German Pronunciation Guide |
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Vowels
Each vowel has a short and a long version. As a general
rule, vowels are long when followed by a single consonant or by h
and short when followed by two consonants. All double vowels are long.
Written as
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Example
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Sound clip
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a short
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wann
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long
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sagen
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e short
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essen
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long
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Regen
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i short
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immer
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long
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Kino
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o short
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noch
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long
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wo
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u short
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und
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long
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Fuß
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ä short
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Männer
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long
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spät
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ö short
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können
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long
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mögen
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ü short
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müssen
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long
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müde
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Vowel combinations
Written as
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Example
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Sound clip
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au long
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Frau, Haus
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äu long
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Häuser, Bäume
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ei long
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ein, mein
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eu long
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heute, Leute
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ie long
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die, Spiel
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Consonants
Most consonants are pronounced as in English. The exceptions are:
Written as
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Example
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Sound clip
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b at end of word
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ab
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d at end of word
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Kind
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g at end of word
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Tag
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h at end of syllable
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nehmen, froh
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j
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ja, jung
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s before a vowel
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Samstag, Gemüse
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s otherwise
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lustig
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z
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zwei, ganz
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v
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viel, vor
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v
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vanilla
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w
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wie, wo
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ß
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Fuß, Großmutter
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Letter combinations
Written as
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Example
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Sound clip
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ch after a,
o, u, au
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Tochter, Kuchen
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ch otherwise
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euch, möchten
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sch
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Flasche, Geschenk
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tsch
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Deutsch
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ig at end of word
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dreißig, fertig
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sp generally
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Sprache
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st generally
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Stunde
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Alphabet
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Sound clip
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ABC
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DEF
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GHI
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JKL
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MNO
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PQR
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STU
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VW |
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XYZ |
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