German Pronunciation: Ch, Sch, W, V, Z and the Sounds That Trip You Up

German spelling is far more regular than English. Once you know how the letters and combinations sound, you can read almost any word aloud. A handful of sounds deserve special attention.

Letters that look English but aren't

• w sounds like English v: Wasser ("VAH-sser"), wir ("veer").
• v usually sounds like English f: Vater ("FAH-ter"), viel ("feel"). In some foreign words it's a v: Vase.
• z sounds like ts as in "cats": Zeit ("tsite"), Zimmer ("TSIM-mer").
• j sounds like English y: Jahr ("yahr"), ja ("yah").
• s before a vowel is voiced like z: sie ("zee"), Sonne ("ZON-neh"). At the end of a word or before a consonant, it's like English s.
• qu sounds like kv: Quelle ("KVEL-leh").

Vowel combinations

• ei sounds like English "eye": mein, Zeit, klein.
• ie sounds like "ee": Liebe, Brief, die.
• eu and äu sound like "oy": Euro, heute, Häuser.
• au sounds like "ow" in "cow": Haus, auch.

A simple memory aid: ei = "eye" and ie = "ee". Say the second letter's English name and you get the sound.

The two "ch" sounds

German has two versions of ch:

• ich-Laut: after front vowels (i, e, ä, ö, ü) and consonants. A soft hiss, made by pushing air over the flat of the tongue, like the "h" in "huge": ich, nicht, Mädchen, Milch.
• ach-Laut: after back vowels (a, o, u, au). A rougher sound made in the back of the throat, like the Scottish "loch": Bach, Buch, doch, auch.

Compare ich and ach: the vowel decides.

Sch, sp and st

• sch sounds like English "sh": Schule, schön, Fisch.
• sp at the start of a word or syllable sounds like "shp": sprechen, Sport, spät.
• st at the start sounds like "sht": Straße, Stein, verstehen.

In the middle, st and sp sound like English: Fenster, Wespe (though Ver-stehen keeps the "sht" at the start of the root).

The German r

In most of Germany, r is made at the back of the throat, like the French r but softer. After a vowel at the end of a syllable, it often turns into a vowel-like "uh": Vater, Lehrer, wir. A rolled r is also heard in parts of the south.

Final devoicing

At the end of a word or syllable, b, d and g are pronounced as p, t and k:

• Tag sounds like "tahk"
• Hund sounds like "hoont"
• Urlaub sounds like "OOR-lowp"
• Abend has a d in the middle ("AH-bent" since it's at the syllable end)

This is why the plural Tage has a g sound, but Tag doesn't.

Ending -ig

The ending -ig is usually pronounced -ich: König ("KUH-nich"), fertig ("FER-tich").

Stress

Most German words are stressed on the first syllable: ARbeit, FREUNdin. Separable verbs stress the prefix: AUFstehen. Words with inseparable prefixes stress the stem: beKOMmen.

Tips

1. Read aloud daily. German rewards regular sound practice.
2. Listen to audio, and repeat whole sentences.
3. Learn the ich and ach sounds separately.
4. Practise minimal pairs: ich / ach, Wein / Wien, Bett / Beet.
5. Don't add extra vowels to consonant clusters, such as Pfund ("pfoont").

Dictionary tip

A dictionary that shows spelling clearly, including umlauts and ß, helps you predict pronunciation.

Check German spellings and gender with English German Dictionary →