German pronunciation: Plosive - /ʔ/

Sample pronunciation audio

Start with one sample audio file for plosive - /ʔ/.

Quick tip

Plosives are made by blocking airflow and then releasing it suddenly.

Letters and IPA

Practice words

• Apfel

• oben

• eilig

• Uhr

• Auge

Minimal pairs

• Apfel / Abfall
• eilig / heilig
• Uhr / nur
• Auge / Augen
• oben / Oben

How to produce this sound

The glottal stop /ʔ/ is made by briefly closing your vocal cords, stopping the airflow, then releasing it. It's like the catch in the middle of 'uh-oh'. In German, it often appears before words starting with a vowel.

Common mix-ups

• Apfel / Abfall
• eilig / heilig
• Uhr / nur
• Auge / Augen
• oben / Oben

Closest comparison

This is a new sound in English. The closest is the catch in 'uh-oh' or the slight stop before a vowel in 'button' (in some dialects).