Guide
to German Pronunciation
For Singers
by
Cliff Lamere 3 Mar 2010
Unlike American English, the German
language is very consistent in its pronunciation and much easier than English
for foreigners to learn, even though it has some sounds we don't have in
English. However, no language is easy when you first begin
to learn it.
Since citizens of the United
States and England may pronounce some vowels differently, the pronunciations
below will only work for choral singers familiar with American English.
For me, the key to learning a new
language is to learn how to pronounce it as correctly as possible. That
way, the small amount of vocabulary I know will be understood by the citizens
in the country I might visit. Communication is very difficult without good pronunciation.
Note: German nouns are always capitalized.
Understanding
the Sound Descriptions Used on this Webpage
|
American English
Description I Use |
American English Sound |
|
American English
Description I Use |
American English Sound |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ah |
as in Father |
nğ |
soft ng as in Singer |
|
aw |
as in Saw |
oh |
as in Hope |
|
ai |
as in Main |
oo |
as in Soon |
|
ee |
as in Seen |
ow |
as in Cow |
|
e or
eh |
as in Set |
oy |
as in Toy |
|
hh |
exhaled sound of CH |
ř
|
almost silent
|
|
i or
ih |
as in Sit |
uh
|
as in But
|
|
Ī or
ī |
as in Pipe |
Û or
û
|
u as in Put or Push
|
Some German sounds are not present
in English. Click on the speaker icons to hear some unique sounds spoken.
In the columns below titled "In American English,
Sounds Like:", the syllable which is emphasized (stressed) is shown in
capital letters. For each German vowel, consonant, or combination of
letters, two examples are given for each pronunciation.
G
E R M A N V O W E L S
Single
Vowels
|
Single Vowel |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
Example
(English Word) |
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A |
ah |
as in Father Short
a sounds almost the same. |
aber - Hand
(but - hand) |
AH-ber ~ hahnt |
|
E
(long) |
ai |
1) when e is followed by h
2) when e is followed by an r, especially
at beginning of a word (er-, ver-, zer- and her-), but not -er at the end of
a multi-syllabic word
3) when the vowel is doubled (ee).
See EE below.
|
sehr - mehr
(very - more)
wer
- heraus
(who - out) |
zair ~ mair
vair
~ hair-OWS |
|
E
(short) |
eh |
as in Sell |
Bett - wenn
(bed - when) |
beht ~ ven |
|
E
(final letter of a word) |
eh, uh |
Should sound like eh sound
in Get, but
often said like A in Ago. |
Leute - Hause
(people - house) |
LOY-teh ~ HOW-zeh |
|
I
(long) |
ee |
as in Machine |
Ire - Irak
(Irishman - Iraq) |
EE-reh ~ ee-RAHK |
|
I
(short) |
ih |
as in Sit |
immer - Wille
(always - will) |
IM-mer ~ VILL-eh |
|
O
(long) |
oh |
as in Hope |
Ofen - oder
(stove - or) |
OH-fen ~ OH-der |
|
O
(short) |
aw |
like aw sound in Offer |
offen - Gottes
(open - God) |
AW-fen ~ GAW-tess |
|
U |
oo
(long) |
as in Tune |
Uhr - Stuhl
(clock - stool) |
oor ~ shtool |
|
U |
--
(short) |
as in Push |
Hund - Suppe
(dog - soup) |
hûnt ~ ZÛP-eh |
Vowel
Followed by an H Gives it a German Long Vowel Sound
|
Combination |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
Example
(Meaning) |
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AH |
ah |
|
Gefahr - Sahn
(danger - cream) |
geh-FAHR ~ zahn |
|
EH |
ai |
|
geht - mehr
(goes - more) |
gait ~ mair |
|
IH |
ee |
|
ihn - ihr
(him - your) |
een ~ eer |
|
OH |
oh |
|
ohne - Ohr
(without - ear) |
OH-neh ~ ohr |
Combinations
of E and I (almost always sounds like the English name of the second letter)
|
Combination |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
Example
(Meaning) |
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EI |
Long I
(ī) |
as in Heidi |
Heilige Geist
(Holy Ghost) |
HĪ-lig-eh gīst |
|
IE |
ee |
as in Piece |
wieder - lieben
(again - to love) |
VEE-der ~ LEE-ben |
|
IE |
ee-eh
|
I and E are sometimes
sounded separately if IE is at the end of the word (but not
Sie or Glorie) |
Linie
(line) |
LEEN-ee-eh |
Other Double
Vowels
|
Vowels |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
Example
(Meaning) |
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
AA |
ah |
|
Staat - Saal
(state - hall) |
shtaht ~ zahl |
|
AU |
ow |
like ow in Cow |
Baum - glauben
(tree - to believe) |
bowm ~ GLOW-ben |
|
EE |
ai |
|
Beet - Meer
(flower bed - sea) |
bait ~ mair |
|
EU |
oy |
like oy in Toy |
Leute - Deutschland
(people - Germany) |
LOY-teh ~ DOYTSH-lahnt |
Vowels with
an Umlaut (double dot above the letter)
|
Vowel(s) |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
Example
(Meaning) |
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ä |
ai |
like in Aid |
Jäger - sägen
(hunter - saw) |
YAI-ger ~ ZAI-gen
|
|
eh |
like E in Met |
Männer - Hände (men
- hands) |
MEN-er ~ HEN-deh |
|
ÄU |
oy |
--- |
Fräulein - Häuser
(Miss - houses) |
FROY-līn ~ HOY-zer |
|
Ö |
eř |
with almost no R sound |
Flöte - schön
(flute - beautiful) |
FLEŘT-eh ~ sheřn
|
|
Ü
(long) |
-- |
shape lips to say the U in Tune,
but say EE |
über - Tür
(above - door) |
listen |
|
Ü
(short) |
--
|
like U in put or push
|
Brücke - Stück
(bridge - piece) |
listen |
G
E R M A N C O N S O N A N T S
Consonants have basically the same
sound as in English, with the exceptions shown below.
Consonants
Which May Sound Different in German
|
Single Consonant |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
|
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C |
TS |
before i or e at
beginning of word |
circa
(circa) |
TSIHR-kah |
|
K |
otherwise |
Cape
(cape) |
CAH-peh |
|
G |
hard as in Go (except as
part of NG) |
never like a 'j'
as in Giraffe or Gin |
Glas - Ginster
(glass - broom) |
glahs ~ GIN-ster
|
|
H |
H |
silent following a vowel
(see also TH below) |
gehen - Lehrer
(go - teacher) |
GAI-en ~ LAIR-er |
|
J |
Y |
|
ja - Jude (yes
- Jew) |
yah ~ YOO-deh |
|
QU |
KV
(never Q alone) |
|
Qualität - quieken
(quality - squeal) |
kvah-lee-TAIT ~ KVEE-ken |
|
S |
Z or S |
Z before a vowel |
Suppe - Geist (soup
- ghost) |
ZÛP-eh ~ Gīst |
|
V |
F |
|
Vater - Vorschule
(father - nursery school) |
FAHT-er ~ FOR-shoo-leh |
|
W |
V |
|
Wagen - vorweg (cart
- beforehand) |
VAH-gehn ~ for-VAIK |
|
Y |
many sounds |
|
|
|
|
Z |
TS |
|
Zimmer - Zucker
(room - sugar) |
TSIM-er ~ TSÛK-er |
Consonants
That Change Their Sound at the End of a Syllable or Word
|
Consonant |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
Words |
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B |
P |
|
lieben - lieb
(to love - kind) |
LEE-ben ~ leep |
|
D |
T |
|
lieder - lied
(songs - song) |
LEED-er ~ leet |
|
G |
K |
|
Vogel - Sieg (bird
- victory) |
FOH-gel ~ zeek |
|
HH |
Like H in Hubert at end of
word if it is after an i |
windig - fertig
(windy - finished) |
VIN-dihh ~ FER-tihh |
Double
Consonants
|
Double Consonant |
American
English
Sound |
Comment |
Words |
In American English,
Sounds Like: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CH |
SH or K |
at beginning of a word |
Chemie
(chemistry) |
shai-MEE (kai-MEE
in South Germany) |
|
similar to a strong H |
after a vowel (like H in
Hubert) |
ach - Tochter
(oh! - daughter) |
(to keep it simple, ignore all boxes except first) |
|
NG |
as in SINGER |
not as in the English word finger |
Finger - Hunger
(finger - hunger) |
FINĞ-er ~ HOONĞ-er (don't
use hard g) |
|
SCH |
SH |
--- |
Schule - schief
(school - crooked) |
SHOO-leh ~ sheef |
|
PF & PS |
pronounce
both letters |
--- |
Pfeffer - Psychologie
(pepper - psychology) |
PFEF-er ~
psee-KOH-loh-gee |
|
SP |
SHP |
at beginning of a word |
Spiel - Speise
(game - food)
|
shpeel - SHPĪ-zeh |
|
ST |
SHT or ST |
Normally ST, but SHT at beginning of
a word and also in middle of word if it is a compound word that includes a
word that begins with ST |
stehen - verstehen
(stand - understand) |
SHTAI-en ~ fair-SHTAI-en |
|
SS or ß |
S |
SS is sometimes used in
place of ß and vice versa. Name of ß is Eszett [ESS-tsett] |
Strasse - gross
(street - large) |
SHTRAHS-eh ~ grohs |
|
TH |
T |
the H is always silent in TH |
These - Apotheke
(thesis - pharmacy) |
TAI-zeh ~
ah-poh-TAI-keh |
Hear
German pronounced. A terrific site; the best site of this type that I could find on the
internet.
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