Pronunciation

German special sounds: what this page is really about

This page helps you say and spell German names and words clearly.

• Umlauts: ä, ö, ü
• Important vowel groups: ei, ie, eu/äu
• Typical consonant groups: ch, ng, pf, qu
• Tricky single letters: s, v, z, r, h, j, k/ck
• Final consonants: b, d, g at the end of a word

Focus: how they sound and how to spell them when you say your name.

Umlauts ä, ö, ü – new vowels, new words

Umlauts are not decorations. They are different vowels.

Letter	Example	Approx. sound (for English speakers)
ä	Bär	like “e” in “bed”, but longer
ö	schön, öffnen	like French “eu” in “deux”; rounded lips
ü	früh, fünf	say “ee” but with rounded lips

• ä ≠ a (Bär ≠ Bar)
• ö ≠ o (schön ≠ schon)
• ü ≠ u (fünf ≠ funf – the second is simply wrong)

Meaning often changes completely when you change the umlaut.

How to pronounce umlauts with your mouth

1. For ä
   • Say English “bed”.
   • Make it a bit longer: schön → imagine “beeeed” but shorter.
2. For ö
   • Form your lips like for “o”.
   • Say a sound like “e” in “her” (British) at the same time.
   • Result: schön.
3. For ü
   • Say “ee” (as in “see”).
   • Now keep your tongue in the same place.
   • Round your lips strongly, like for “oo”.
   • Result: ü as in fünf.

Umlauts when spelling names

In everyday German you often hear:

• ä = ae (Bär → Baer)
• ö = oe (Böhm → Boehm)
• ü = ue (Jürgen → Juergen)

But: this is a spelling variant, not a different sound.

• When you say your name: use the umlaut sound.
  • „Ich heiße Jürgen, mit Ü.“
• When you spell for email etc.:
  • „J, ü, r, g, e, n – ü wie über.“
  • Or: „J-U-E-R-G-E-N, ü als U-E.“

ei, ie, eu, äu – typical German vowel groups

Letters	Example	Approx. sound	Self-check
ei	Ei, mein	like “eye”	Spell: E–I, say: one sound
ie	Liebe	like “ee”	Spell: I–E, say: long “ee”
eu/äu	heute, Häuser	like “oy” in “boy”	Spelling changes; sound is the same

• ei and ie are opposite in German compared to English:
  • English „piece“ (ie = long “ee”) → German style.
  • English „height“ (ei = “eye”) → German style.

ch – two different sounds

German ch has two main pronunciations.

Type	Example	Where in the mouth?
soft ch	ich	front of the mouth / palate
hard ch	Buch	back of the throat

• After i, e, ä, ö, ü → usually soft ch (ich-sound).
• After a, o, u, au → usually hard ch (Buch-sound).

There is no exact English sound. Do not say tch (as in “church”) or k.

ng – one sound, not n + g

In German ng is usually one sound, like in English “song”.

• singen → “zing-en”, the g is not hard.
• Do not say sing-gen with two separate sounds.

pf and qu – say both consonants clearly

Letters	Example	Tip
pf	Pferd	Say p + f together: small “p”, then “f”.
qu	Quelle	Sounds like “kv”: k + v/w.

In careful speech both consonants are audible. This is important when you spell your name.

Other tricky consonants: s, v, z, r, h, j, k/ck

• s at the beginning of a word
  • Sonne → sounds like z in „zoo“.
  • German “S” at the start is usually voiced.
• v
  • Often like English f: Vater → „Fater“.
• z
  • Always “ts”: Zeit → „Ts-ite“.
• r
  • Different from English; often in the throat, not with the tongue tip.
  • At the end of a word it can sound very weak or like a vowel.
• h
  • Always pronounced at the beginning: Haus.
• j
  • Like English y in “yes”: Jahr.
• k and ck
  • Same sound: Katze, backen.

Final consonants: b, d, g become voiceless

At the end of a German word, some consonants change slightly:

Written	Sounds more like	Example
b	p	lieb → /liːp/
d	t	Rad → /raːt/
g	k	Tag → /taːk/

• The spelling stays the same.
• Only the sound becomes voiceless (no vibration in the throat).
• This is normal German pronunciation, not a regional accent.

Step-by-step: checking your own pronunciation

1. Umlauts
   • Say minimal pairs and listen:
     • schon / schön
     • schon should have a normal “o”.
     • schön should have rounded lips and the “ö”-sound.
2. ei vs. ie
   • Make two columns on a sheet:

   ei = “eye”	ie = “ee”
   mein, dein, drei	sie, Liebe, wie

3. ch
   • Say slowly: ich, mich, dich → soft.
   • Then: Bach, Buch, auch → hard.
4. Final consonants
   • Put a hand on your throat.
   • Say: lieb – at the end your throat should be quiet (like “p”).

Using this when you say and spell your name

When you introduce yourself, combine these points.

1. Say your full name clearly
   • „Ich heiße Jürgen Böhm.“
2. Mark umlauts and special groups
   • „Jürgen, mit Ü: J–Ü–R–G–E–N.“
   • „Böhm, mit Ö und H: B–Ö–H–M.“
3. Check understanding
   • „Mit Ü wie über, nicht U.“
   • „Ö wie Österreich.“

Quick self-check: do I understand this topic?

• I know that ä, ö, ü are new vowels, not just a/ o/ u with dots.
• I can explain my name with an umlaut: „mit Ä/Ö/Ü“ or „A–E / O–E / U–E“.
• I know that ei sounds like “eye” and ie sounds like “ee”.
• I can hear the difference between soft ch in ich and hard ch in Buch.
• I know that pf, qu, ng are one combined sound each.
• I remember that at the end of a word, b, d, g are pronounced like p, t, k, but the spelling does not change.

If you can say “yes” to these points, you are ready to practise in conversation.