German Sounds

The sounds English speakers find hardest - the umlauts ä, ö, ü, the ß, and ch, sch, z, w, v and r - with mouth tips, the nearest English sound, example words and audio.

How to type ä ö ü ß

No umlauts on your keyboard? You have a few options - and in typed reviews you can always fall back to ae/oe/ue/ss.

On phones & tablets

Long-press the a, o, u or s key on the on-screen keyboard, then slide onto the ä, ö, ü or ß in the popup.

On a computer

Add a German or US-International keyboard layout in your OS settings. US-International: right-Alt + a/o/u give ä/ö/ü, right-Alt + s gives ß. macOS: press ⌥+u then the vowel for an umlaut, ⌥+s for ß. In merke.me you can also just press Alt + a/o/u/s right in the answer box to insert ä/ö/ü/ß.

The ae / oe / ue / ss fallback

German spelling itself lets you write ä ö ü ß as ae oe ue ss. merke.me accepts this in typed reviews, so a missing key never blocks you - it just shows you the proper spelling so you still learn it.

Umlauts: ä, ö, ü

Ä - a-umlaut

/ɛ, ɛː/

Not a new sound: ä sounds like the e in “bed” (short) or the ai in “air” (long).

Closest English sound: English “bed” (short) and “air/fair” (long).
How to say it: Just say an “e”. The only difference from a is the spelling with two dots (the ). Short and open in “Männer”, long in “Käse”.

Examples

Männer- men
Käse- cheese
spät- late
Bäcker- baker
Mädchen- girl

Common mistake

Don’t say it like the a in “Vater” - ä is an e-sound, not an a-sound.

Minimal pairs

ApfelÄpfel
Singular → plural: a becomes ä (“Apfel” → “Äpfel”).

Ö - o-umlaut

/œ, øː/

A new sound: round your lips as for “o”, but say “e”.

Closest English sound: Close to French “eu” (peu) or the “ir” in English “bird” (without the r).
How to say it: Say a long “eh” (as in “bet”) and, while doing so, push your lips forward into a round “o” shape. The tongue stays front as for e, the lips are round as for o. Long in “schön”, short in “können”.

Examples

schön- beautiful
hören- to hear
Köln- Cologne
zwölf- twelve
möchten- would like

Common mistake

Don’t just say “o”: “schon” (already) vs. “schön” (beautiful) changes the meaning.

Minimal pairs

schonschön
o vs. ö: “schon” = already, “schön” = beautiful.
konntekönnte
“konnte” = could (past), “könnte” = could/would be able to.

Ü - u-umlaut

/ʏ, yː/

The trickiest one: round your lips as for “oo”, but say “ee”.

Closest English sound: Like French “u” (tu, lune) - English has no equivalent.
How to say it: Say a long “ee” (as in “bee”) and round your lips tightly, as if to whistle. Tongue front as for i, lips rounded and pushed forward. Long in “über”, short in “fünf”.

Examples

über- over / about
fünf- five
Tür- door
müde- tired
Bücher- books
grün- green

Common mistake

Don’t fall back to “oo” (as in “boot”) or “ee”: “Kiste” (box) vs. “Küste” (coast) depends on it.

Minimal pairs

KisteKüste
i vs. ü: “Kiste” (box) vs. “Küste” (coast).
MutterMütter
u vs. ü, singular → plural: “Mutter” (mother) → “Mütter” (mothers).

The ß (Eszett)

ß - Eszett (sharp s)

/s/

A single letter for a voiceless “s” like the ss in “kiss” - it is not a “B”.

Closest English sound: The sharp, voiceless “s” in “kiss”, “grass”.
How to say it: Make a hard, “s” (no buzzing of the vocal cords). Key point: ß always follows a long vowel or and signals it - “Straße”, “heißen”. After a short vowel you write ss: “Masse” vs. “Maße”.

Examples

Straße- street
heißen- to be called
groß- big
Fußball- football
weiß- white

Common mistake

Don’t read it as a capital “B” (the letter looks similar). Note: in Switzerland ß is always written ss.

Minimal pairs

MasseMaße
short vs. long a: “Masse” (mass) vs. “Maße” (measurements).

Consonants & digraphs: ch, sch, z, w, v, r

CH - soft and hard ch

/ç, x/

Two variants depending on the vowel before it: soft [ç] after front vowels, hard [x] after back vowels.

Closest English sound: Soft ch ≈ the whispered “h” in “huge/hue”; hard ch ≈ Scottish “loch”, Spanish “j”.
How to say it: German “ch” is never “tch” (as in English “church”) and never “k”. Which of the two variants applies depends on the sound before it.

Soft ch [ç]/ç/

After front vowels (e, i, ä, ö, ü, ei, eu), after l, n, r and in the ending “-chen”. Whisper an “h” as in “huge”, tongue near the front of the palate.

ich- I
Milch- milk
Mädchen- girl
richtig- correct
euch- you (all)

Hard ch [x]/x/

After back vowels (a, o, u, au). A friction sound far back in the throat, as in Scottish “loch”.

Bach- brook
Buch- book
noch- still / yet
auch- also
Nacht- night

Common mistake

Don’t say it as “k” (“Bach” is not “Bak”) or as “tch”. Also: “chs” is usually “ks” - “Fuchs” sounds like “Fuks”.

SCH - like English “sh”

/ʃ/

Simply the English “sh” in “ship” - and word-initial “sp”/“st” hide this sound too.

Closest English sound: English “sh” (ship, fish).
How to say it: Round and push your lips forward slightly and make a long “sh”. Note: at the start of a word, “sp” and “st” are pronounced “shp”/“sht” - “Sport” = “shport”, “Stadt” = “shtat”.

Examples

Schule- school
schön- beautiful
Tisch- table
Deutsch- German
Sport- sport - say “Schport”
Stadt- city - say “Schtadt”

Common mistake

Don’t pronounce word-initial “st”/“sp” with an English “s”.

Z - like “ts”

/ts/

Always “ts” as at the end of English “cats” - never a buzzing “z”.

Closest English sound: The “ts” in “cats”, “pizza”.
How to say it: Start as for “t” and release straight into an “s”: “ts”. Also word-initially: “Zeit” sounds like “tsyte”.

Examples

Zeit- time
Zug- train
zwei- two
Katze- cat
tanzen- to dance
Herz- heart

Common mistake

Don’t use the English “z” in “zoo” (that buzzing sound in German is written s, e.g. “Sonne”).

W - like English “v”

/v/

German “w” sounds like the English “v” in “van”.

Closest English sound: English “v” (van, voice).
How to say it: Rest the upper teeth lightly on the lower lip and it - like English “v”. Don’t round both lips as in the English “w” (water).

Examples

Wasser- water
Wein- wine
wo- where
wir- we
Wetter- weather

Common mistake

Don’t use the rounded-lip English “w”: “Wasser” starts like “vasser”, not “wosser”.

Minimal pairs

WetterVetter
w (=v) vs. v (=f): “Wetter” (weather) vs. “Vetter” (cousin). The most common swap error.

V - usually like “f”

/f, v/

In native German words “v” sounds like “f”; only in loanwords like “w” (= English v).

Closest English sound: Mostly English “f” (father); in loanwords English “v” (vase).
How to say it: Default: “f” - “Vater” sounds like “Fahter”, “viel” like “feel”. The exception is loanwords, where “v” = English v - “Vase”, “Villa”, “Klavier”, “November”.

Examples

Vater- father - say “Fahter”
viel- much - say “feel”
vier- four
von- from / of
Vase- vase - loanword: English v
Klavier- piano - loanword: English v

Common mistake

Don’t automatically use the English “v” - that only applies to loanwords.

R - uvular R & vocalic R

/ʁ, ɐ/

A throat sound (not made with the tongue tip) - and at the end of a syllable it turns into a weak “a”.

Closest English sound: No English counterpart. The throat sound resembles a soft gargle; the vocalic R ≈ the “a” in English “sofa”.
How to say it: Two positions decide the pronunciation: before a vowel consonantal, after a vowel vocalic. Getting both right is what makes you sound German.

Consonantal [ʁ] - before a vowel/ʁ/

At the start of a syllable, before a vowel. A friction sound at the back uvula (uvular), like a soft gargle - the tongue tip stays down.

rot- red
Reise- trip
Brot- bread
Frage- question
drei- three

Vocalic [ɐ] - after a vowel/ɐ/

At the end of a syllable/word and in the ending “-er”. The R is barely a consonant; it becomes a weak “a” (schwa) - almost swallowed.

Vater- father - “Fah-ta”
Mutter- mother - “Mutt-a”
aber- but - “ah-ba”
Uhr- clock
Tür- door

Common mistake

Don’t carry the American retroflex tongue-R everywhere - it’s the most noticeable accent marker. And don’t roll a hard R at the end of a word: “Vater” = “Fah-ta”, not “Fah-terr”.

Umlauts: ä, ö, ü

Ä - a-umlaut

/ɛ, ɛː/

Not a new sound: ä sounds like the e in “bed” (short) or the ai in “air” (long).

Closest English sound: English “bed” (short) and “air/fair” (long).
How to say it: Just say an “e”. The only difference from a is the spelling with two dots (the ). Short and open in “Männer”, long in “Käse”.

Examples

Männer- men
Käse- cheese
spät- late
Bäcker- baker
Mädchen- girl

Common mistake

Don’t say it like the a in “Vater” - ä is an e-sound, not an a-sound.

Minimal pairs

ApfelÄpfel
Singular → plural: a becomes ä (“Apfel” → “Äpfel”).

Ö - o-umlaut

/œ, øː/

A new sound: round your lips as for “o”, but say “e”.

Closest English sound: Close to French “eu” (peu) or the “ir” in English “bird” (without the r).
How to say it: Say a long “eh” (as in “bet”) and, while doing so, push your lips forward into a round “o” shape. The tongue stays front as for e, the lips are round as for o. Long in “schön”, short in “können”.

Examples

schön- beautiful
hören- to hear
Köln- Cologne
zwölf- twelve
möchten- would like

Common mistake

Don’t just say “o”: “schon” (already) vs. “schön” (beautiful) changes the meaning.

Minimal pairs

schonschön
o vs. ö: “schon” = already, “schön” = beautiful.
konntekönnte
“konnte” = could (past), “könnte” = could/would be able to.

Ü - u-umlaut

/ʏ, yː/

The trickiest one: round your lips as for “oo”, but say “ee”.

Closest English sound: Like French “u” (tu, lune) - English has no equivalent.
How to say it: Say a long “ee” (as in “bee”) and round your lips tightly, as if to whistle. Tongue front as for i, lips rounded and pushed forward. Long in “über”, short in “fünf”.

Examples

über- over / about
fünf- five
Tür- door
müde- tired
Bücher- books
grün- green

Common mistake

Don’t fall back to “oo” (as in “boot”) or “ee”: “Kiste” (box) vs. “Küste” (coast) depends on it.

Minimal pairs

KisteKüste
i vs. ü: “Kiste” (box) vs. “Küste” (coast).
MutterMütter
u vs. ü, singular → plural: “Mutter” (mother) → “Mütter” (mothers).

The ß (Eszett)

ß - Eszett (sharp s)

/s/

A single letter for a voiceless “s” like the ss in “kiss” - it is not a “B”.

Closest English sound: The sharp, voiceless “s” in “kiss”, “grass”.
How to say it: Make a hard, “s” (no buzzing of the vocal cords). Key point: ß always follows a long vowel or and signals it - “Straße”, “heißen”. After a short vowel you write ss: “Masse” vs. “Maße”.

Examples

Straße- street
heißen- to be called
groß- big
Fußball- football
weiß- white

Common mistake

Don’t read it as a capital “B” (the letter looks similar). Note: in Switzerland ß is always written ss.

Minimal pairs

MasseMaße
short vs. long a: “Masse” (mass) vs. “Maße” (measurements).

Consonants & digraphs: ch, sch, z, w, v, r

CH - soft and hard ch

/ç, x/

Two variants depending on the vowel before it: soft [ç] after front vowels, hard [x] after back vowels.

Closest English sound: Soft ch ≈ the whispered “h” in “huge/hue”; hard ch ≈ Scottish “loch”, Spanish “j”.
How to say it: German “ch” is never “tch” (as in English “church”) and never “k”. Which of the two variants applies depends on the sound before it.

Soft ch [ç]/ç/

After front vowels (e, i, ä, ö, ü, ei, eu), after l, n, r and in the ending “-chen”. Whisper an “h” as in “huge”, tongue near the front of the palate.

ich- I
Milch- milk
Mädchen- girl
richtig- correct
euch- you (all)

Hard ch [x]/x/

After back vowels (a, o, u, au). A friction sound far back in the throat, as in Scottish “loch”.

Bach- brook
Buch- book
noch- still / yet
auch- also
Nacht- night

Common mistake

Don’t say it as “k” (“Bach” is not “Bak”) or as “tch”. Also: “chs” is usually “ks” - “Fuchs” sounds like “Fuks”.

SCH - like English “sh”

/ʃ/

Simply the English “sh” in “ship” - and word-initial “sp”/“st” hide this sound too.

Closest English sound: English “sh” (ship, fish).
How to say it: Round and push your lips forward slightly and make a long “sh”. Note: at the start of a word, “sp” and “st” are pronounced “shp”/“sht” - “Sport” = “shport”, “Stadt” = “shtat”.

Examples

Schule- school
schön- beautiful
Tisch- table
Deutsch- German
Sport- sport - say “Schport”
Stadt- city - say “Schtadt”

Common mistake

Don’t pronounce word-initial “st”/“sp” with an English “s”.

Z - like “ts”

/ts/

Always “ts” as at the end of English “cats” - never a buzzing “z”.

Closest English sound: The “ts” in “cats”, “pizza”.
How to say it: Start as for “t” and release straight into an “s”: “ts”. Also word-initially: “Zeit” sounds like “tsyte”.

Examples

Zeit- time
Zug- train
zwei- two
Katze- cat
tanzen- to dance
Herz- heart

Common mistake

Don’t use the English “z” in “zoo” (that buzzing sound in German is written s, e.g. “Sonne”).

W - like English “v”

/v/

German “w” sounds like the English “v” in “van”.

Closest English sound: English “v” (van, voice).
How to say it: Rest the upper teeth lightly on the lower lip and it - like English “v”. Don’t round both lips as in the English “w” (water).

Examples

Wasser- water
Wein- wine
wo- where
wir- we
Wetter- weather

Common mistake

Don’t use the rounded-lip English “w”: “Wasser” starts like “vasser”, not “wosser”.

Minimal pairs

WetterVetter
w (=v) vs. v (=f): “Wetter” (weather) vs. “Vetter” (cousin). The most common swap error.

V - usually like “f”

/f, v/

In native German words “v” sounds like “f”; only in loanwords like “w” (= English v).

Closest English sound: Mostly English “f” (father); in loanwords English “v” (vase).
How to say it: Default: “f” - “Vater” sounds like “Fahter”, “viel” like “feel”. The exception is loanwords, where “v” = English v - “Vase”, “Villa”, “Klavier”, “November”.

Examples

Vater- father - say “Fahter”
viel- much - say “feel”
vier- four
von- from / of
Vase- vase - loanword: English v
Klavier- piano - loanword: English v

Common mistake

Don’t automatically use the English “v” - that only applies to loanwords.

R - uvular R & vocalic R

/ʁ, ɐ/

A throat sound (not made with the tongue tip) - and at the end of a syllable it turns into a weak “a”.

Closest English sound: No English counterpart. The throat sound resembles a soft gargle; the vocalic R ≈ the “a” in English “sofa”.
How to say it: Two positions decide the pronunciation: before a vowel consonantal, after a vowel vocalic. Getting both right is what makes you sound German.

Consonantal [ʁ] - before a vowel/ʁ/

At the start of a syllable, before a vowel. A friction sound at the back uvula (uvular), like a soft gargle - the tongue tip stays down.

rot- red
Reise- trip
Brot- bread
Frage- question
drei- three

Vocalic [ɐ] - after a vowel/ɐ/

At the end of a syllable/word and in the ending “-er”. The R is barely a consonant; it becomes a weak “a” (schwa) - almost swallowed.

Vater- father - “Fah-ta”
Mutter- mother - “Mutt-a”
aber- but - “ah-ba”
Uhr- clock
Tür- door

Common mistake

Don’t carry the American retroflex tongue-R everywhere - it’s the most noticeable accent marker. And don’t roll a hard R at the end of a word: “Vater” = “Fah-ta”, not “Fah-terr”.