German

Consonants
IPA Examples English
approximation
b Ball ball
ç ich, durch hue
d dann done
f Fass, Vogel fuss,
ɡ Gast guest
h hat hut
j ja yard
k kalt cold
l Last last
m Mast must
n Naht not
ŋ lang long
p Pakt puck
pf Pfahl p + f
ʁ Rast French R
ʀ French trilled R
r Italian R
s Hast fast
ʃ schal, Stein shall
t Tal tall
ts Zahl cats
Matsch match
v was vanish
x Bach loch (Scottish)
z Hase hose
ʔ beamtet

([bəˈʔamtət])
the glottal stop
in uh-oh!
Non-native consonants
Dschungel jungle
ʒ Genie beige, Zsa Zsa
Stress
ˈ Bahnhofstraße

([ˈbaːnhoːfˌʃtʁaːsə])
as in battleship
ˌ


Vowels
IPA Examples English
approximation
Monophthongs
a Dach bra (but shorter)
Bahn bra
Beet face
ɛ Bett, hätte bed
ɛː wähle as above but longer
viel meet
ɪ bist sit
Boot somewhat like bone
ɔ Post hospitality
øː Öl somewhat like hurl;
French deux
œ göttlich close to hurt or
French sœur
Hut true
ʊ Putz took
Rübe French rue
ʏ füllt much like the above
but shorter
Diphthongs
weit tie
Haut how
ɔʏ Heu, Räuber boy
Reduced vowels
ɐ Ober fun
ə halte comma
Semivowels
ɐ̯ Uhr comma
Studie studio
aktuell actual
Non-native vowels
e Methan (short [eː])
i vital city (short [iː])
o Moral (short [oː])
ø Ökonom (short [øː])
u kulant (short [uː])
y Psychologie (short [yː])

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