Your Ultimate German Pronunciation Guide

1- How to Pronounce German Letters

The German alphabet is very similar to the English one, but there are some key differences in pronunciation. Here’s a guide to each letter’s pronunciation and some additional resources to help you master each sound.

• A – Pronounced “Ah”
• B – “Bay”
• C – “Tsay”
• D – “Day”
• E – “Ay”
• F – “Eff”
• G – “Gay”
• H – “Haa”
• I – “Eeh”
• J – “Yot”
• K – “Kah”
• L – “Ell”
• M – “Em”
• N – “En”
• O – “Oh”
• P – “Pay”
• Q – “Koo”
• R – “Er” (approximate to the uvular German pronunciation)
• S – “Es”
• T – “Tay”
• U – “Ooh”
• V – “Fow”
• W – “Vay”
• X – “Ix”
• Y – “Uep-si-lohn”
• Z – “Tset”
• Ü – Pronounce the German I with your lips rounded like a U
• Ö – Similar to the “I” in “Girl.” 

Ä – Sounds like an “Eh”

ß – Double “s” sound. Called an Esszet.

Even though the German alphabet is similar to the English alphabet, it’s important that you recognize the letters that are different and learn the differences in pronunciation in order to make your German understandable and enjoyable to listen to.

Likewise, there are a few letters that are completely foreign to native English speakers. They are really are not difficult to learn and master, but it does take practice.

2- How to pronounce long German words

German is famous for its long words, and most people assume that the length of the word determines its pronunciation difficulty. 

This, however, is not always the case.

German is an agglutinating language, which means that words build off of each other. This actually gives you an advantage when learning to pronounce words because you can break each word down into smaller words to learn how to pronounce the larger one.

Sound difficult? It’s not. I promise. Let’s look at a few examples to get a grasp of this concept:

1. Freundschaftsbeziehungen – This word, made famous by Mark Twain, is actually composed of separate words, Freundschaft (friendship) + Beziehungen (relationships). By knowing each of these smaller words and breaking the large word into its constituent parts, the pronunciation becomes much easier. Just pronounce each part like it’s usually pronounced and you’ll be pronouncing the whole word correctly.
2. Geschwindigkeitsbeschränkungen – This intimidating word is actually very common and important, but it’s also composed of several smaller words, making it much scarier. It just means “speed limit,” but its 30 letters make it much more frightening than it ought to be. It’s actually composed of two words that are each composed of smaller particles. These two words are Geschwindigkeit (speed) + Beschränkungen (restrictions). 

As you can see, the compound words in German actually create a system that helps the learner rather than hinders them, but it helps to know the individual words so you can pronounce the longer ones with ease.

3- How to Pronounce German Numbers

Numbers are an essential part of every language, so it’s important that all German-learners know how to pronounce them well.

Rather than write out every number in German and explain its pronunciation (which would be a massive waste of time for everyone involved), I’m going to briefly explain the number system and then link resources that help with the concept and the pronunciation.

First, German numbers are similar to most other numerical systems in that they add onto each other from 1-100 and then repeat under each denomination above 100. So 77 would be seven and seventy, 777 would be seven hundred seven and seventy, and so on.

The German numerical system is not difficult, but learning to pronounce it will go a very long way in being understood by native German speakers.

Using some of our resources like our number vocabulary list is an excellent way to learn these numbers and their pronunciation and you never have to leave your own home!

4- How to Pronounce German Letter Combinations

One of the most difficult parts of mastering any language’s pronunciation is learning its letter combinations. Letter combinations are the sounds that certain letters make when they’re next to one or more other specific letters.

German has quite a few distinct letter combinations, but they are consistent and none of them are too difficult to pronounce:

1. Tsch – This is a common combination and can be seen in the word Deutsch. It’s pronounced exactly like the English “ch” like in “couch.”
2. Sch – Without the “t,” this combination is simply pronounced like the English “sh” like in “shoe.”
3. Ch – This is by far the hardest for English speakers, and it’s pronounced almost like a cat hissing but not nearly as angry.
4. Sp – This is pronounced like an English “sh” plus “p.” It is very simple.
5. St – Similar to “sp,” this is like the English “sh” plus “t.” This combination and the combination of “sp” only apply when they are at the beginning of the syllable. There are other scenarios when these words are pronounced differently. Otherwise, they are pronounced as follows.
6. St – For the middle or end of a syllable, this is pronounced as the “st” in “straight.”
7. Eu – This diphthong is pronounced exactly like “Oi” in English. 
8. Ei – This diphthong is pronounced like the English word “eye.”
9. Ie – Another diphthong, but pronounced like the English long “e.”
10. Pf – This interesting combination is produced by pronouncing a “p” and “f” sound as close together as possible.

5- How to Pronounce German City Names

German city names are important for every German student because they are likely to come up in most learning texts as well as conversations with native speakers from Germany.

Learning to pronounce German city names well is also a bonus for travel within Germany and will help the learner avoid sounding like a tourist or beginner.

1. Berlin
2. München
3. Köln
4. Frankfurt

These are the largest cities in Germany and will likely be the subject of most discussions about Germany, but they also demonstrate the methods for pronouncing German cities.

Vowels are pure and clear in German, which distinguishes German pronunciation from English. Pure vowels are the trick to correctly pronouncing German city names.