learn the main rules. This page gives you simple explanations in English so you can pronounce German words more confidently.
Vowels
- A — like “a” in father, short or long
- E — short like “e” in bed, long like “ay”
- I — “ee” like in see
- O — rounded like “o” in taught
- U — “oo” like in boot
Umlauts
- Ä / ä — like “e” in bed
- Ö / ö — like French “eu”
- Ü / ü — say “ee” with rounded lips
Diphthongs (vowel combinations)
- ei — sounds like “eye” (mein → “mine”)
- ie — long “ee” (wie → “vee”)
- eu / äu — sounds like “oy” (neu → “noy”)
- au — like “ow” in cow
Consonants
- V — usually pronounced like “f”
- W — pronounced like English “v”
- J — pronounced like English “y”
- S — at the start before a vowel it sounds like “z” (Sonne → “ZON-ne”)
- Z — pronounced “ts”
- R — rolled or tapped, softer in everyday speech
- CH — two sounds:
- ich-sound — soft “h”, like in “hugh” (ich)
- ach-sound — harsher “kh” like in “Bach”
- Sch — “sh” (Schule → “SHOO-leh”)
- Sp / St at start of words — “shp” / “sht” (Spass → “shpass”)
Special Characters
- ß — “sharp S”, pronounced like strong “ss”
Stress and Rhythm
- Stress is typically on the first syllable.
- German words are pronounced clearly, without “swallowing” sounds.