German Pronunciation Practice with Tongue Twisters
Once you have a general grasp of how German pronunciation works, it is time to start thinking about how to practice this on your own. One of the best ways I have found is playing around with German tongue twisters. They often alternate similar sounds and force you to focus on exactly what you are saying and how you are saying it. Below you will find my recommended tongue twisters and the sounds they practice. If you would like to take a deeper dive into German pronunciation, you can download my Beginner German e-book or my German pronunciation guide.
Long A vs Short A
Acht alte Ameisen aßen am Abend Ananas. –
Eight old ants ate pineapples in the evening.
Long E vs Short E
Esel essen Nesseln nicht, Nesseln essen Esel nicht. –
Donkeys don’t eat nettles, nettles don’t eat donkeys.
Z-sound
Am Zehnten Zehnten um zehn Uhr zehn zogen zehn zahme Ziegen zehn Zentner Zucker zum Zoo. –
On October 10th at 10:10, 10 tame goats pull 10 centners (a European unit of weight and equals 50kg) of sugar to the zoo.
Consonant + R vs “ER” Ending Words
Bierbrauer Bauer braut braunes Bier. –
Beer brewing Bauer (last name) brews brown beer.
Ü Practice
Müller Lümmer frühstückt schüsselweise grünes Gemüse. –
Lümmer the miller eats green vegetables by the bowlful for breakfast.
Ü vs OR
Bürsten mit harten Borsten bürsten besonders sauber. – Brushes with hard bristles brush particularly clean.
Diphthongs
Weil lustige Leute laufend lachen, lachen lustige Leute auch beim Laufen. –
Because humorous people laugh all the time, humorous people laugh even when they run.
Back CH
Der Koch roch auch noch in der Nacht nach Knoblauch. –
Even in the night, the cook smelled of garlic.
Front CH
Echte Dichter dichten leichter bei Licht. –
Real poets find it easier to compose in daylight.
CH vs CK
Der Dachdecker deckt dein Dach, drum dank dem Dachdecker, der dein Dach deckt. –
The roofer roofs your roof, so thank the roofer who roofs your roof.
SCH
Schneiders Schere schneidet scharf – scharf schneidet Schneiders Schere. –
Schneider’s scissors cut sharply – sharply is how Schneider’s scissors cut.
D
Der dicke Dieter trägt den dünnen Dieter über den dicken Dreck. –
Fat Dieter carries thin Dieter across the thick mud.
F
Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische. –
The Fischer’s son Fritz is fishing for fresh fish.
J
Jedes Jahr im Juli essen Jana und Julia Johannisbeeren. –
Every year in July Jana and Julia eat blackcurrants.
K
Kluge kleine Katzen kratzen keine Krokodile. –
Clever little cats don’t scratch crocodiles.
W
Wer will weiße Wäsche waschen? –
Who wants to wash white laundry?
Beginner German with Herr Antrim E-Book Sample from the Pronunciation Chapter
Below you can see a couple of pages out of Herr Antrim’s new e-book “Beginner German with Herr Antrim”. When you purchase the e-book, you also gain access to a ton of extra materials including:
- worksheets for all of the lessons (except the pronunciation chapters)
- answer keys for each of the worksheets
- mp3 downloads to help you practice your pronunciation
- access to online flashcards
- and more!
Lessons within “Beginner German with Herr Antrim”
- Download the E-Book
- #1 – Pronunciation
- #2 – Greetings
- #3 – Farewells
- #4 – Du vs Ihr vs Sie
- #5 – How to Say You Don’t Speak German
- #6 – das Alphabet
- #7 – 24 Most Common Verbs with Example Sentences
- #8 – Subject Pronouns & Conjugation
- #9 – Basic Questions & Answers
- #10 – Formation of Questions
- #11 – Describe Yourself in German
- #12 – Present Tense of “sein”
- #13 – Present Tense of “haben”
- #14 – Family Vocabulary
- #15 – The Ultimate Guide to German Numbers
- #16 – Word Order with Time
- #17 – Read & Write Dates in German
- #18 – Word Order Basics
- #19 – Shopping
- #20 – A Beginner German Conversation
