German grammar › A1

Pronunciation — vowels

Level A1 · long or short · ä ö ü · ei ie au eu · soft -e and -er

How do German vowels sound?

German vowels are clear and steady, and each can be short or long — that can change the word. Plus ä, ö, ü and the vowel pairs ei, ie, au, eu.

Pattern

one consonant → long · two consonants → short

Examples

  • Staat · Stadt — state (long a) · city (short a)

Remember: ie = “ee”, ei = “eye” — say the second letter’s English name.

What is special about German vowels?

Idea

German vowels are clear and steady — and each one can be short or long. That length can change the word.

  • St**a**dt ↔ St**aa**t — city ↔ state
  • B**e**tt ↔ B**ee**t — bed ↔ flower bed
  • **o**ffen ↔ **O**fen — open ↔ oven

So how do you know if a vowel is short or long? The spelling tells you.

Long or short?

Idea

Look at what comes after the vowel. One letter → usually long. Two consonants → short.

Long

  • Tag (one consonant)
  • gut (one consonant)
  • Tee (double vowel)
  • Boot (double vowel)
  • Uhr (vowel + h)
  • fahren (vowel + h)

Hear every word in the app.

Short

  • Mann (double consonant)
  • kommen (double consonant)
  • Hand (two consonants)
  • Kind (two consonants)

Hear every word in the app.

The h after a vowel is silent

It only makes the vowel long: Uhr, gehen, Sohn. Small words like das, mit, in are short too.

ß or ss? The vowel decides

  • Straße (long a → ß)
  • groß (long o → ß)
  • heißen (ei → ß)
  • Fluss (short u → ss)
  • Wasser (short a → ss)

Hear every word in the app.

Now the three vowels English doesn’t have: ä, ö, ü.

What are ä, ö and ü?

Idea

The two dots (Umlaut) make a different sound. Ä is like e. For ö and ü, round your lips.

  • Äpfel — apples (ä ≈ e)
  • Käse — cheese (long ä)
  • schön — beautiful (say e, round your lips)
  • Öl — oil (say e, round your lips)
  • Tür — door (say ee, round your lips)
  • grün — green (say ee, round your lips)

Hear every word in the app.

Hear the difference

  • M**u**tter ↔ M**ü**tter — mother ↔ mothers
  • sch**o**n ↔ sch**ö**n — already ↔ beautiful

Two vowels written together make one new sound — next.

Two vowels, one sound

Idea

ei = “eye”, ie = “ee”, au = “ow”, eu / äu = “oy”.

  • mein — my (ei = eye)
  • Mai — May (ai = eye too)
  • vier — four (ie = ee)
  • Liebe — love (ie = ee)
  • Haus — house (au = ow)
  • Frau — woman (au = ow)
  • heute — today (eu = oy)
  • Häuser — houses (äu = oy)

Hear every word in the app.

The classic trap

  • W**ei**n ↔ W**ie**n — wine ↔ Vienna
Remember
  • Say the second letter’s English name — i-e → “ee” · e-i → “eye”

Last: the soft endings you hear in almost every word.

Soft endings: -e and -er

Idea

An unstressed e is a short, soft “uh”. An -er at the end sounds like a soft “ah”.

  • Name — name (-e = soft uh)
  • bitte — please (-e = soft uh)
  • haben — to have (weak e)
  • Apfel — apple (weak e)
  • Vater — father (-er = soft ah)
  • Lehrer — teacher (-er = soft ah)

Hear every word in the app.

r after a long vowel softens too
  • hier · Uhr · Tür · mehr — no rolled r — the r melts into the vowel

You can now read any German vowel. Last step: put it all together.

Put it together

Idea

Reading a new word: find the vowels, then ask four questions.

Four questions

  1. Two vowels together? — ei, ie, au, eu / äu have their own sound.
  2. Dots on it? — ä ≈ e; round your lips for ö and ü.
  3. Long or short? — One consonant, double vowel or h → long. Two consonants → short.
  4. At the end? — -e = soft uh, -er = soft ah.

One word, every rule

Schüler — pupil

  • ü: Dots → say ee with round lips; one consonant after it → long
  • -er: At the end → soft ah

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