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Lesson Transcript

Hi!
Welcome to Introduction to German.
My name is Alisha and I'm joined by...
Hi everyone! I'm Jenni.
In this lesson, you'll learn the basics of German pronunciation.
English vs. German
German uses the exact same letters as English. It also uses one extra character (ß), and has unique markers which looks like two dots appearing over some vowels (ä ö ü).
But let's try not to focus and rely on the German letters too much. Let's focus on the sounds. There are a total of 28 consonant sounds and 17 vowel sounds in German. The good news is that most of these sounds are identical to English. First, let's listen to some common German vowel sounds.
a e i o u
As you heard, these vowels don't sound that different from English.
One thing to note though, is that German vowels are pronounced much more clearly than English. We also have more vowel sounds than English, so that's why it's very important that we pronounce them clearly. Unlike English, we try to maintain a constant pitch from start to finish without tapering off.
a e i o u (hold each letter for ~1 second)
Some vowel sounds, will be unfamiliar to you.
Some vowels, such as A, O, and U, can have two dots over them. We call these dots "umlaute." They indicate a change in the original pronunciation of the vowel. Compare the following pairs of vowels:
a, ä
a +e = ä (Äpfel = "apples") – it is pronounced like the "e" in “melon”
o, ö
o + e = ö (Öl = "oil") – it is pronounced like the "I" in “girl”
u, ü
u + e = ü (Hürde = "hurdle") – there's no direct equivalent
The vowels with the two dots over them are essentially a combination between the vowel, and an E sound. Sometimes they're represented as AE, OE, or UE.
ae
oe
ue
Now, let's take a look at German consonants.
Like vowels, German consonants are predominantly similar to English.
b, d, f
Other consonant sounds however, may be a little more challenging.
r (rost)
r (Rübe)
r (Schmarrn)
These are the sounds that you'll need to focus on perfecting.
OK. Let's move on.
Tricky Letters
Some consonants in German aren't actually pronounced as they look to an English speaker. Let's take a look at some of these letters.
The German V, isn't pronounced like an English V, but as an F sound. So both V and F in German, are pronounced as an F sound.
Vogel (“bird”), Fett (“fat”)
The German W, on the other hand, is pronounced like a V sound.
Wasser (“water”), Wagen (“car”)
German is also notorious for its "ich" and "ach" sounds.
The German CH, isn't pronounced like the CH in “church.”
Ich ("I")
Licht (“light”), Recht (“law”)
It could also be pronounced another way...
wach (“awake”)
Dach (“roof”), noch (“still”)
The former is pronounced closer to the front of the mouth, while the latter is pronounced at the back of the mouth.
Next, is the SCH. This one is actually pronounced like the "sh" in “sheet.”
schmal (“narrow”), schnell (“fast”), Schlaf (“sleep”)
Now that you have gained a better understanding of German sounds, let's take a closer look at some common mistakes and how to fix them!
Common mistakes
We mentioned before that English speakers do not maintain the pitch of the vowel throughout. This often occurs because English speakers tend to "glide" on the vowel, needlessly adding a Y sound as they prolong the vowel.
When pronouncing German vowels, try to maintain the same pitch throughout the vowel.
Bad (“bath”), Nebel (“fog”), Igel (“hedgehog”), Ohr (“ear”), U-Boot (“submarine”)
Bär (“bear”), blöd (“corny”), über (“over”)
Another challenging sound is the German guttural R sound.
rund (“round”), Rast (“break”)
You want to produce the sound at the back of your throat, as if you're gargling water. Try it!
r, r
Well done.
In this lesson, you were introduced to German pronunciation. You learned that English and German share a lot of similar consonant and vowel sounds. You also learned that German vowels are pronounced evenly throughout. And in this lesson, you were introduced to some unfamiliar German sounds and the common mistakes that learners make.
We've covered only the basics of German pronunciation. If you're interested in learning more, check out our entire course titled "The Ultimate Guide to German pronunciation". In that course, we cover and break down every single sound in the German language, showing you mouth and tongue positioning, and giving you tips to help you perfect your German pronunciation.
In the next lesson, we'll introduce you to the basics of German grammar, where you'll learn about German word order and how to build basic sentences in German. See you in the next lesson! Bye!
Bye!

Comments

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67 Comments
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GermanPod101.com
2016-08-05 18:30:00

Did you like this video? Try our Ultimate German Pronunciation Guide! https://www.germanpod101.com/lesson-library/ultimate-german-pronunciation-guide

GermanPod101.com
2024-08-19 10:08:26

Hi Student,

Thank you for your interest. 👍❤️

Please find the link to that series below:

https://www.germanpod101.com/lesson-library/ultimate-german-pronunciation-guide

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again. 😉

Yours sincerely,

Reinhard

Team GermanPod101.com

Student
2024-08-17 07:01:46

Hello, where can I find your German pronunciation guide as mentioned in this video? Thanks!

GermanPod101.com
2022-08-04 09:24:19

Hi thoriq,

Thank you for posting. 👍

That's interesting. Should make it easier for Indonesians then to

study German. 😉

If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.

Kind regards,

Reinhard

Team GermanPod101.com

thoriq
2022-07-31 15:49:28

they no difrent than indonesia aioue

GermanPod101.com
2022-05-06 10:38:33

Hello Abubakar Siddique,

Thank you for your positive feedback! 👍❤️️

Nothing makes us happier than to hear how our students

enjoy and benefit from our lessons. 😉

If you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.

Kind regards,

Reinhard

Team GermanPod101.com

Abubakar Siddique
2022-04-27 16:49:05

Thank you for this pronunciation video lesson. I am learning with great interest.

GermanPod101.com
2021-12-01 09:41:08

Hi Gabriella,

Thank you for posting.

If you take learning German that seriously, you will succeed and become

very good at it, I think. In which case there should a lot of laughter ahead. 😄

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.

Kind regards,

Reinhard

Team GermanPod101.com

Gabriella
2021-11-27 10:15:35

Thank you, I look forward to learning! (nearly cried trying to make the r sound though)

GermanPod101.com
2021-08-12 08:39:51

Hello Elisa,

Thank you for your nice feedback.

We hope you will enjoy our other lessons just as much and we shall hear

more from you in the future. 😉

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Reinhard

Team GermanPod101.com

Elisa Haryonugroho
2021-08-07 19:52:11

Sehr gut. Danke schon

GermanPod101.com
2021-07-02 08:20:48

Hi Yiğitcan,

Thank you for getting back to us.

I think the explanation above is quite good:

"We also have more vowel sounds than English ... Unlike English, we try to maintain a constant pitch from start to finish without tapering off. ... Common mistakes ... We mentioned before that English speakers do not maintain the pitch of the vowel throughout. This often occurs because English speakers tend to "glide" on the vowel, needlessly adding a Y sound as they prolong the vowel."

Try to speak the vowels within the words the same way as if you were just practicing them on their

own - steady. 😉

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again.

Kind regards,

Reinhard

Team GermanPod101.com

Yiğitcan
2021-06-27 23:05:30

Hi

I want to ask you something related to information in the lesson recap.

I do not understand what Alisha means when she said German vowels are pronounced evenly throughout.

I would be grateful if you help me to understand that statement

I look forward to hearing from you.

J-BOY
2021-02-10 04:54:40

👍👍

GermanPod101.com
2020-10-22 11:04:41

Hi Ingrid,

Thank you for your feedback.

Regarding the "word of the day": Before looking

at any other possible issues, have you

checked that your email address is correct?

The audio track can be downloaded by clicking on the

button with the arrow pointing down. It's the fourth button from

the left, under the title.

As to the "grammar lists", I guess you mean the grammar lesson (?). You

will get to that by going to the next lesson (no. 3) in this series. Slightly to the right,

above this lesson's title you will find a drop-down menu. It is showing "2" now, lesson

2 of a list of 5 lessons. 😉

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

Kind regards,

Reinhard

Team GermanPod101.com

Ingrid
2020-10-22 04:37:02

Hello! Where is the Review Audio Track and Grammar List's ?

And I'm not receiving the Word of the day..

GermanPod101.com
2020-07-01 15:38:48

Hi HNCKrstl,

Thank you for your kind comment. ❤️️

We hope you like the rest of the lessons as well.

Cheers, 😄

Lena

Team GermanPod101.com

HNCKrstl
2020-06-21 14:12:59

Whoa.. Danke schön~! ❤️️

GermanPod101.com
2020-05-21 23:58:55

Hallo Rita,

Danke schön for sending us your like.

Let us know if you have any questions! 😇

Best,

Levente

Team GermanPod101.com

Rita
2020-05-19 23:34:13

👍

GermanPod101.com
2020-02-02 19:38:12

Hallo Bruce,

Danke schön for your kind comment. We are very happy to have you here. 😇

Let us know if you have any questions. 😉

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Levente

Team GermanPod101.com

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