Long and short vowels
A vowel is a sound made with the mouth open and the air flowing freely: a, e, i, o, u. Each German vowel has a long version, held longer and with tenser lips, and a short version, quicker and more relaxed. Play each pair and listen for the difference in length.
An unstressed -e at the end of a word is a weak “uh”, never silent: bitte is BIT-uh, Name is NAH-muh. The ending -er is a soft “uh” too: Vater is FAH-tuh. All letters and their names are on the German alphabet page.
Two ch sounds
German ch is never “ch” as in church. It has two sounds, and the vowel before it decides which. Both are made by narrowing the gap between tongue and roof of the mouth and pushing air through, like a whisper with friction.
The German r
Standard German makes r at the back of the mouth, where the back of the tongue meets the soft palate: a light, voiced gargle. After a vowel, at the end of a syllable, the r softens into a vowel sound close to “uh”. Southern speakers and Austrians often roll the r at the front instead; both are correct.
| Position | Sound | Examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of a word or syllable | A soft gargle at the back | rot (red), Rad (wheel), Frau (woman) | |
| After a long vowel | Fades to a short “uh” | Bier (BEE-uh), Uhr (OO-uh), mir (MEE-uh) | |
| The ending -er | A soft “uh”, no r at all | Vater (FAH-tuh), Lehrer (LAY-ruh), aber (AH-buh) |
To find the back r, say “ga-ga-ga”, then relax the contact so the g turns into a soft rasp. That rasp, with your voice on, is the German r.
Hard endings: b, d, g become p, t, k
At the end of a word or syllable, German “hardens” three consonants: b sounds like p, d like t, g like k. Linguists call this final devoicing: the voice switches off. When an ending adds a vowel, the original sound comes back.
Word stress
Stress is the syllable said a little louder and longer. Native German words stress the first syllable of the root (the core part of the word). Three groups of words break the rule, and they are easy to spot.
Compound words, like those in the word builder on the German hub, stress their first part: KRAN-ken-haus, HAND-schuh.
Practice sentences
Each sentence trains one habit from this page. Listen, then say it slowly, then at normal speed.
- TrainsLong vs short vowels DietheMieterentinindertheMittemiddleistishoch.highdee MEE-tuh in dehr MIT-uh ist hohkh “Rent in the centre is high.” Why: Miete and Mitte side by side: hold the ie, cut the i short before tt.
- TrainsBoth ch sounds IchIlesereadauchalsoeinaBuch.bookikh LAY-zuh owkh ine bookh “I’m reading a book too.” Why: Ich has the soft front ch; auch and Buch have the throaty back ch.
- TrainsThe German r DertheBruderbrothertrinktdrinksrotesredBier.beerdehr BROO-duh trinkt ROH-tes BEE-uh “My brother is drinking red beer.” Why: Gargled r in Bruder, trinkt and rotes; the vowel-like r in der, -er and Bier.
- TrainsHard endings DertheHunddogschläftsleepsdentheganzenwholeTag.daydehr hoont shlayft dayn GAHN-tsen tahk “The dog sleeps all day.” Why: Hund ends in t, Tag ends in k. Schläft: ä is “eh”, sch is “sh”.
Hund sounds like Hunt: final devoicing
At the end of a word or syllable, German b, d and g are said as p, t and k. The spelling keeps the original letter because it comes back in other forms: Hund (HUNT) but Hunde (HUN-de).
Long words: where the stress falls
In compounds the first part takes the main stress. Split the word into its pieces, then stress the first.