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German
Pronunciation Guide
German
Spelling
st
CONSONANTS, cont.

Place in the Word

beginning of word/syllable
How it
Sounds
sht
th anywhere in word t
CONSONANTS tsch anywhere in word ch
Pronounced the same as in English, except: w anywhere in word v
German How it v anywhere in word f
Spelling Place in the Word Sounds
z anywhere in word ts
b end of word p
b between a vowel & a consonant p
VOWELS
ch after a, o, u, au kh German How it
ch after ä, e, i, ö, ei, äu, eu, y, l, r, n sh STRESS Spelling Sounds
chs anywhere in word ks a ah, uh
Most German words
d end of word t are stressed on the first ä ay, eh
g end of word k syllable. e ay, eh, uh
ig end of word kh Some exceptions: i ee, ih
h after a vowel silent o oh, awe
• Words that begin
j anywhere in word y with the prefixes ge- ö er (slight r sound)
pf anywhere in word pf be-, ver-, zer-, er- u oo (like fool or book)
and ent-, are
qu anywhere in word kv stressed on the syl- ü ew
s end of word s lable after this pre- y ew
fix.
s followed by a vowel z ai, ay, ei, ey eye
ß anywhere in word s • In most words that au ow
contain the syllable
sch anywhere in word sh ier, this syllable is äu, eu oy
sp beginning of word/syllable shp stressed. ie ee