German spelling is regular, so once you know a dozen rules you can read most words aloud. The ones English speakers need most: ä, ö and ü are separate vowels, ch has two sounds, b, d and g turn into p, t and k at the end of a word, and most native words are stressed on the first syllable.
- Umlaut vowels
- ä, ö, ü: in about 6% of words in Contos A1 chapters
- ch
- Two sounds: ach (after a, o, u, au) and ich (everywhere else)
- Final b, d, g
- Said p, t, k: Abend sounds like "Abent"
- Stress
- Usually the first syllable of native words
- Most common umlaut word
- Tür (door), 29 times in the A1 chapters
How do German letters sound?
Most German letters have one sound, and the exceptions follow rules. This table covers the spellings English speakers most often get wrong, with examples from the free A1 chapters of the Contos German library.
| Spelling | How to say it | Examples from A1 chapters |
|---|---|---|
| ei | Like English eye | ein, nein, leise, weiß |
| ie | Like ee in see | sie, liest, Brief, vielleicht |
| eu, äu | Like oy in boy | Freund, räumt |
| w | Like English v | was, wer, Wohnung, warum |
| v | Like English f in most German words | von, Vater, viel, vielleicht |
| z, tz | Like ts in cats | Zettel, zu, sitzt, jetzt |
| s before a vowel | Like English z | sie, sagt, sehr, sofort |
| sp, st at the start of a word | Like shp, sht | spricht, steht, später, still |
| sch | Like English sh | schnell, schreibt, Tisch, Tasche |
| ß | Like ss | weiß, groß, draußen, heißt |
| j | Like English y | ja, jetzt, Jahre |
A small group of borrowed words keeps its foreign sound: Café, Foto and Telefon all appear in the A1 chapters. Everything else in this guide applies to the large native core.
How do you say ä, ö and ü?
The two dots matter. An umlaut makes a different vowel, and often a different word. In the free A1 chapters of the Contos German library, about 6% of all words contain ä, ö or ü, led by Tür (door), öffnet (opens), für (for), über (over, about) and nervös.
- ü: say ee as in see, then round your lips as if to whistle without moving your tongue. Tür, Küche (Duden: [ˈkʏçə]).
- ö: say the e of bed or the ay of day, with the same rounded lips. schön (Duden: [ʃøːn]), hört, plötzlich.
- ä: much like the e in bed, or a longer version of it. lächelt, Bäckerei, später.
Skip the dots and you can change the word. Both of these appear in the A1 chapters: schon (already) and schön (beautiful, nice). Compare Kuchen (cake, Duden: [ˈkuːxn̩]) and Küche (kitchen), both in the A1 story Grandma's Secret Cake. If you can't type an umlaut, the accepted substitute is the vowel plus e: Tuer, schoen.
What are the two ch sounds?
German ch is never the ch of church. It has two sounds, and the letter before it decides which:
| After | Sound | Examples from A1 chapters |
|---|---|---|
| a, o, u, au | The ach sound: rough, at the back of the mouth, like the ch in Scottish loch | nach, noch, auch, macht, Kuchen |
| e, i, ä, ö, ü, ei, eu, or a consonant | The ich sound: a soft hiss, close to the h in huge said with more breath | ich, nicht, Küche, plötzlich, Mädchen |
| -ig at the end of a word | The ich sound in standard pronunciation | wichtig, ruhig, traurig |
The ich sound is the one to practise, because it is everywhere. About 8% of the words in the A1 chapters contain a ch that isn't part of sch, and the ich sound covers most of them: nicht alone appears 58 times. If yours comes out as sh, say "huge" slowly and hold the h.
Why does d sound like t at the end of a German word?
German devoices b, d and g at the end of a word or syllable, a rule linguists call final devoicing (Auslautverhärtung). They are written b, d, g but said p, t, k. Duden transcribes Abend (evening) as [ˈaːbn̩t]. In the A1 chapters of the Contos German library, about 6% of words end in b, d or g: und, wird, sind, Hand, Tag, weg.
Chapter 2 of the flagship story packs three of these rules into one short sentence:
Am Abend sitzt Jonas in der Küche.Abend ends in a t sound. Sitzt starts with a z sound (s before a vowel) and ends in ts. Küche has the rounded ü and the soft ich sound. Read it aloud until all three come out without thinking.
The spelling keeps the b, d or g because the sound comes back when an ending follows: Tag sounds like "Tak", but in Tage you hear the g. That is a useful clue when you meet a plural for the first time.
Which syllable do you stress in German?
- Native words: the first syllable. A-bend, Mitt-woch, Mit-be-woh-ner. Compounds keep the stress of their first part.
- Unstressed prefixes: be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent- are never stressed, so the stress moves to the stem: ver-ste-hen, er-kennt.
- Separable prefixes are stressed: auf-ma-chen, an-ru-fen. When the prefix splits off (macht … auf), it still carries the weight at the end of the sentence.
- Many borrowed words stress the end: Mu-sik (Duden: [muˈziːk]), and words ending in -ei, such as Bä-cke-rei (Duden: [bɛkəˈraɪ̯]).
Contos is a reading app with no audio, so use it to learn spellings and words, and take your sounds from elsewhere:
- Read one paragraph aloud every day from the chapter you are reading. Slow and clear beats fast; reading out loud also helps you remember the words.
- Listen to Germany German if that is what you read: podcasts, the news, series set in Germany.
- Drill the pairs: schon and schön, Kuchen and Küche, Tag and Tage.
- Record yourself reading a paragraph once a week and compare it with a native recording of similar text.
For the first words worth practising, see your first 100 German words. For what makes German easier or harder overall, read is German hard to learn?
Open an A1 German chapter and read the first paragraph aloud. Tap any word to check its meaning.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do I pronounce ü in German?
Say ee as in see, keep your tongue there, and round your lips tightly. That rounded ee is ü. Practise with Tür and für, two of the most common umlaut words in beginner German.
Is German pronunciation hard for English speakers?
Less than it looks. The spelling is regular, and most sounds exist in English or come close. The new ones are ü, ö, the two ch sounds and the r. Stress usually falls on the first syllable, which helps.
Why does Tag sound like Tak?
Final devoicing: German says b, d and g as p, t and k at the end of a word or syllable. The written letter returns to its own sound when an ending follows, as in Tage.
Is ß the same as ss?
It sounds the same: a sharp s. ß is written after long vowels and the vowel pairs ei, au and eu, as in weiß, groß and draußen. If you can't type it, write ss.
Do I need to roll my r in German?
No. Most speakers in Germany say r at the back of the throat, close to a soft gargle, and after a vowel at the end of a word it weakens to a vowel sound, as in Vater or immer. A rolled r is understood too.