German Sounds: Learn how to pronounce German words

In German, letters like f, h, k, l, m, n, p, t, o, x, i, d and b are pronounced the same as in English. However, there are some letters that are not pronounced the same with additional new letters that are not said the same as in English.

English letters pronounced differently in German

Ch Sound

It is pronounced like a short cat hissing sound and similar to English sound of ‘sh’ in some way but the most specifc is s strong ‘h’ sound.

Examples are ich to mean I and mich to mean my. Milch is milk

You should be able to to geel air coming out of your mouth wheb you place your hand on your mouth.

It may also have a different sound similar to ‘g’ like in buch to mean book.

W Sound

This sounds like sound ‘V’ in English like in Vine.

Examples are like Was to mean what, Wann to mean when, and Wo to mean Where.

V Sound

You would how this sounds if W has taken this sound. V in German sounds like f in english

Examples include Vater to mean Father and Von to mean fromor by.

J Sound

This sounds like sound ‘y’ is English like in yes.

Examples ja to mean yes and jacke to mean jacket.

R Sound

Imagine talking as if you giggling water in your throat. That’s what it’s like saying R. This is however softer when r is found inside the word and sounds like ‘uh’. Myself I relate it more with ‘g’ sound

Examples are Rot to mean red, Radio to mean Radio, Messer to mean knife and Butter to mean butter.

Z Sound

It doesn’t have a 💤 Sound like in englisch (German was of saying English) but sounds like English ‘TS’ Sound.

Tsch Sound

This is a ‘ch’ sound likr in cheese. Examples are Deutsch to mean German and Tschüss to mean bye.

Sp and St sound

These two sounds start with a sh sound followed by either p or s. Examples are später to mean later and sprechen to mean speak.

Ei sound

When this is found together, it translates to ‘ae’ sound line is seid to mean all are

Eu sound

When the two are found together, the translate to ‘oe‘ sound like on deutsch to mean german

Sch

This has a sh sound like in shop. It is seen in words like schokolada to mean [fill here in the comment section] and schnee to mean snow.

German specifc alphabet: ß

There is only one alphabet in German that is not found in English and that is eszett which looks like a beta symbol: ß. This is like saying two s sounds in English. The pronunciation is like saying to (you guessed it right) two S sounds.

German Vowels: Umlauts

This are modified English vowels that have two dots are the top.

• Ä sounds like short e sound like in end like in Mädchen to mean girl or girls depending on article used infront. You can type it as ae.
• Ö sounds like somehow the same as the previous but start with the short e sound and round your lips like you are going to suck a straw.
• Ü sound is the result of starting with the long e sound like in keep, without moving your tongue, round your lips again as if you going to suck a straw.

German un-silenced pronunciations

There are certain sounds one would ordinarily silence them in English but in German they are not. One has to say those words even if they are two unrelated words.

• Kn
• e at the end of a word
• Ps
• Pf

The rest German ABC’s

St and Sp- sounds like sh sound at the start followed by t or p

U never take the ‘a’ Sound like in englisch nur always U like in ubiquitous.

Sch sounds like sh sound e.g. Schokolade to mean chocolate which am not a fun of.

i sounds like eee

C sounds like K sound in Computer.

How to spell in German

Often times when spelling out your name for someone else to hear you, you would use a word that’s common to short which letter you meant. E.g A for Apple. In German there is that too called the phonet alphabet.

The phonetic alphabet

A- Anton

Ä- Ärger

B- Berta

C- Cäsar

Ch- Charlotte

D- Dora

E- Emil

F- Friedrich

G- Gustav

H- Heinrich

I- Ida

J- Julius

K- Kaufmann

L- Ludwig

M- Martha

N- Norpol

O- Otto

Ö- Ökonom

P-Paula

Q-Quelle

R-Richard

S-Samuel

Sh-Schule

ß- Eszett

T- Theodor

U- Ulrich

Ü- Übermut

V- Viktor

W- Wilhelm

X- Xanthippe

Y- Ypsilon

Z- Zacharias

. Punkt

– Minus

_ Unterstrich

/ Schrägstrich

\ Umgekehrter Schrägstrich

@ ett

Das Beispiel : My name would be spelled Samuel – Anton- Richard- Anton- Heinrich. I don’t know about you but this is a sign of getting children or man with this names.