German pronunciation is actually more consistent than English — words are generally pronounced exactly as they are written. Once you learn the rules, you can read any German word aloud with confidence!
🗣️ German Special Letters — Umlaute & ß
| German | English | Notes / Example |
|---|---|---|
| ä | Like English 'e' in 'bed' | Bär (bear), Mädchen (girl) |
| ö | Like English 'u' in 'burn' | schön (beautiful), Öl (oil) |
| ü | No English equivalent — purse lips for 'ee' | über (over), Tür (door) |
| ß | Like double 's' — sharp | Straße (street), heiß (hot) |
| ch | Soft — like 'h' in 'huge' after e/i | ich (I), nicht (not) |
| ch | Hard — like Scottish 'loch' after a/o/u | Bach (stream), Buch (book) |
| ei | Like English 'eye' | Eis (ice), nein (no) |
| ie | Like English 'ee' | viel (much), lieben (to love) |
| eu / äu | Like 'oy' in 'boy' | heute (today), Häuser (houses) |
| w | Like English 'v' | Wasser (water), Wein (wine) |
| v | Like English 'f' | Vater (father), Vogel (bird) |
✏️ Übungen (Practice Exercises)
Exercise 1: Try using 3 words from the table above in a sentence! Write them down.
Exercise 2: Cover the English column and test yourself — do you know all the words?
Exercise 3: Take the quiz below to test your knowledge with interactive questions!
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