A1 · Alphabet and pronunciation
Stress, capitals and ß
where the stress falls, and what the spelling marks
Stress on the first syllable, no accent marks, and a capital for every noun.
Most German words are stressed on the first syllable: Arbeit, Sprache, Morgen, Fenster. A compound keeps the stress on its first part: Bahnhof, Kühlschrank.
Prefixes change that in a way worth learning early. The inseparable prefixes be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer- and ent- are never stressed, so the stress moves on to the stem: bezahlen, Geschenk, verstehen, erzählen. Separable prefixes are the opposite and always carry the stress: anrufen, aufstehen, einkaufen. Words taken from other languages often keep their stress at the end, and a few endings show it: Information, Universität, Bäckerei, studieren.
German writes no accent marks, so the spelling never shows the stress. The dots on ä, ö and ü are part of the letter, not a stress mark. What the spelling does show is two other things. Every noun begins with a capital letter, wherever it stands: Ich habe einen Hund und eine Katze. And ß against ss shows the length of the vowel in front: ß after a long vowel or a vowel pair (Straße, Fuß, heißen), ss after a short one (Wasser, Fluss, muss). In Switzerland ß is not used at all, and ss stands everywhere.
The form
| stress on the first syllable | Arbeit, Sprache, Morgen |
| be-, ge-, er-, ver- are never stressed | bezahlen, verstehen |
| separable prefixes are stressed | anrufen, aufstehen |
| stress on the ending | Information, studieren |
| ß after a long vowel | Straße, Fuß, heißen |
| ss after a short vowel | Wasser, Fluss, muss |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Most words are stressed on the first syllable.
Die Arbeit beginnt am Morgen.Work starts in the morning.
Be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer- and ent- are never stressed.
Kann ich bezahlen?Can I pay?
A separable prefix always carries the stress.
Ich muss früh aufstehen.I have to get up early.
Every noun begins with a capital letter.
Ich habe einen Hund und eine Katze.I have a dog and a cat.
ß follows a long vowel, ss a short one.
Die Straße führt zum Fluss.The road leads to the river.
How to spot it
- be-
- ver-
- an-
- auf-
- -ion
- -ieren
- ß
- ss
Example sentences
Ich studiere an der Universität.I study at the university.
Am Samstag gehen wir einkaufen.On Saturday we go shopping.
Wo ist der Bahnhof?Where is the station?
Kannst du mir das erklären?Can you explain that to me?
Wie heißt diese Straße?What is this street called?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
In speech, English speakers often put the weight on a verb's prefix and say bezahlen or verstehen with the stress on the first syllable. German never does: the stress falls on the stem. In writing the commonest slip is the small letter. English capitalises only names, but in German a noun written in lower case is a spelling mistake, wherever it stands in the sentence.
Stress the first syllable unless a prefix says otherwise — and give every noun a capital.
Your turn
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