I can read aloud a word with ä, ö, ü, ei, au, eu, or äu without replacing them with English “oo”, “oh”, or “ay”, explain why one word has ß and another ss, and spell out a word with an umlaut in German.
The two dots that change a word, and the letter ß
Umlauts, diphthongs, and ß
ä is [ɛ], like e in “bet”: long in der Käse, short in die Bäckerei. ö: lips for “oh”, tongue for “ay”: der Löwe. ü: lips for “oo”, tongue for “ee”: die Tür, die Übung. The dots change the sound, and with it the word.
When you spell out a word, these letters are “a-Umlaut”, “o-Umlaut”, and “u-Umlaut”, and ß is “Eszett” (or “scharfes S”): useful when you spell out your last name.
No German keyboard? Type a, o, u, and ss for ä, ö, ü, and ß: the checker accepts them, and the answer key shows the right spelling.
Two letters, one sound. ei is [aɪ̯], like “eye”: das Eis. The main trap: ie from lesson 1 is a long [iː] (die Miete), ei is “eye”. au is [aʊ̯], like ow in “now”: das Haus, der Baum. eu and äu sound the same, [ɔʏ̯], like oy in “boy”: das Feuer, das Gebäude.
ß is one sound, [s], written after a long vowel or a diphthong: die Straße, groß, der Gruß. After a short vowel, write ss: das Wasser, der Fluss. So the letter shows the vowel's length. There's no capital ß in everyday writing, and in Switzerland ß isn't used at all.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [ˈmaɪtə] — ie is [iː], like “ee”: die Miete.
• NOT [ˈfjuɚ] — eu is [ɔʏ̯], like oy in “boy”: das Feuer.
• NOT [tʊɹ] — ü is not “oo”: die Tür.
• NOT “Waßer” — after a short vowel, only ss.
• NOT [keɪs] — ä in der Käse is a long [ɛː], and the final -e is pronounced.
Three umlaut letters
The two dots change the sound, and with it the word.
| Letter | Long | Short | How to shape your mouth |
|---|---|---|---|
| ä | der Käse | die Bäckerei | like e in “bet”, never “ay” |
| ö | der Löwe | der Löffel | lips for “oh”, tongue for “ay” |
| ü | die Tür | die Mütze | lips for “oo”, tongue for “ee” |
ß or ss
The letter itself tells you whether the vowel before it is long or short.
| What comes before the s sound | Written | Example |
|---|---|---|
| long vowel | ß | die Straße, groß, der Gruß |
| diphthong | ß | heiß — hot |
| short vowel | ss | das Wasser, der Fluss |
Lesson notes
Umlauts, diphthongs, and ß
ä is [ɛ], like e in “bet”: long in der Käse, short in die Bäckerei. ö: lips for “oh”, tongue for “ay”: der Löwe. ü: lips for “oo”, tongue for “ee”: die Tür, die Übung. The dots change the sound, and with it the word.
When you spell out a word, these letters are “a-Umlaut”, “o-Umlaut”, and “u-Umlaut”, and ß is “Eszett” (or “scharfes S”): useful when you spell out your last name.
No German keyboard? Type a, o, u, and ss for ä, ö, ü, and ß: the checker accepts them, and the answer key shows the right spelling.
Two letters, one sound. ei is [aɪ̯], like “eye”: das Eis. The main trap: ie from lesson 1 is a long [iː] (die Miete), ei is “eye”. au is [aʊ̯], like ow in “now”: das Haus, der Baum. eu and äu sound the same, [ɔʏ̯], like oy in “boy”: das Feuer, das Gebäude.
ß is one sound, [s], written after a long vowel or a diphthong: die Straße, groß, der Gruß. After a short vowel, write ss: das Wasser, der Fluss. So the letter shows the vowel's length. There's no capital ß in everyday writing, and in Switzerland ß isn't used at all.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [ˈmaɪtə] — ie is [iː], like “ee”: die Miete.
• NOT [ˈfjuɚ] — eu is [ɔʏ̯], like oy in “boy”: das Feuer.
• NOT [tʊɹ] — ü is not “oo”: die Tür.
• NOT “Waßer” — after a short vowel, only ss.
• NOT [keɪs] — ä in der Käse is a long [ɛː], and the final -e is pronounced.