Every distinct sound in German, grouped by family. Tap the speaker on a phoneme to hear it pronounced inside its headline word, then tap any of the three demonstrator words below it to hear the same sound in a different context.

The German alphabet

Tap any letter to hear how it is named when spelling words aloud in German.

  • A
    • Apfel
    • Katze
    • Sofa
  • B
    • Buch
    • Liebe
    • Lob
  • C
    • Café
    • Tochter
    • Lac
  • D
    • Dach
    • Erde
    • Bad
  • E
    • Ente
    • Welt
    • Tee
  • F
    • Fisch
    • Koffer
    • Schlaf
  • G
    • Gabel
    • Auge
    • Tag
  • H
    • Hund
    • sehen
    • Schuh
  • I
    • Igel
    • Bild
    • Taxi
  • J
    • Ja
    • Boje
    • Major
  • K
    • Katze
    • Lake
    • Bank
  • L
    • Lampe
    • Welt
    • Ball
  • M
    • Mund
    • Lampe
    • Baum
  • N
    • Name
    • Hand
    • Mann
  • O
    • Obst
    • Vogel
    • Auto
  • P
    • Park
    • Apfel
    • Lump
  • Q
    • Quelle
    • Aqua
    • Irak
  • R
    • Rad
    • Vater
    • Tür
  • S
    • Sonne
    • Wasser
    • Haus
  • T
    • Tag
    • Vater
    • Bett
  • U
    • Uhr
    • Hund
    • Du
  • V
    • Vogel
    • Klavier
    • aktiv
  • W
    • Wasser
    • Löwe
    • Möwe
  • X
    • Xylophon
    • Hexe
    • Fax
  • Y
    • Yoga
    • Pyramide
    • Handy
  • Z
    • Zeit
    • Pizza
    • Herz
  • Ä
    • Ähre
    • Bär
    • Bär
  • Ö
    • Öl
    • König
    • Öl
  • Ü
    • Über
    • Brücke
    • Tür
  • ß
    • Straße
    • Fußball
    • Fuß

Vowels

Short Vowels

  • /ɪ/

    Letters: i

    • mit
    • bitte
    • finden
  • /ɛ/

    Letters: e

    • Bett
    • Hemd
    • kennen
  • /a/

    Letters: a

    • Mann
    • Katze
    • Tasse
  • /ɔ/

    Letters: o

    • offen
    • Sonne
    • kommen
  • /ʊ/

    Letters: u

    • Hund
    • Mund
    • bunt
  • /ʏ/

    Letters: ü (short, e.g. fünf, glücklich, Hütte) — DISTINCT from long /yː/ in müde/kühl

    • fünf
    • Hütte
    • glücklich
  • /œ/

    Letters: ö (short, e.g. zwölf, können, Götter, öffnen) — DISTINCT from long /øː/ in Möbel/hören

    • zwölf
    • können
    • öffnen
  • /ə/

    Letters: e (unbetont)

    • bitte
    • Name
    • Tasse

Long Vowels

  • /iː/

    Letters: i

    • Liebe
    • Biene
    • Miete
  • /eː/

    Letters: e

    • See
    • Tee
    • leben
  • /aː/

    Letters: a

    • Tag
    • Name
    • haben
  • /oː/

    Letters: o

    • Brot
    • Boot
    • rot
  • /uː/

    Letters: u

    • gut
    • Buch
    • Schule
  • /yː/

    Letters: ü

    • Tür
    • grün
    • früh
  • /øː/

    Letters: ö

    • schön
    • böse
    • Höhle

Diphthongs

  • /aɪ̯/

    Letters: ei, ai

    • mein
    • heiß
    • Zeit
  • /aʊ̯/

    Letters: au

    • Haus
    • Maus
    • Baum
  • /ɔʏ̯/

    Letters: eu, äu

    • heute
    • Leute
    • Häuser

Consonants

Plosives

  • /p/

    Letters: p

    • Paar
    • Puppe
    • Apfel
  • /b/

    Letters: b

    • Ball
    • Bett
    • Buch
  • /t/

    Letters: t

    • Tag
    • Tee
    • Tisch
  • /d/

    Letters: d

    • dann
    • Dose
    • baden
  • /k/

    Letters: k

    • Kaffee
    • Kind
    • kommen
  • /g/

    Letters: g (syllable-onset only, e.g. gut, Garten, Tag-NOT-final). Word-final g devoices to /k/, so Bug, Tag in citation form are /k/-words

    • gut
    • Garten
    • geben
  • /ʔ/

    Letters: (no dedicated letter; pre-vowel onset, e.g. Apfel /ˈʔapfəl/, beachten /bəˈʔaxtn̩/)

    • Apfel
    • beachten
    • Theater

Fricatives

  • /f/

    Letters: f

    • Fisch
    • fünf
    • Fenster
  • /v/

    Letters: v, w

    • Wasser
    • Vase
    • Woche
  • /z/

    Letters: s

    • Sonne
    • sieben
    • Rose
  • /s/

    Letters: ss, ß, or s-after-consonant/at-end (e.g. Eis, Tasse, Fluss, Wespe). NOT word-initial s before vowel — that is /z/ (Sonne, sehen)

    • Eis
    • Tasse
    • Fluss
  • /ʃ/

    Letters: sch

    • Schule
    • Schiff
    • schön
  • /x/

    Letters: ch (nach a, o, u, au)

    • Bach
    • Buch
    • doch
  • /ç/

    Letters: ch (nach i, e, ä, ö, ü, l, n, r)

    • ich
    • Milch
    • Licht
  • /h/

    Letters: h

    • Haus
    • heiß
    • heute

Nasals

  • /m/

    Letters: m

    • Mann
    • Mutter
    • kommen
  • /n/

    Letters: n

    • Nase
    • Name
    • nein
  • /ŋ/

    Letters: ng

    • singen
    • Finger
    • lang

Laterals

  • /l/

    Letters: l

    • Lampe
    • Lied
    • laufen

Vibrants

  • /r/

    Letters: r (Zungenspitzen-r)

    • rot
    • Rose
    • Bruder
  • /ʁ/

    Letters: r (Zäpfchen-r)

    • rot
    • Rose
    • Brot

Semivowels

  • /j/

    Letters: j

    • ja
    • Jahr
    • jung

Play SmartWords games

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    Word Sling

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    Word Gate

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    Word Ninja

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    Word Zip

    Trace a single path across the board, hit each letter anchor in order, and fill every open cell.

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    Word Oddity

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    Word Memory

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