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German Steps - Language notes - The sounds of GermanKey words Grammar note: simple introductions Cultural note

The good news about German pronunciation is that there are clear rules about how you pronounce each letter. However, the same as with English, people speak with different accents, depending on their region and background. Most sounds are recognisable to the English ear, though there are some differences you need to be aware of. Vowels

a e iou They can be short or long, depending on where they appear in a word.

Tegel The first e is long and similar to the sound in Scottish gate The second e is short and similar to the sound in English Ben

Flughafen The u is short, similar to the sound in English put The a is long, similar to the sound in English half The e is short, similar to the sound in English Ben

Hoffmann The o is short, similar to the sound in English shop The a is short, similar to the sound in Northern English man

sind, bin The i is short, similar to the sound in English bin. Read and hear more about vowels. Vowel Combinations

Sie The ie is pronounced like 'ee' as in English see.

Claus The au always sounds like 'ow' as in English how.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/languages/german/lj/language_notes/quizengine?quiz=dsc_lj_langnote_sounds;templateStyle=sounds[9/6/2010 9:22:45 PM]

BBC - German Steps - The sounds of German

Freut mich The eu always sounds like 'oy' as in English boy.

Neddermeyer The ey / ei / ay / ai combinations are always pronounced like eye in English. Read and hear more about these and other vowel combinations. Consonants

ich auch The ch sounds a bit like the 'h' in English huge after i. But ch is harder after au - more like the 'ch' in Scottish loch: Read and hear more about ch, sch and h.

Sind Sie Claus? The s always sounds like an English z at the beginning of a word. But at the end of a word it always sounds like an English s. Read and hear more about s, st-, sp-, sch-, z and

Willkommen The w always sounds like the English letter v. In contrast, v is normally pronounced like the English letter f. Read and hear more about w, v

Tegel, Guten Tag The g is always hard like the English guest Read and hear more about g, d, b

Freut mich The r is pronounced quite differently from the standard English r. It's a more guttural sound, pronounced at the back of the throat in standard German, but it tends to be silent at the end of words. In Southern Germany you may hear it pronounced as a trill.

Ja The j is always pronounced like the English y.

Complete these words. Click to hear them and then type in the missing letters. Flug afen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/languages/german/lj/language_notes/quizengine?quiz=dsc_lj_langnote_sounds;templateStyle=sounds[9/6/2010 9:22:45 PM]

BBC - German Steps - The sounds of German

Schuhma ung K

er

ndergarten del

Apfelstr Kraft

erk

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/languages/german/lj/language_notes/quizengine?quiz=dsc_lj_langnote_sounds;templateStyle=sounds[9/6/2010 9:22:45 PM]