A1 · Alphabet and pronunciation
Vowels, umlauts and ei/ie
how the vowels sound
Every vowel comes long or short, and the spelling usually says which.
German vowels are pure: an o stays an o to the end and does not slide into a w as in English "go", and an e does not slide into a y as in "day". Each vowel comes long or short, and the difference changes words: Staat(state) has a long aStadt(town) a short one The spelling usually shows which. A vowel is long when it is doubled (Meer, Boot), when a silent h follows (fahren, Sohn), or when one consonant and another vowel follow (Name, Tage). It is short before a double consonant (Bett, kommen) and usually before two different ones (Hand, Kind).
The umlauts are sounds English does not have, but they can be built from sounds it does. For ü, say "ee" and round your lips as for "oo" without moving your tongue: über, müde. For ö, say "ay" and round your lips the same way: schön, hören. Ä is the easy one: it sounds like the e in "bed", short in Männer and long in Käse.
Three vowel pairs are one gliding sound. Ei (and the rarer ai) sounds like the English word "eye": mein, Wein, Mai. Au sounds like the ow in "how": Haus, Frau. Eu and äu sound like the oy in "boy": neu, heute, Häuser. But ie is not a pair at all — it is simply a long "ee": Bier, Liebe, vier. A reliable trick for ie against ei: say the second letter by its English name. In ie that is E, "ee"; in ei it is I, "eye".
Two endings sound different from how they look. A final -e is always spoken, as a short, relaxed "uh": Name has two syllables, where English "name" has one. And a final -er loses its r and sounds like a short, dark a: Vater, Lehrer, besser.
The form
| long: doubled vowel | Meer, Boot, Saal |
| long: vowel + silent h | fahren, Sohn, Uhr |
| short: before a double consonant | Bett, kommen, Mutter |
| the umlauts | über, schön, Käse |
| ie is "ee", ei is "eye" | Bier, Wein |
| eu and äu are "oy", au is "ow" | heute, Häuser, Haus |
| a final -e is spoken | Name, Tasse, bitte |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
A doubled vowel, or a vowel followed by h, is long.
Das Boot fährt langsam.The boat goes slowly.
A vowel before a double consonant is short.
Das Bett steht im Zimmer.The bed is in the room.
ie is a long "ee"; ei sounds like "eye".
Vier Gläser Wein, bitte.Four glasses of wine, please.
A final -e is always pronounced.
Eine Tasse Kaffee, bitte.A cup of coffee, please.
How to spot it
- ie
- ei
- eu
- au
- ä
- ö
- ü
- -e
Example sentences
Ich bin müde und möchte schlafen.I am tired and would like to sleep.
Wir wohnen in der Stadt.We live in the town.
Heute ist das Wetter schön.The weather is nice today.
Mein Name ist Peter.My name is Peter.
Die Frau liebt ihr Haus.The woman loves her house.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English habits swap ie and ei, and the result is another word: Wien is Vienna and Wein is wine, Lied is a song and Leid is sorrow. The slip is just as easy in writing, because English spells both sounds in a dozen ways. Use the second-letter trick in both directions: hear "ee", write ie; hear "eye", write ei.
In ie and ei, say the second letter by its English name.
Your turn
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