German Pronunciation Overview for Beginners

Level: A1 (beginner). Good news first: German is spelt the way it sounds. Learn a short list of letters and letter pairs and you can read a word you have never seen.

By the end of this page you can…

…say the German vowels and umlauts, read the ei/ie pair correctly, and pronounce the letters English speakers most often get wrong (w, v, z, ch).

What makes German sound “right”

German is a phonetic language: each letter, or small group of letters, has a steady sound. There are few silent letters, so spelling is a reliable guide to pronunciation — the opposite of English. The work is front-loaded: spend an hour on the sounds below and the rest of the course gets easier, because every new word is readable.

Three things shape the German sound overall: crisp vowels that keep their value, word stress on the first syllable in most native words, and clear consonants, including a few that look familiar but sound different.

Vowels and umlauts

German vowels are “pure”: a as in father, e as in bet, i as in machine, o as in more, u as in moon. They can be long or short, but the quality stays the same.

The three umlauts are the sounds that feel new:

• ä — like the e in bet (Mädchen, girl).
• ö — round your lips as if to say “oh”, then say “eh” (schön, beautiful).
• ü — round your lips as if to say “oo”, then say “ee” (über, over; für, for).

The ei / ie trap

This single pair causes more beginner mistakes than any other sound:

• ei sounds like English eye — mein (mine), Wein (wine), drei (three).
• ie sounds like English ee — wie (how), Liebe (love), vier (four).

A quick rule many learners use: say the name of the second letter. ei ends in i (“eye”); ie ends in e (“ee”). Wein (wine) and Wien (Vienna) differ only by this.

How to say it

These are the consonant sounds English speakers most often get wrong:

Example words

1. wie
   how
   w = v, ie = ee: 'vee'
2. Wein
   wine
   ei = eye: 'vine'
3. vier
   four
   v = f, ie = ee: 'feer'
4. Zeit
   time
   z = ts: 'tsyte'
5. über
   over / above
   ü = rounded ee
6. schön
   beautiful
   ö = rounded eh; sch = sh
7. für
   for
   ü sound
8. ich
   I
   soft ch after i
9. Buch
   book
   throaty ch after u
10. Straße
    street
    ß = sharp s; st = sht
11. ja
    yes
    j = y: 'yah'
12. Tag
    day
    final g hardens: 'tahk'
13. Wasser
    water
    w = v; ss = sharp s
14. Sport
    sport
    sp = shp
15. Danke
    thank you
    final -e is a light 'uh'

Using the audio

Every example on this site has a Listen button that uses your own device’s built-in voice (the browser’s speech feature) — it is not a recording of a native speaker, so treat it as a close guide, not a perfect model. Play a word, pause, then say it back. Shadowing a word three times beats reading it ten.

A note on regional variation

Pronunciation varies across German-speaking regions — the r is rolled in parts of the south and more throaty in the north, and some speakers soften ch. This overview teaches the widely understood standard (Hochdeutsch); any of the regional versions will still be understood.

Quick recap of the trickiest letters.

Where to go next

Pin the sounds down inside real grammar: open Start Learning German Here for the course map, learn the first words and articles in Der, Die, Das, then read verbs aloud with the regular present tense. Browse everything in the German grammar section.

Practice

Practice

German sounds practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Match each letter to its German sound.

• w Match for w — choose — English fEnglish vEnglish yts
• v Match for v — choose — English fEnglish vEnglish yts
• z Match for z — choose — English fEnglish vEnglish yts
• j Match for j — choose — English fEnglish vEnglish yts

Check

Show answer

• w → English v
• v → English f
• z → ts
• j → English y

w sounds like v, v like f, z like ts, j like y.

2 How do you say the 'ie' in 'wie'?

eye ee ay oo

Check

Show answer

ee — ie = ee; ei = eye.

3 'Zeit' begins with which sound?

z as in zoo ts s sh

Check

Show answer

ts — German z is pronounced ts.

4 The umlaut in 'für' is written as u with two dots: ____

Check

Hint: u + umlaut

Show answer

ü — ü is a rounded 'ee' sound.

5 Final -g in 'Tag' sounds like…

g k ch silent

Check

Show answer

k — A final b/d/g hardens toward p/t/k: 'tahk'.

Quiz

Check yourself

German pronunciation basics

8 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/8 0 answered

1. 1German 'w' sounds like English…

   A w B v C f D b
   Show answer

   v — w = v: wie = 'vee'.

2. 2German 'v' usually sounds like English…

   A v B f C w D b
   Show answer

   f — v = f: Vater = 'FAH-ter'.

3. 3'ei' is pronounced like…

   A ee B eye C ay D oo
   Show answer

   eye — ei = eye; Wein = 'vine'.

4. 4'ie' is pronounced like…

   A eye B ee C ay D oo
   Show answer

   ee — ie = ee; wie = 'vee'.

5. 5The letter 'z' sounds like…

   A z B ts C s D sh
   Show answer

   ts — z = ts: Zeit = 'tsyte'.

6. 6'sch' is pronounced like English…

   A sk B sh C ch D s
   Show answer

   sh — sch = sh: Schule = 'SHOO-le'.

7. 7To make the ü sound you…

   A say ee with rounded lips B say ah C say oo flat D add an r
   Show answer

   say ee with rounded lips — ü = round the lips for 'oo' and say 'ee'.

8. 8Word stress in most native German words falls on the…

   A last syllable B first syllable C middle D it is random
   Show answer

   first syllable — Stress usually sits on the first syllable.

Next

• Start the course: Start Learning German Here
• Your first grammar lesson: Der, Die, Das