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Guide to German Pronunciation–some hints

Umlauts

ü

The ü is formed using an ee vowel (as in feet) inside the mouth with the lips in the ooh position. 

What complicates this is that there are closed* and open* ü vowels. 

1. The closed ü is made exactly as described above. It is used, typically, when it is followed by a single consonant: 

Examples: güte, über, Brüder

Note: an h after the vowel keeps the ü closed: fühlen, Frühling

2. The open ü is formed in nearly the same way, but the mouth (the back of the jaw especially) is more open. It is used, typically, when it is followed by two consonants

Examples: füllt, Güsse, erschüttert

ö 

The ö is slightly different from the ü. The mouth forms an oh sound (not ooh), and the vowel inside is “eh.” Think Goethe (note that “oe” is pronounced as ö) and adieu (in French). 

Again, ö can be closed or open. (Yes, it can be confusing.)

1. The closed ö is the one described above

Examples: schön, tönen, Söhnen (note the h keeping it closed)

2. As with the open ü, the open ö is made with the mouth more open. 

Examples: öffnen, möchtet

ä

The difference in pronunciation between a closed and open ä is typically dependent (as above) on what follows it. 

1. The closed ä is pronounced like the “closed e” vowel, similar to the a in hay (only tighter, and without a diphthong–see below!). Usually, the closed ä is followed by a single consonant

Example: Käse, Bär.

Exception for the Haydn: gnädig, which is gnehdig, and Majestät, which is Majesteht. 

2. The open ä pronounced like an “open e,” eh as in less, and is typically followed by two consonants.

Examples: lässt, Mädchen, Äpfel, Hände

Note: äu is pronounced oy, as in boy (Mäuser). (So is eu: Eulen) (see section on diphthongs!)

Vowels without an umlaut

Note: in many cases, vowels without an umlaut follow the same rule about open and closed (followed by single consonants and double consonants, respectively) .

1. closed (e vowel between “i” and “eh”): lesen

2. open (eh as in best): besser

Note: there are exceptions, like Edler, which is pronounced ay-dle(r)(closed) or schwehren, which we are pronouncing schweh-ren.

ch, sch, tsch, s, z, ß

Constructions containing ch also have different pronunciations. 

ch

There are two pronunciations of ch:

1. The first is soft and formed in the back of the throat. 

Examples: Bach, macht, Fach.

2. The second is formed in the front-middle of the soft palate and sounds like a cat’s hiss (seriously).

Examples: ich, gnädig, Abendlich, spricht

sch

sch is pronounced like sh in English.

Examples: Tisch, Fisch, schön

tsch

This is pronounced like ch with a t in front of it (think Tchaikovsky).

Examples: klatsch, tschau (alternative spelling of ciao) 

s

When s appears before a consonant (spring, Stahl), it is pronounced as an sh (shpring, Shtahl)

When it appears before a vowel, it is like an English z (sanft, sauber)

Note: there are exceptions. For example, s before a z, is pronounced separately: szene (scenes) is pronounced z-tsayneh. I know that’s weird, and that’s the only example I can think of, and I don’t think it appears in the Haydn).

v

The v is nearly always pronounced like f

z

The z is always pronounced like ts, as in Mozart and pizza.

ß

This German letter is the “Eszett” (ess-tsett, two syllables), and it is the same as the double s (ss): heißt, Fleiß

ei, ie

ei is pronounced like the i in sigh: heiliger, fein, rein (Note, this is a diphthong; see diphthong section below)

ie is pronounced like ee: Liebe, vielen 

b 

At the end of a word, b is pronounced as a soft p: Leib, Weib, even bleibt.

In between consonants, variations on those words typically take the b sound (bleibe, Leibe [same with Liebe], Weibe).

g

At the end of words, depending on the vowel (open or closed), it is pronounced as a soft k (Schlag [closed vowel]) or the cat hiss ch (gnädig [open vowel]); it is the same as dich.

w

Always pronounced as a v: Wolken, Weib

i

closed i (as in feet): mir, wir

open i (as in fist): hin, gnädig, winnen, spricht, Fisch.

Note that using a closed i when it should be open (spreecht, say, or gnädeech) screams non-German chorus. 

The SCHWA: “ə” 

The Schwa is a neutral vowel sound corresponding most closely to the English “uh” sound. Its symbol is an upside-down e: ə.

In German, it is used in the following main circumstances:

1. Unstressed syllables at the end of words

2. Internal or final Rs

There are many instances in which the ends of words should be deemphasized and/or not pronounced (especially words with an r near the end). Deemphasizing often means adding a syllable that doesn’t look like it should be there. 

Examples of final Rs (diphthongs–see below section on diphthongs):

• nur (noo-uh or noo-ə)

• mir (mee-uh or mee-ə)

• der (de-uh or de-ə)

Examples of unstressed final syllables:

• alles (al-luss or al-ləs)

• Winde (Vinn-duh or Vinn-də)

• vollem (foll-lum or foll-əm)

Examples of unstressed final syllables that also end with R (be careful!):

• Donner (Donn-nuh or Donn-nə)

• edler (ed-luh or ed-lə)

In other cases, mis- or overpronouncing a final syllable can ruin the word (as noted above with the open i). 

Examples: 

• erschüttert: er-schütt-uht rather than er-schütt-airt 

• heiliger: high-lee-guh rather than high-lee-gair

Diphthong management

A diphthong occurs when one sings two vowel sounds in the same syllable:

• Treat the first vowel as primary and sustain it through as much of the note as possible

• Turn to the second vowel only at the very end of the note; it is treated almost as a consonant in its brevity.

Examples: 

• fein = fah (ihn)

• Haus = Hah (oos)

• dir = dee (ər) –or dee (uh)--note the schwa!

When NOT to diphthong

Be careful of the closed “e” vowel, which is not commonly used in American English.

• This is a single vowel, situated exactly between a fully closed i “ee” and an open e “eh” sound.

In American English, we often automatically translate this sound into a diphthong, as:

Hey = Heh-ee This is not the German sound we are looking for.

Instead, think of it as almost an “ee” vowel, just a little more relaxed and open.

Examples: 

• Berg = Be - əg (closed e + schwa diphthong)

• Leben = Le - bən (closed e + schwa unstressed syllable)

• Ewiger = e - vee - gə (closed e + closed i + schwa unstressed R syllable)

*Sometimes these are referred to as “long” (closed) and “short” (open) vowels; the open/closed vocabulary, however, corresponds more to the shape and formation of the mouth when singing them.