I can read aloud an unfamiliar German word with s, z, v, w, j, qu, sch, sp, st, and ch, put the stress where the rule says, keep the end of the word voiceless, and hear from the melody whether it's a question or a statement.
Consonants that don't sound the way they look
Eleven tricky letters
s before a vowel is [z], as in “zoo”: die Sonne, die Silbe. At a word's end and before a consonant, [s]: das Haus.
z and tz are [ts], as in “cats”, never [z]: der Zug, die Katze.
v in German words is [f]: der Vogel; in loanwords, [v]: der Vokal. w is [v], as in “van”: der Wagen, das Wasser. j is [j], as in “yes”: das Jahr. qu is [kv]: die Quittung.
sch is [ʃ], as in “shoe”: die Schule. At a word's start, sp and st are [ʃp], [ʃt]: die Sprache, der Stuhl, die Stadt.
ch: two sounds. After a, o, u: [x], like ch in Scottish “loch”, never k: das Buch, die Sprache. After i, e, ä, ö, ü and in -chen, -ig: [ç], like the h of “huge”: das Mädchen, richtig.
h starting a word or syllable is [h]: der Hund, das Haus. After a vowel it's a silent length mark: die Uhr, der Stuhl.
r starting a syllable comes from the throat: richtig. At a word's end, in -er, and before a consonant: a short “uh” [ɐ], no American r: die Uhr, das Feuer, Vorsicht.
In -en and -el the e almost disappears: der Wagen, der Vogel. An initial vowel starts with a small catch, as in “uh-oh”: die Übung, das Eis.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [ˈsɑnə] — s before a vowel is [z]: die Sonne.
• NOT [ˈvoʊɡəl] — der Vogel starts with [f].
• NOT [ˈkwɪtəŋ] — qu is [kv]: die Quittung.
• NOT [skul] — sch is [ʃ]: die Schule.
• NOT [ˈmeɪdtʃən] — in das Mädchen, ch is [ç].
Consonants that don't sound the way they look
Listen to the examples and repeat them aloud.
| Letters | Sound | Example | NOT like this |
|---|---|---|---|
| s before a vowel | [z], z in “zoo” | die Sonne | not [ˈsɑnə] |
| z, tz | [ts], ts in “cats” | der Zug, die Katze | not [zuɡ] |
| v | [f], f in “fun” | der Vogel | not [ˈvoʊɡəl] |
| w | [v], v in “van” | der Wagen | not [ˈwæɡən] |
| j | [j], y in “yes” | das Jahr | not [dʒɑɹ] |
| qu | [kv], k + v | die Quittung | not [ˈkwɪtəŋ] |
| sch, sp-, st- | [ʃ], [ʃp], [ʃt]: sh, sh + p, sh + t | die Schule, die Sprache, der Stuhl | not [sk-], [sp-], [st-] |
| ch after a, o, u | [x], ch in “Bach” | das Buch | not [bʊk] |
| ch after i, e, ä, ö, ü and in -chen, -ig | [ç], h in “huge” | das Mädchen, richtig | not [ˈmeɪdtʃən] |
Lesson notes
Eleven tricky letters
s before a vowel is [z], as in “zoo”: die Sonne, die Silbe. At a word's end and before a consonant, [s]: das Haus.
z and tz are [ts], as in “cats”, never [z]: der Zug, die Katze.
v in German words is [f]: der Vogel; in loanwords, [v]: der Vokal. w is [v], as in “van”: der Wagen, das Wasser. j is [j], as in “yes”: das Jahr. qu is [kv]: die Quittung.
sch is [ʃ], as in “shoe”: die Schule. At a word's start, sp and st are [ʃp], [ʃt]: die Sprache, der Stuhl, die Stadt.
ch: two sounds. After a, o, u: [x], like ch in Scottish “loch”, never k: das Buch, die Sprache. After i, e, ä, ö, ü and in -chen, -ig: [ç], like the h of “huge”: das Mädchen, richtig.
h starting a word or syllable is [h]: der Hund, das Haus. After a vowel it's a silent length mark: die Uhr, der Stuhl.
r starting a syllable comes from the throat: richtig. At a word's end, in -er, and before a consonant: a short “uh” [ɐ], no American r: die Uhr, das Feuer, Vorsicht.
In -en and -el the e almost disappears: der Wagen, der Vogel. An initial vowel starts with a small catch, as in “uh-oh”: die Übung, das Eis.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [ˈsɑnə] — s before a vowel is [z]: die Sonne.
• NOT [ˈvoʊɡəl] — der Vogel starts with [f].
• NOT [ˈkwɪtəŋ] — qu is [kv]: die Quittung.
• NOT [skul] — sch is [ʃ]: die Schule.
• NOT [ˈmeɪdtʃən] — in das Mädchen, ch is [ç].
Where the stress falls and what happens at the end of a word
The stress in a German word falls on the first syllable of the stem: die SONne, der WAgen, die KATze. The unstressed prefixes ge-, be-, and ver- don't count: das GeBÄUde. Borrowed words often stress the last syllable, unlike their English cousins: das PapIER, das AlphabET; the German suffix -ei does the same: die BäckerEI. A compound word stresses its first part.
The end of a word has no voice. d, g, and b at the end of a word are said [t], [k], and [p], though the spelling stays: der Hund [hʊnt], der Tag [taːk], der Zug [tsuːk]. English keeps them voiced (dog, hand); German doesn't. That's the rule, not an exception. The one exception is -ig at the end of a word: [ç], not [k]: richtig. And ng is always one sound, [ŋ], as in “singer”, with no g after it: die Quittung, die Zeitung.
Melody. In a statement the voice goes down at the end; in a yes/no question it goes up, as in English. The mark at the end of the line tells you the melody in advance: a period, down; a question mark, up.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [hʊnd] with d at the end — der Hund is [hʊnt].
• NOT [zuɡ] — der Zug is [tsuːk].
• NOT [ˈpɑpɪɹ] — das Papier stresses the last syllable.