There are many who believe that German is not the world's most romantic language. The German language is known for its extremely long and complex words, but it is also known for its weird symbols and charming sounds.
German |
Meaning |
the speed limit |
But don’t worry. We have the right solution to assist you to sort through all of those ß’s, ö’s, and ü’s.
We created a game to expose you to German sounds. Listen to the audio file and determine whether the speaker is making a German letter sound or some other noise.
Is the speaker gurgling mouthwash or producing the German “r” sound?
Answer: The speaker was producing the German r sound. The letter r creates a rolling sound in the back of your throat when it occurs at the beginning of a word. It's worth a try. Make an r sound and then pretend to gurgle while you’re doing it.
When the letter r happens at the beginning of a word, it produces a rolling sound. The r produces a much softer sound everywhere else, almost like an “uh”.
Is this an audio of the speaker yodeling, or is this the speaker producing the German “b” sound?
Answer: It was the speaker who was yodeling. The good news is that in both English and German, b has the same sound. In reality, a lot of letters in German and English have the same sound such as f, h, k, l, m, n, p, and t.
Is this the sound of the speaker making the German “ch” sound? Or is this the sound of an angry cat?
Answer: That oh-so-lovely sound was the German ch sound. Make a cat-hissing sound right now to test it out.
Is this a snake about to attack? Or is the speaker making the sound for that goofy German ß symbol?
Answer: Don't let that strange “ß” sign bother you. It's known as an eszet. It's just an “s” sound, “ssss.” In reality, as part of a spelling reform movement, Germans are pushing to eliminate the eszet and replace it with a double-s (ss).
Here is a hard one. Is this the speaker making the German w sound, or is it his car refusing to start?
Answer: That was the German w, which is similar to our “v” sound. (Now you know the reason when comedians perform German impressions, they always replace all w's with v's. I have to vash my hands with varm vater.)
You definitely need to practice this sound because most German question words begin with w's.
Is this the speaker making the German “v” sound, or is it the wind blowing?
Answer: That might have sounded like wind, but that was actually the sound of the letter v in German. It has the same sound as the letter f in English.
First, let's make sure you're still awake. Is this the German sound for the letter “j” or just the sound of someone laughing?
Answer: That was the German “j” sound, pronounced similarly to the English “y” sound. Here are some German words that have this sound.
There are a few vowels in German that we don't have in English: ä, ö, and ü.
Umlauts are the double dots above vowels. They alter the vowel sound to make it sound like you're having dental treatment done while trying to speak.
Here is what umlauts sound like:
Umlaut |
German |
Meaning |
Description |
the cheese |
This sounds like the short-e sound in English, like in “end”. |
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the girl |
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the spoon |
To make this sound, start with a short-e, and now round your lips like you’re going to suck on a straw. That sound at the end is what you’re going for! |
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pretty |
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the door |
Start with a long-e sound (like “keep”) and, without moving your tongue, round your lips like you’re about to suck on a straw. That sound at the end is what you’re going for. |
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above, over |
As an English speaker, you'll want to stick to our guidelines for silent letters when you first start learning German. The Germans, on the other hand, like their letter to make noise.
Here are a few places where you may get tripped up. It's important to pay attention to the speaker’s pronunciation of these sample words. Resist the urge to remain silent!
Letter |
German |
Meaning |
Rule |
kn |
garlic |
Say both sounds (In English, we keep the k silent, but not in German!) |
|
e at the end of a word |
lamp |
In German, there is no such thing as a silent -e at the end of a word. So when you see an e hanging out at the end, it makes an “eh” sound. |
|
cat |
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ps |
psychiatrist |
Pronounce both letters |
|
pf |
pepper |
Seriously, pronounce both letters, even if it sounds weird. |
This is the end of our today's German speaking lesson. We hope that you can know how to use German sounds and symbols correctly. And don’t forget to follow us in the next German lessons.
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