The sounds of German

The good news about German pronunciation is that there are clear rules
about how you pronounce each letter. However, the same as with English,
people speak with different accents, depending on their region and
background.

Most sounds are recognisable from English, though there are some
differences you need to be aware of.

Vowels

aeiou
They can be short or long, depending on where they appear in a word.

Tegel
The first e is long and similar to the sound in Scottish gate
The second e is short and similar to the sound in English Ben

Flughafen
The u is short, similar to the sound in English put
The a is long, similar to the sound in English half
The e is short, similar to the sound in English Ben

Hoffmann
The o is short, similar to the sound in English shop
The a is short, similar to the sound in Northern English man

sind,
bin
The i is short, similar to the sound in English bin.

Read and hear more about vowels.

Vowel Combinations

Sie
The ie is pronounced like 'ee' as in English see.

Claus
The au always sounds like 'ow' as in English how.

Freut mich
The eu always sounds like 'oy' as in English boy.
Neddermeyer
The ey / ei / ay / ai combinations are always pronounced like eye in English.

Read and hear more about these and other vowel combinations.

Consonants

ich auch
The ch sounds a bit like the 'h' in English huge after i.
But ch is harder after au - more like the 'ch' in Scottish loch:

Read and hear more about ch, sch and h.

Sind Sie Claus?

The s always sounds like an English z at the beginning of a word.

But at the end of a word it always sounds like an English s.

Read and hear more about s, st-, sp-, sch-, z and

Willkommen
The w always sounds like the English letter v.
In contrast, v is normally pronounced like the English letter f.

Read and hear more about w, v

Tegel, Guten Tag

The g is always hard like the English guest

Read and hear more about g, d, b

Freut mich
The r is pronounced quite differently from the standard English r. It's a more guttural sound,
pronounced at the back of the throat in standard German, but it tends to be silent at the end
of words. In Southern Germany you may hear it pronounced as a trill.

Ja
The j is always pronounced like the English y.

Vowels
Vowels can be short or long, depending on where they appear in a word.

These are examples of short vowels:

Ankunft arrivals similar to the sound in Northern English hat
Bett bed similar to the sound in English bet
bitte please similar to the sound in English hit
willkommen welcome similar to the sound in English hot
und and similar to the sound in English put

These are examples of long vowels:

Flughafen airport similar to the sound in English half

Tegel Berlin's airport similar to the sound in Scottish gate
wir we similar to the sound in Scottish see
Euro euro similar to the sound in Scottish hope
Bruder brother similar to the sound in English pool

Vowels are always long when they are doubled or when followed by h

Kaffee coffee
Lehrer teacher

See also...
Vowel combinations

Vowel combinations
ei and ai are pronounced as in English eye:

Wein wine
Mai May

au is pronounced like 'ow' as in English how:

genau exactly
eu and u are pronounced like 'oy' as in English boy:

Freund friend
Sule column

ie is pronounced like ee in English:

Sie you

See also...

ch, sch, h
After e, i, eu, l, or n, ch sounds a bit like the 'h' in English huge.

ich bin I am
freut mich Pleased to meet you

After a, au, o or u, ch is harder - more like the 'ch' in Scottish loch:

auch also
Buch book

sch sounds like English sh:

schnell fast
Flasche bottle

After a vowel, h is always silent, but it indicates the preceding vowel is

long:

Lehrer teacher

See also...
s, st, sp, , z
Vowels

s, st, sp, , z
At the beginning of a word, s sounds like an English z:

Sie sind you are

But at the end of a word, when doubled, or when combined with another
consonant, s sounds like an English s:

Haus house
essen to eat
Post post

The combinations st and sp at the beginning of a word sound like English

sht and shp:

Student student
sprechen to speak

is a special letter, the equivalent of ss, and is used after long vowels:

Strae street

z always sounds like English ts:

zehn ten

sch sounds like English sh:

schnell fast
Flasche bottle

w, v
The w always sounds like the English letter v:

Wilkommen welcome

In contrast, v is normally pronounced like the English letter f:

vier four
vielen Dank many thanks
But in words borrowed from other languages v is pronounced like the
English letter v:

November November
Universitt university
g, d, b
g is always hard like the English guest.

Tegel
Guten Tag

However, the combination ig at the end of a word sounds like the 'h' in
English huge, the same as ich:

dreiig thirty

g (except after i), d, and b usually sound the same as in English but at the
end of a word they sound like English k, t and p:

Tag day
Geld money
ab from