How to Say Words in German

If you've been wanting to learn to speak German, you can use an online teaching program, but immediate feedback from someone who speaks the language well is crucial to help you correct your pronunciation of words and letters. Vowels, consonants and the German umlaut make pronunciation completely different from English.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• German-speaking instructor
• English-German dictionary
• German text

1. Listen closely to your German instructor and learn how to pronounce the basic vowels in German. These are pronounced differently than they are pronounced in the United States. The German language contains a linguistic difference called the umlaut, which changes the sounds of a, o and u and adds three additional letters to the German alphabet.

2. Listen to how differently your instructor pronounces German consonants. You make an "h" sound for a "ch" after an "I" as in "ich." You make a hard "c" sound for the letter combination "ch" after the letters "au" as in "auch." If you want to say "Wilkommen," you pronounce the "w" like a "v." You pronounce the letter "v" like an "f."

3. Say "c" like "ts" (kits) before "i" and "e" and like "k" in "cook" for other words. Pronounce "g" like "gas." G is always given a hard pronunciation. Say "j" like "y." Pronounce "q" with the "u" sound. Say the "r" sound like "r" in "are" or "weather." Give the "s" sound more of a "z" sound. Give the "v" sound an "f" sound on some words and a "v" sound in other words. Give "w" a "v sound. This letter never has the "wh" sound. Pronounce "x" like "licks" and "ss" like "kiss." You won't find a "z" in the German language.

4. Pronounce "hello" as "hallo." To say "good day," say "guten tag" or "guten morgen" (good day or good morning). Wish someone a good evening by saying "guten Abend." Wish someone a good night by saying "Gute nacht." Say goodbye by saying "Auf Wiedersehen." Germans say "bye" by saying "Tschuess" (shuess).

5. Say please by saying "Bitte." If you want to thank someone, you say "Danke schoen" or "Vielen Dank" (thank you or thank you very much). Excuse yourself by saying "Entschuldigung Sie bitte." Ask "may I" by asking "Darf ich . . . ?"

6. Ask someone "Where?" by asking "Wo?" Ask the person "When?" by asking "Wann?" Ask "Why?" by asking "Warum?" Ask someone "What?" by asking "Was?" Ask "Who?" by asking "Wer?" Ask someone "How?" by asking "Wie?" You can ask "How much/many?" by asking "Wieviel/Wie Viele?" If you want to say "Is/are there/," you ask "Gibt es?"

7. Tell someone "yes" by saying "Ja" (ya). Tell someone "no" by saying "Nein." Say "I don't know by saying "Ich weiss nicht." Say "Of course" by saying "Naeturlich." To express pleasure (with pleasure), say "Mit Vergnugen."

Tips & Warnings

• Listen closely to the pronunciation of some words. The umlaut will change how a word sounds. Words may be spelled the same but the addition of the umlaut changes the pronunciation and the meaning of the word. The sound of a German vowel is influenced by its placement in a word.
• Different regions of Germany say words differently. The translation of an English word may even be different from one region to another. The umlaut is a contraction in the German language, much as contractions are used ('nt,) in the English language. Adding the double dots over the a, o and u means German speakers don't have to spell the words with an ae, oe or ue (schwuel). Non-speakers of German mistake this mechanical construction for an accent mark.

References

• How to Pronounce German Vowels

Resources

• German: General Words