THE Ultimate Guide to German Pronunciation

German Consonant Pronunciation

Now let’s move on to the pronunciation of German consonants. For the most part they are very similar, if not identical to the English consonants. There are some noteworthy exceptions, however, which are pointed out in this post. If you want to take a deeper dive into German pronunciation, you can download the Beginner German e-book or the full German pronunciation guide.

B

B (front & middle) 

The letter ā€œBā€ is pronounced as it is in English at the beginning and middle of words.

B (end & after S)

When it is the last letter in the word or it is before the letter ā€œSā€ it sounds more like a ā€œPā€. Keep in mind that prefixes such as ā€œabā€ still sound more like the letter ā€œPā€, because it is at the end of the prefix even though it isn’t the end of the entire word. 

C

C (with another consonant or open vowel sound)

The letter ā€œCā€ is almost always combined with something else. If it is followed by a consonant or a vowel sound that comes from the back of your mouth, it sounds like a ā€œKā€, as it does in English. 

CK

The same sound is used when ā€œCā€ is combined with ā€œKā€. This sounds exactly like it does in English. 

C (closed vowel)

When the letter ā€œCā€ is followed by a vowel sound that is made with the front of the mouth, it takes on a sound more similar to ā€œTSā€ or the German ā€œZā€. 

D

D (front & middle)

ā€œDā€ follows a similar pattern to the letter ā€œBā€. By this I mean that it sounds like the English pronunciation in the front of a word or in the middle. 

D (end)

If it is placed at the end of the word, it takes on a sound more similar to the letter ā€œTā€. 

F

There is absolutely nothing special about the letter ā€œFā€. It is always pronounced the same as English. 

G

G (front, middle & with N)

If the letter ā€œGā€ is at the beginning or middle of a word, it sounds the same as it does in English. This includes the combination of ā€œNā€ and ā€œGā€.  

G (end)

If the letter G is at the end of the word, it sounds more like the letter K. Note: ā€œFlugzeugā€ has two of these sounds, because the first ā€œGā€ is at the end of the first word in the compound.

IG (end)

The combination of I and G are very confusing to some German learners, because there doesn’t appear to be any consistency in the pronunciation. It took me forever to figure it out. If the letters ā€œIGā€ are at the end of a word or before a consonant, they make the sound like the pronunciation of the German word ā€œichā€. It is also acceptable to pronounce this as ā€œIKā€, but the soft variant is more common. Be careful with this rule, however, as there are some exceptions, such as ā€œSignalā€

IG (before vowel)

When ā€œIGā€ is before a vowel, it is pronounced as it would be in the middle of the word. 

G (French)

The letter ā€œGā€ can also sound French when it is in a word that is of French origin. This may be the most difficult category to identify, as I personally don’t know which words come from French. In fact, some of the words that are on my example list, I had no idea they were French. 

H

You have already seen the letter ā€œHā€ when it is used to elongate a vowel sound (Jahr, sehen, gehen). In those words, the letter ā€œHā€ is silent and only functions to change the vowel. When H is pronounced, it is pronounced in the same way it is in English. 

J

J (German)

ā€œJā€ is almost always pronounced more like an English ā€œYā€ than it does the letter ā€œJā€ in English. This is true of all words that are originally German. 

J (English)

The increasing number of imported English words have made it so there are more and more German words that are spoken as English words with German accents. 

J (French)

French words that include ā€œJā€ are pronounced as the French would pronounce them, which is slightly different from the English ā€œJā€ sound. The pronunciation of these ā€œJ’sā€ are actually a combination of the two letters ā€œDā€ and ā€œJā€. 

K

A ā€œKā€ is a ā€œKā€ no matter if it is English or German. If it is combined with other consonants, if it is before a vowel, if it is at the beginning of a word, end of a word or anywhere else, it will always be pronounced the same. 

L

ā€œLā€ is pretty straight forward, too. It sounds like it does in English. 

M

ā€œMā€ sound like ā€œMā€. They are the same in both languages. 

N

ā€œNā€ always sounds the same as the English. This includes when it is combined with ā€œGā€. 

P

ā€œPā€ is pretty straight forward, too. It is also pronounced the same as the English. 

Q

ā€œQā€ is confusing, because it is like combining ā€œKā€ and ā€œVā€ in English or the German ā€œKā€ and ā€œWā€. It is always combined with the letter ā€œUā€ directly after it. 

R

And now the most complicated one on the list, the letter R. There are two basic sounds that R can make. In the end, both of them should come from the back of your throat.

Consonant ā€œRā€

The one that sometimes gives German the stereotype of being a rough language is the consonant R, also known as the guttural R or the rolled R. If you are trying to replicate this sound, start by clearing your throat. Then elongate that sound. Then add a bit of your voice behind it. Some people equate it to a softer version of gargling with some voice behind it. You are really trying to get the base of your tongue in the back of your mouth to touch the back part of the roof of your mouth. Then make it vibrate and add voice to it. 

Vocalic ā€œRā€ 

The other ā€œRā€ sound is the vocalic ā€œRā€. It sounds more like a vowel than it does a consonant, which is why it is called this. Take the sound we had with the consonant ā€œRā€ and move your tongue just far enough away from the roof of your mouth that it no longer makes that raspy sound. It could also be described as the combination of ā€œEAā€ in German, as this makes a very similar sound. It is most commonly used at the end of German words when they end with -er. It also shows up at the end of a word a after long vowel sound and in the middle of a word after a long vowel sound and before another consonant.

S

The letter ā€œSā€ has two options when used on its own, buzzed or unbuzzed. 

S (front or middle)

If it is at the beginning or in the middle of a word on its own, it is pronounced like a ā€œZā€ in English. 

S (end or double S)

If you double the ā€œSā€ anywhere in the word or the ā€œSā€ is at the end of the word on its own, it is pronounced like the hissing snake you are used to with this letter. 

ß

This weird looking little dude (ß) is basically just two ā€œS’sā€ shoved together. It is called the eszett. It will always make the soft (unbuzzed) ā€œSā€ sound. If you have a word that uses this sound in the middle of the word or at the end of the word, it is likely that you need an ā€œĆŸā€. Officially it is used after a long vowel or a diphthong. This ends up looking confusing when you see that an infinitive of a verb may use an ā€œĆŸā€, but other forms of them use ā€œSSā€. If you followed the rules I mentioned earlier, you will figure it out pretty quickly. 

T

Back to the letters that are easier to figure out. The letter ā€œTā€ is always ā€œTā€. It gets more fun when you add it together with other consonants, but remember, today’s lesson is about consonants on their own. 

V

ā€œVā€ is a bit odd, because sometimes it sounds the same as the English, but most of the time it sounds like the letter ā€œFā€. If the word is of German origin, it is probably pronounced as an ā€œFā€ unless it is at the end of the word, in which case it is pronounced like ā€œVā€. If it is a foreign word, it is probably pronounced as a ā€œVā€. 

W

ā€œWā€ is easier, because it is always pronounced as the English ā€œVā€. Nothing complicated about this letter at all, other than it doesn’t sound like the English ā€œWā€. 

W (as English)

In random English words involving ā€œWā€ it is pronounced like the English ā€œWā€, but that is because they are just English words being used by Germans. 

X

If you combine the letters ā€œKā€ and ā€œSā€, you end up with the sound you need for the German ā€œXā€. There are pretty much no German words that start with ā€œXā€.
die Hexe /ˈhɛk.sə/ – witch 

Z

The letter ā€œZā€ is like the ā€œTSā€ sound at the end of ā€œhatsā€. It just takes practice to not pronounce it like the English ā€œZā€. 

Herr Antrim
Herr Antrim is a German teacher with over 10 years of teaching experience. In 2011 he started his successful YouTube Channel "Learn German with Herr Antrim". In 2015 he created this website to enhance the German language lessons he was providing on YouTube. He is now the author of his own e-book, "Beginner German with Herr Antrim". He has also been featured on numerous blogs and other sites. *This site uses a variety of affiliate links. If there is a link that leads to an outside site from which you could potentially make a purchase, it is very likely an affiliate link for which Herr Antrim will receive a small portion of your purchase. This does not cost you any extra, but it does help keep this website going. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you would like more information about the affiliate programs this site uses, click here.
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