Learn about the pronunciation of consonants
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| Hi everyone. |
| Welcome to The Ultimate German Pronunciation Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn 5 German consonants. |
| pf, ʁ, ʀ, r, ts |
| These consonant sounds do not appear in English, so they'll be trickier than the last lot. |
| Be sure to practice them because these are the unique sounds that learners often get wrong! |
| Are you ready? |
| Then let's get started! |
| The first consonant is... |
| pf |
| Pfahl (pole) |
| Apfel (apple) |
| Pferd (horse) |
| "(voiceless labiodental fricative) This is quite a rare sound that doesn't appear in many languages. It is essentially a P and an F sound combined. |
| One way to produce this sound, is to say the English word 'cupfull'. |
| Pay attention to the way the bottom lip and teeth meet and seperate when producing this sound." |
| pf, pf (slowly) |
| pf, pf (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| ʁ |
| Rost (rust) |
| Rast (break) |
| Rennauto (racing car) |
| "(voiced uvular fricative) Do you know that fleshy part that hangs down from the roof of your mouth? It's called the uvular. |
| Narrow that section with the back part of your tongue until you start making a sound. |
| It sounds a bit like the noise you make when you're gargling. |
| This sound is voiced, meaning you should feel vibrations coming from your throat." |
| ʁ, ʁ (slowly) |
| ʁ, ʁ (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| ʀ |
| Rübe (carrot) |
| Ruhrgebiet (Ruhr area) |
| Reifen (tire) |
| "(voiced uvular trill) This consonant also utilises the uvular. |
| Lightly contact it with the back part of your tongue and try to direct just enough air through it so that the opening opens and closes rapidly. |
| This kind of articulation is called a trill. |
| This sound is also voiced, so you should feel vibrations coming from your throat." |
| ʀ, ʀ (slowly) |
| ʀ, ʀ (slowly) |
| The next consonant is... |
| r |
| Schmarrn (nonsense) |
| Grüße (greetings) |
| Start (start) |
| (voiced alveolar trill) This is also known as a rolled R, or rolling your R's. Lightly contact the gums directly behind your top teeth with the tip of your tongue and try to direct just enough air through it so that the opening opens and closes rapidly -- as if fluttering or vibrating. It almost sounds like a rapid "D" sound. |
| One useful trick, is to repeat the words "butter" or "ladder" really *really* quickly. Eventually, you'll produce the rolled R sound. |
| Yet another trick, is to think of olden day movies. Do you remember how Dracula first introduced himself? Like DO-RA-CU-LA. Try to say it like this multiple times. You want to focus on the D and R sound in the word "dracula". This *very* quick transitioning from the D to the R can sometimes allow you to prononuce the rolled R sound. |
| Okay, let's break this sound down. |
| r, r (slowly) |
| r, r (slowly) |
| The final consonant for this lesson is... |
| ts |
| Zahl (number) |
| Zweck (purpose) |
| Zorn (anger) |
| "(voiceless alveolar sibilant affricate) This consonant sound is like a combination of a T and an S sound. |
| It starts off as a t sound, but ends with an s sound. |
| Here's a great tip. You can produce this sound by saying the word 'cats', so one trick is to bounce off of the ending when trying to pronounce this consonant sound." |
| ts, ts (slowly) |
| ts, ts (slowly) |
| Well done! You just learned 5 German consonants. |
| pf, ʁ, ʀ, r, ts |
| These consonant sounds do not appear in English, so be sure to practice them! |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn 3 more consonant sounds that are not in the English language. |
| How difficult were they to learn? Please comment and share your thoughts. |
| See you in the next Ultimate German Pronunciation Guide lesson! |
Comments
HideLet us know if you have any questions.
Hi Genna,
Thank you for getting back to us. ❤️
Yes, pronunciation is probably one of the main challenges with the German language
and one where theoretical explanations have their limits.
Although I find the lesson quite well done, I do see your point.
What I can suggest is that you do what I did when learning forgeign languages:
not having enough money for a one-to-one teacher, I met with people for language exchanges. It
was 50% of the time speaking each other's respective language (with explanations if necessary),
and there is nothing like a real person right in front of you when it comes to the nitty-gritty of pronunciation. 😉
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
I have no problem with the pf and ts sounds, but i can't for the life of me pronounce any of the r sounds correctly. My throat feels all scratchy, or i can't get it to vibrate correctly. Do you have any tips?
Hallo Arnold Schalch,
Could you please provide some more information? Do you have a valid subscription? Do you experience the issue on other lessons and lesson series as well? The video seems to work fine on our side.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Levente
Team GermanPod101.com
Hallo zusammen! I cannot watch the video. Please help. Danke schön im Voraus!
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the nice feedback!
You are most welcome.😉
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Extremely helpful lesson ....Danke
Hallo robert groulx,
Danke schön for taking the time to leave us a comment. 😇
Let us know if you have any questions.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Levente
Team GermanPod101.com
thanks for the lesson
my favorite word is Grüße
robert
Hi Oxana,
Thanks for the feedback.👍
Sounds like learning Russian might be easier for
Germans then? Should try it one day.😉
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hello,
Looks like the last r is very similar to the same sound in Russian language. That was a real surprise for me. Before these videos I thought that there is only one version of R in German (similar to the first one provided here, but it's still the most difficult sound for me...).
Thanks!
Hi Monica,
Thank you for a very good question!👍
I understand your predicament and I agree, if there was a "rule" for the "r"
it would make every German language student's life so
much easier.😄
But just like in English, for instance, ultimately you will have to consult a dictionary
for the correct phonetic pronunciation. There isn't a rule as such. That's why people in the South take the "liberty" of pronouncing it their own way. One little consolation is that the more you listen
to native speakers the easier it gets, because you are going to develop a feeling for
the different versions.
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hi,
The explanations are good on how to produce the different R sounds with a few example words given for each but no explanation or rules are given for when to use which R sound. So how do I know which R sound to use when I see a word with an R in it? It also says that the trilled R is used mainly in southern Germany, so should I use it and if so when? Please can you let me know when to use which R sound.
Thanks
Monica
Hi RubyGirl,
I agree. Besides the "ch" probably
one of the biggest challenges when learning German.
Good luck!😉
Thank you for posting.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
WOW those r's :(
Hi Alberto,
As for the difference between "ʁ" "R" or "r", I couldn't possibly
explain this better than the two ladies in the video already did.
If you really want to study beyond the video and get these sounds
perfectly right in German, I suggest you set yourself up with a native German in
a language exchange. There is only so much you can learn in theory. After that
it comes down to practice.
Thank you.
Hi Alberto,
If you have any further questions, please let us know.
Kind regards,
Reinhard
Team GermanPod101.com
Hallo! Alberto here. I have a question. When does the r sounds "R"? And whe "ʁ" or "r"?
Viel danke :).
Hello Carl,
Thank you for commenting. It takes a bit of practice to master the correct pronunciation.
Just let us know if we can help you somehow.
Sincerely,
Anne
Team GermanPod101.com
Good Evening,
Wow, all three of the R sounds were difficult..I noticed I wasn't the only one..I'll take any and all suggestions.
Thank You
Hi Justin,
Thank you for posting.
Have you tried repeating DO-RA-CU-LA many times? : )
If you are a Premium Member, you should try the Voice Recorder feature.
The voice recorder allows you to record your voice and compare it to that of a native speaker so that you can double check. You can activate it by clicking on the microphone icon next to each word in the Vocabulary section.
I hope this helps!
Ofelia
Team GermanPod101.com
I cannot roll my r’s no matter how I try ?. Is there a good way to practice this? I think I may be doing it wrong. I try to do the same position with the tounge the same way as the person did, but I still cannot make a rolling r sound. I also try doing the r with the throat, but when I do it my throat feels dry and scratchy after. Am I doing it right?