German Pronunciation for Beginners: A Comparison of German and English Consonants

If you ask a native German how many letters are in the German alphabet, they'll most likely answer '26'. Indeed the German alphabet contains the same 26 letters as the English alphabet, but there are also 4 additional sounds that are written in a way that does not exist in English. These are the 3 vowels with umlauts (two dots above the letters a, o, and u) and a curious letter known colloquially as 'double s'. Let's take a look at the key similarities and differences in pronunciation between the two sets of consonants.

Consonants which are Identical

• The letters f, k, m, n, p and t are pronounced exactly the same in German as they are in English.
• The letter x is also pronounced the same, although it is rare in German, and usually found only in words of foreign origin.

Consonants which are Similar

• The letters b, d and g are pronounced the same as in English when they are at the start of a word or syllable, but shift to sound like p, t and k when they are at the end of words or syllables. (In other words, they become 'unvoiced'.)
• The letter c is usually found in combinations like 'ch' or 'ck', and in the rare occasions that it exists on its own, it sounds like the English letter k.
• The letter h sounds like its English counterpart, except when it is at the end of words or syllables, and in this situation it is not pronounced.
• The letter l is pronounced softly, similar to the English l in 'language'. It does not sound hard like the l in 'apple', for example.
• The letter q is always followed by the letter u, and this combination sounds like the English letter combination 'kv'.
• The letter z sounds like English ts.

Consonants which are Totally Different

• The letter j is pronounced like the English letter y. For example, 'ja', the German word for yes.
• The German letter r is well known for being rolled in the back of the throat, and therefore has a much more guttural sound than English r. It is, however, not pronounced when it is alone at the end of a word or syllable (eg. klar), or when it is before another consonant at the end of a word or syllable (eg. Wurst). In these situations, it affects the preceding vowel sound.
• The German letter v is actually pronounced like English f.
• The letter w is pronounced like English v.
• The letter y is more like a vowel, sounding something like English u.

German Letter 'S'

• When at the start of a word or syllable, the German s sounds like English z. At the end of a word or syllable, it sounds like English s.
• When there is a double s sound in German, this is written as either 'ss', or with the unique letter known commonly as German double 's'. The technical name for this letter is 'eszett'. You'll know it when you see it, since it stands out prominently. If anything, it looks kind of like a handwritten capital B. Eszett is basically a substitute for 'ss', and it is pronounced the same way. However, it is only used in certain situations, and it indicates whether the vowel preceding it is pronounced short or long.

Steve Galvin is a language teacher and owner of leading German site http://www.easygermanlanguage.com, which is packed with free resources for anyone wanting to speak German the fun, fast and easy way. To ensure you get off to the right start, visit our website for lots of detailed tutorials on German words pronunciation.