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If you already know some German words from my lessons, then you might be interested to know how to pronounce them correctly. Here you find
the general pronounciations of letters in the German language.
| a | usually pronounced like the "u" in the English word "cut" | was, warum, haben, hast, mag, kann |
| e (when it is the second last letter of a word) | usually pronounced like the "e" in the English word "conquer" | lieben, Kinder, Hunger |
| e or eh (when used in the middle of a word) | usually pronounced like the "e" in the English word "entry", but try to
show a big smile when saying it. That is how we pronounce this letter. | leben, geht, her, reden, essen |
| eu | usually pronounced like the "oi" in the English word "moisture" | eure, heute, Leute |
| ei | usually pronounced like the sound in the English word "life" | mein, dein, sein, einladen |
| ie or ih | usually pronounced like the "ea" in the English word "beast" | sie, Liebe, Bier |
| i | usually pronounced like the "i" in the English word "disrupt" | gib, mit, dich, bitte |
| u | usually pronounced like the "ou" in the English word "you", but spoken shorter | uns, unter, gut, du |
| ü | shape your mouth as if you want to kiss your aunt good bye and then try to say "fruit" | über, üben, wünschen |
| o | usually pronounced like the "oo" in the English word "door" | oben, morgen, rot, kommen, wo, Cola |
| ö | usually pronounced like the "u" in the English word "fur", but spoken longer | mögen, möchtest |
| ä | usually pronounced like the "a" in the English word "amount", but show a big smile at the same time. Then it sounds similar. | länger, spät |
| ich | usually pronounced like the "ch" in the English word "chip", but try not to speak a "t" before the "ch" | ich, mich, Milch |
| och or ach | usually pronounced like the "j" in the Spanish word "Juanita". Sorry, but in English it doesn't exist. | Woche, machen, lachen |
| sch | usually pronounced like the "ss" in the English word "issue" | schön, scharf, schon |
| z | usually pronounced like the "z" in the English word "zoo", but speak a "t" befor the "z" | zur, zum, Zug |
| ß | usually pronounced like the "ss" in the English word "kiss" | heißen, heiß, weiß |
| g | usually pronounced like the "g" in the English word "goose" | geben, Geld, gelb, ganz, gut |
Now you should be able to read most of the German words.
If everything is more or less clear now, then you should try to read all the words from the former lessons. But first listen to some German words:
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