Sch: similar to both sh and a slightly gutteral h usually best approximated as sh, e.g. Kh, slightly gutteral but not as heavy as you think can be approximated as k or in some cases h e.g. Two rules you should know but can get away with not following: r is swallowed at ends of syllables as in British English (it colors the preceding vowel but is not pronounced), and voiced consonants at ends of syllables become voiceless ( d becomes t, etc.). in Theo Adam, Theo = tay-oh, and Mozarteum = moh-tsar- tay-oom). Leiden = liy-den, Hermann Prey = hehr-mahn priyĪll other combinations of vowels are meant to be pronounced as separate syllables (e.g. Do not confuse ie with ei, unless you want to annoy many people. Ü: like the French u, or something like ee but with rounded lips e.g. Ö: something like the French "eu" or the British "ur" in the word "burn", e.g. Alle = ahl-luh ) NEVER pronounce a final e as ay, as you would in Spanish or Italian!Īw, as in "awe" but slightly rounder, more like the vowel in the British pronunciation of "thought" Uh, an unstressed schwa, like the a in "Emma" but shorter (e.g. Somewhere between ay as in "say" and eh, e.g. Also take note of the German final e: it's not silent, but it is very short.Īh, short and long a are basically the same Don't ever pronounce ee or oo the English way in a German word. Staat = shtaht, Boot = boht, See = zay), or by the letter "h" placed after the vowel (e.g. Likewise, would-be short vowels are lengthened by doubling of the vowel (e.g. The letter ß is called "es-tset", and is pronounced like an ordinary EnglishĪs in English, German vowels generally have both long and short variants, and would-be long vowels are often shortened when they precede multiple consonants (e.g.
The German alphabet also uses one extra consonant: One occasionally sees them printed in alternative spelling asĪe, oe and ue, especially when someone has had trouble figuring out Ä, ö and ü are distinctly different sounds than their German uses the umlaut to alter the sounds of the vowels a, o and u: Note that not just proper nouns but ALL nouns are capitalized.
It's easier than it looks: no letters are silent, the rules are fairly consistent, and some of the more peculiar vowel sounds (the umlauts, in particular) resemble sounds that are familiar from British English. German is the single most important language for classical radio announcers to get right.
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