I created this guide because I wanted a really convenient tool for learning the pronunciation of the phonemes along with the alphabet. There are many excellent Youtube videos that teach the same thing, and I recommend watching some of them because they are good for background, but it can be a bit time consuming to search for, play and repeat things enough to make them stick. When it comes to getting things to stick, I use this tool.
I believe starting to learn a language without having a good base in pronunciation can lead to fossilized errors, which are hard to reverse in the future. The exercise below is meant to be mastered before doing anything else in the language. It is the first step.
My goal was not to cover all aspects of pronunciation – that would fill many pages. These are just the basics. Notice the complete lack of written description comparing the sounds to English. This is by design. Please rely heavily on listening to the audio and repeating as described below:
1. Listen to the audio of the first word and repeat. Do it enough times to feel you are pronouncing it correctly, then move onto the next one. The rules and English translations are for reference only; you don’t need to memorize them. Work your way through the entire list.
2. Go back to the top. This time, try to read the word out loud, then listen to the audio to check. If your pronunciation matches the audio, hide the word by clicking it. If your pronunciation does not match the audio, listen and repeat enough times to feel you are pronouncing it correctly. Move onto the next word, and work your way through the whole list. When you finish, go back the first word that you missed and try it again. Do this until all words are hidden.
3. Repeat step 2 once or twice a day until you are able to get all words correct, quickly, on the first pass.
After you have mastered this list, it is recommended that you continue working on your pronunciation by listening to and repeating full sentences. For at least 10 minutes per day, listen to the audio of sentences and repeat, trying to sound just like the audio. And that means not only hitting the right vowels and consonants, but imitating all aspects of pronunciation (stress, intonation, prosody, etc.).
lieben
Show
ie; to love
Show
sie
Show
ie; she
Show
Bier
Show
ie; beer
Show
Ei
Show
ei; egg
Show
heißen
Show
ei; to be called
Show
klein
Show
ei; small
Show
Eis
Show
ei; ice/ice cream
Show
bauen
Show
au; to build
Show
laut
Show
laut
Show
Auto
Show
au; car
Show
teuer
Show
eu; expensive
Show
heute
Show
eu; today
Show
Bäume
Show
äu; trees
Show
fahren
Show
a/e/i/o/u/ä/ö/ü + h; to ride
Show
sehr
Show
a/e/i/o/u/ä/ö/ü + h; very
Show
Stuhl
Show
a/e/i/o/u/ä/ö/ü + h; chair
Show
Haare
Show
aa/ee/oo; hair
Show
leer
Show
aa/ee/oo; empty
Show
Boot
Show
aa/ee/oo; boat
Show
kommen
Show
double cons; to come
Show
offen
Show
double cons; open
Show
Wasser
Show
double cons; water
Show
schreiben
Show
sch; to write
Show
schön
Show
sch; beautiful
Show
Deutsch
Show
sch; German
Show
machen
Show
a/o/u + ch; to do; make
Show
hoch
Show
a/o/u + ch; high
Show
Buch
Show
a/o/u + ch; book
Show
ich
Show
cons/e/i/ä/ö/ü + ch; I
Show
rechnen
Show
cons/e/i/ä/ö/ü + ch; to calculate
Show
Bücher
Show
cons/e/i/ä/ö/ü + ch; books
Show
backen
Show
ck; to bake
Show
dreckig
Show
ck; dirty
Show
Drucker
Show
ck; printer
Show
sprechen
Show
sp (beginning); to speak
Show
Spanien
Show
sp (beginning); Spanish
Show
Beispiel
Show
sp (beginning); example
Show
studieren
Show
st (beginning); to study
Show
Straße
Show
st (beginning); street
Show
aufstehen
Show
st (beginning); to get up/stand up
Show
Obst
Show
st (end); fruits
Show
fast
Show
st (end); almost
Show
kosten
Show
st (end); to cost
Show
Frage
Show
e (end); question
Show
leise
Show
e (end); quiet
Show
Lampe
Show
e (end); lamp
Show
besser
Show
er (end); better
Show
super
Show
er (end); super
Show
Vater
Show
er (end); father
Show
vierzig
Show
ig; fourty
Show
richtig
Show
ig; right/correct
Show
König
Show
ig; king
Show
funktionieren
Show
tion; to work/function
Show
Station
Show
tion; to work/station
Show
Position
Show
tion; to work/position
Show
pflegen
Show
pf; to foster/nurse
Show
Pferd
Show
pf; horse
Show
Pfund
Show
pf; pound
Show
Apfel
Show
pf; apple
Show
wachsen
Show
chs; to grow
Show
sechs
Show
chs; six
Show
Chemie
Show
ch (start); chemistry
Show
China
Show
ch (start); China
Show
Chef
Show
ch (start); boss
Show
checken
Show
ch (start); to check
Show
chatten
Show
ch (start); to chat (with text)
Show
Käfer
Show
ä; beetle; bug
Show
gähnen
Show
ä; beetle; to yawn
Show
Äpfel
Show
ä (short); apples
Show
Hände
Show
ä (short); hands
Show
Mädchen
Show
ä (e); girl
Show
Käse
Show
ä (e); cheese
Show
Mäuse
Show
äu; mice
Show
läuten
Show
äu; to ring
Show
Matthäus
Show
äu (loan); Matthew
Show
Österreich
Show
ö; Austria
Show
Öl
Show
ö; oil
Show
schon
Show
o; already
Show
öffnen
Show
ö (short); to open
Show
können
Show
ö (short); can/able
Show
über
Show
ü; over/above
Show
üben
Show
ü; to practice
Show
Tür
Show
ü; door
Show
für
Show
ü; for
Show
fünf
Show
ü (short); five
Show
verrückt
Show
ü (short); crazy
Show
Müller
Show
ü (short); Mueller
Show
die Rosine
Show
r (gargle); the raisin
Show
der Rabe
Show
r (gargle); the raven
Show
die Arbeit
Show
r (silent); the work
Show
die Farbe rot
Show
r (silent + gargle); the color red
Show
die Ratte
Show
r (gargle); the rat
Show
Der Regenmantel
Show
r (gargle); the raincoat
Show
campen
Show
c (before a/o/u); to camp
Show
circa
Show
c (before e/i/ä/ö/ü); approximately
Show
ja
Show
j; yup
Show
Quelle
Show
qu; source
Show
Ulrich
Show
u; Ulrich
Show
Xylophon
Show
x; xylophone
Show
Psycho
Show
y; psycho
Show
Zoo
Show
z; zoo
Show