Each language has its own special, unique sound system, which you need to get acquainted with, since a person who does not know the correct pronunciation will not be able to correctly perceive foreign speech by ear and will not be able to be understood correctly. German, along with sounds peculiar only to him, has a number of sounds, the pronunciation of which practically coincides with the corresponding sounds of the Russian language.

In German 42 sounds, for which records are used 26 letters Latin alphabet. Both in German and in Russian, vowels and consonants are distinguished. The German language has 15 simple vowels, 3 complex two-vowel sounds (diphthongs) and 24 consonants.

German alphabet

Ha

upsilon

Additional German letters to the Latin alphabet:

a-umlaut

u-umlaut

o-umlaut

escet

Vowel sounds The German language has two features:

1. At the beginning of a word or root, vowels are pronounced with a strong attack, resembling a slight click, which gives the German speech a jerky sound that is not characteristic of the Russian language.

2. Vowels are divided into long and short, which explains their greater number in comparison with the Russian language.

Long vowels are pronounced more intensely than the vowels of the Russian language, and do not change their character during the entire time of sounding. The consonant following the long vowel freely adjoins it, as if with a short pause. When transmitting German sounds in Russian letters, the length of vowels is indicated by a colon after the corresponding letter.

short vowels are pronounced more briefly than Russian vowels. The consonant sound following the short vowel tightly adjoins it, as if cutting it off.

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The length and shortness of vowels often have a semantic meaning and determine the general character and rhythm of German speech:

Stadt	state	city	-	Staat	state	state
offen	O fan	open	-	Ofen	O: fan	stove

Vowel pronounced for a long time:

A. in an open syllable, that is, a syllable ending in a vowel:

Vater f A:ta

Leben l e:Ben

b. in a conditionally closed syllable, i.e., a syllable that, when a word changes, can be opened:

Tag T A:To

Ta-ge T A:ge

On the letter, the length of the vowel is indicated:

A. doubling the letter

meer me:a

b. letter h after a vowel

Uhr y:a

V. letter e after i

Sie zi:

Vowel pronounced briefly, if followed by a consonant or group of consonants:

Consonants The German language has the following features:

A. they are pronounced more intensely than the corresponding Russian consonants;

b. German voiceless consonants p, t, k are pronounced with a breath, especially at the end of a word;

V. German consonants, unlike the corresponding Russian consonants, are never softened;

d. unlike the Russian language, where the voiceless consonant is voiced under the influence of the voiced consonant following it (from is tunnel, but: out from at home), in German the opposite phenomenon occurs: a voiceless consonant partially deafens the voiced one following it, remaining deaf (das Bad das bpa:t).

stress in German, it usually falls on the root of a word or on a prefix, that is, on the first syllable. When you change a word, the stress does not change. The pronunciation of German words is transmitted in this manual in Russian letters without the use of generally accepted transcription marks. The transcription of the word and the stressed vowel are in different fonts. Such transcription allows (with some exceptions) to pronounce German words and sentences quite correctly.

Please note that when you hover over the Russian transcription, the IPA transcription will be displayed. This is for especially advanced students, if you do not need it, use only Russian.

Pronunciation of German vowels

Sound represented by letters A, aa, Ah, pronounced like Russian A(long) in the word "brother" or A(short) in the word "tact": baden b A: Dan, Saal for: l, Fahrt fa:at, Satz zats .

Sound represented by letters ä , Ah, pronounced like Russian uh in the word "era": Väter f e: that, wahlen V e: linen , Manner m uh on .

Sound represented by letters i, ie, ih, pronounced like Russian And in the word "blue": mir mi:a, sieben h And:ben, Ihr i:a, Mitte m And te, Tisch hush .

Sound represented by letters e, her, eh, pronounced like Russian uh or e in the words "these", "believe", "measure": nehmen n e: maine See ze:, gehen G e: en, Geld gelt, sechs zex. In an unstressed final syllable (endings -en, -er), as well as in some prefixes (for example: be-, ge- etc.) this sound is not pronounced clearly and is similar to Russian uh in the word "should": fahren f A: ren, beginnen bag And nan .

However, especially attentive listeners could notice the overtones of the "and" sound in the words Leben and See. There is no such sound in either Russian or English, pay attention to it when listening to German speech. Pronounce it like Russian [e / e], and the position of the lips is like for [and]. You can also try to pronounce the diphthong [hey] without completely pronouncing the second part of the sound, i.e. the first part of the sound is [e / e], and the second [th], [th] just to the end and is not pronounced. Let's listen again:

Sound represented by letters oh oh oh, pronounced like Russian O(long) in the word "will" or O(short) in the word "clown": Oper O :pa ohne O :ne , Boot bo:t, Rolle R O le .

Sound represented by letters u, uh, pronounced like Russian at in the word "I will": du du:, Uhr y:a, hundert X at ndat .

Sound represented by letters u, uh, is absent in Russian. It's pronounced like Russian Yu in the words "jury", "mashed potatoes": führen f Yu: ren, funf funf, Ubung Yu:bun(g). Rounding the lips, as for [y], we pronounce [and]. Although in Russian transcription it will be designated as [yu], with the sound [yu] he Not is.

Sound represented by letters oh, oh, is also absent in Russian. Rounding the lips, as for [o], we pronounce [e]. Reminds me of Russian yo : schön w yo: n, Sohne h yo:ne, Loffel l yo fel, offnen yo fnen . Although in Russian transcription it will be denoted as [e], with the sound [e] he Not is.

ei, ai, pronounced like Russian ah into the words "give": drei dry, Weise V A yze .

Diphthong denoted by letters au, pronounced like Russian ay in the word "howitzer": blau bl A at, Faust f A mouth .

Diphthong denoted by letters eu, au, pronounced like Russian Ouch in the word "your": neu Noah, Hauser X Ouch behind .

Pronunciation of German consonants

Many consonant sounds of German are pronounced almost the same as the corresponding sounds of Russian: b b, p P, w V, f f, s c or h(before a vowel or between two vowels), k To,g G,n n, m m, z c.

Sound represented by letters ch(after e, i, ö, ü and after l, m, n) pronounced like soft Russian xx in the word "chemistry": welche V uh lhe, richtig R And htikh , manchmal m A nkhmal .

The sound represented by the letter h(at the beginning of a word or syllable) is pronounced as a noisy exhalation to the next vowel. In Russian, this sound is absent, however, it is enough to pronounce Russian [x] with a light exhalation: halt halt, Herz hertz .

Sound represented by letters l, ll, pronounced as an average between Russian soft l(in the word "summer") and solid l(in the word "lacquer"): Ball ball, alt alto .

The sound represented by the letter j, pronounced like Russian th before the corresponding vowels (for example: "Christmas tree", "pit", "south"): Jacke ya ke, jemand ye:manta .

R pronunciation

Consonant sound denoted by a letter r, can also sound like a vowel sound close to the Russian sound A.

1. After long vowels (with the exception of long "a") in stressed and unstressed syllables that are final, for example:
   factor f A who: a,wir V And:A, Clavier clave And:A, Nature nat at:A .

   There may be exceptions:
   Haar ha:r, Ha: ; Bart Bart, ba:at ; Arzt arts, a:tst ; Quark quark, kva:k ; Quartz quartz, kva:c ; Harz harz

2. In unstressed prefixes: er-, her-, ver-, zer-, for example:
   erfahren eaf A:ren , verbringen February And:n(g)en , zerstampfen zeasht A mpfeng , hervor heaf O:A .
3. In the final unstressed - er, and also when consonants follow it, for example:
   Vater f A that, immer i: ma, besser b uh:sa, anders A ndas, Kindern To And ndang, auf Wiedersehen auf in And:daze:en .

In other cases, it is pronounced as a consonant sound. There are three types of pronunciation of the consonant sound "r" (the 2nd option is now more common):

1. If you touch your fingers at the base of your neck and try to pronounce "r" so that your fingertips feel it, you get the first "r".
2. If you pronounce "g", try to continue the sound ("gggggg..r.."), you get the second sound ("growl of the tiger").
3. The sound pronounced with the tip of the tongue is thus the "Russian" "r".

Remember the rules for reading some letter combinations:

ch after a, o, u it is read like Russian X: Buch boo:x, Fach fah; after all other vowels, as well as after l, m, n is read as xx: recht recht, Wichtig V And htikh Milch milch .

chs, as well as the letter X, read like Russian ks: wechseln V uh kseln .

ck reads like Russian To: Stuck piece, Ecke uh ke .

sch reads like Russian w: Schuh shu:, waschen V A: sheng .

st PC: Stella PC uh le .

sp read at the beginning of a word or root like Russian sp: Spiel spire, sprechen sprechen .

tz reads like Russian c: Platz parade ground, sitzen h And tsen .

ng reads like ... English sound [ŋ]. The back of the tongue closes with the lowered soft palate, and air passes through the nasal cavity. In order to achieve the desired position of the organs of speech, one can inhale through the nose with the mouth wide open, then pronounce the sound [ŋ] while exhaling air through the nose. In Russian transcription, we will denote as n(g), because G there still sometimes they pronounce, as in the first word: Übung Yu:bung, verbringen February And:n(g)en , Ding dyn(g). Also this sound is in combination nk: bank baŋk, links liŋx, tanken T Aŋken .

From letter to sound

Letters of the German alphabet	Russian transcription	Examples
ah, ah, ah	A:	Rat	pa:t
		Saat	per:t
		fahren	f A:ren
A	A	wann	van
ah, ah	e:	spat	sp:t
		zahlen	c uh:linen
ai	ah	Mai	May
au	ay	also	A wow
au	Ouch	Hauser	X O yza
b, bb	b	bitte	b And te
		ebbe	uh bae
(at the end of a word)	P	ab	up
With	To	Cafe	cafe e:
ch (after a, o, u)	X	Nacht	nakht
(after other vowels and after l, m, n)	xx	ich	uh
chs	ks	sechs	zex
ck	To	wecken	V uh ken
d, dd	d	dort	dort
		Kladde	class A de
(at the end of a word)	T	bald	balt
dt	T	Stadt	state
e, her, eh	e:, e:	er	e:a
	e: (and)	Tee	those: (and)
		gehen	ge:en
e	uh	etwas	uh yours
		dieses	d And: ze
ei	ah	mein	lane
eu	Ouch	neun	noin
fff	f	frei	fry
		Schiff	cipher
g, gg	G	gut	gu:t
		flagge	fl A ge
(at the end of a word)	To	Tag	So
(in suffix -ig)	xx	zwanzig	color A ncih
h  (at the beginning of a word and syllable)	X	haben	X A:ben
		behalten	bah A lten
(unreadable after vowels)		sehen	h e:en
i, ie, ih	And:	wir	w:a
		sieben	h And:ben
		Ihnen	i:nen
i	And	Zimmer	c And ma
j	th	Jahr	th A:
k	To	kind	kint
l, ll	eh	elf	elf
		halle	X A le
m, mm	m	machen	m A hyung
		comment	To O maine
n, nn	n	Name	n A: me
		Dann	Dan
ng	n(g)	Ding	dyn(g)
oh, oh, oh	O:	oben	O: ben
		Boot	bo:t
		Ohr	o:a
o	O	night	nox
oh, oh	"yo:"	Mobel	m yo: belle
		Sohne	h yo: ne
		Öl	yo: eh
ö	"yo"	zwolf	zwölf
		offnen	and about: fnen
p, pp	P	parken	P A rken
		knapp	knap
pf	pf	Pfennig	poof
qu	sq.	Qualitat	qualite e: T
r, rh	R	Arbeiter	A rbyte
		Rhine	R A yin(Rhine)
r	A	wir	V And:A
		erfahren	eaf A:ren
		Vater	f A that
s  (before vowels or between vowels)	h	sagen	h A:gen
		unser	at nza
		Kase	To uh:ze
(at the end of a word)	With	das	das
ss, ß	With	lassen	l A sen
		Fuss	fu:s
sch	w	Schule	w at:le
sp	sp	sprechen	spr uh hyung
st	PC	stellen	PC uh linen
t, tt, th	T	Tisch	hush
		satt	zat
		Theater	te A: that
tz	c	setzen	h uh tsen
u, uh	at:	Dusche	d at: she
		Uhr	y:a
u	at	und	unt
u, uh	"Yu:"	Tur	ty:a
		fuhren	f Yu:ren
		uber	Yu: ba
ü	"Yu"	funf	funf
		uppig	Yu shove
v  (in German words)	f	vier	fi:a
(in foreign words)	V	visite	visas And: te
		November	new uh mba
w	V	Wagen	V A: gene
x	ks	Taxi	T A xi
y	"Yu:"	Lyrik	l Yu:rick
y	"Yu"	Zylinder	tsul And nda
z	c	zahlen	c A:linen

Foreign languages ​​can be learned at any age and achieve excellent results in a year and a half of intensive regular classes. Each dialect and in different countries has features, difficulties and important points in pronunciation, word formation, grammar, which have developed due to historical processes, the mentality of the people. The German language is no exception. Some words and sounds are borrowed from others and modified, there are unique features and distinctive features.

The pronunciation process is the first and most important step in learning a language. It is the foundation for all other knowledge. It is the correct use of sounds that distinguishes a German speaker from representatives of other nationalities.

Stages of learning German

To understand the role of phonetics, one should consider the entire learning process:

First stage. Alphabet, pronunciation, combination of letters, folding syllables into words, learning a basic set of concepts - the first lessons consist of similar tasks.

Learning to read. After studying the letters, you can begin to train the understanding of words in context, to compose sentences, the first dialogues. After 2-3 months of training, you can start reading the first entry-level books: small children's stories, adapted texts.

Explain and write. The most difficult moment is to express your thoughts to a foreigner without the ability to use your native speech. After about a year of classes, you can include video materials in the training program: films with subtitles, interviews, news releases.

Further training depends entirely on the goals and objectives. For a trip to Germany with an excursion of this level will be enough, for work or moving - you need to maintain and develop the acquired knowledge. Usually, understanding German speech and the ability to answer questions and keep up a conversation come after one and a half to two years of study.

Features of the German alphabet

There are only 26 letters in the German alphabet, and there are almost 2 times more sounds - 42, obtained in different situations and letter combinations. If you divide the sounds into groups, you get:

1. 15 simple vowels;
2. 3 complex diphthongs;
3. 24 consonants.

The whole German language is based on consonant sounds, so many people call its sound rough and not melodic. Its main distinguishing feature is word formation, many words are formed by merging simple concepts into one. But the rules quickly become intuitive with careful study and regular repetition.

In general, German is similar to English, but there are umlauts and the ß ligature for certain sounds. The analogues of the first can be considered elongated softened vowels, and the second - the sound "s".

Of the main nuances of articulation and pronunciation of sounds in German, the following important points can be distinguished:

• It is necessary to open your mouth wide enough when pronouncing German words, so the sound will be the most correct;
• A word that begins with a vowel requires considerable effort to pronounce the first letter - it turns out to be sharp and clear;
• Vowels and some consonants require increased lip articulation;
• in simple words, the stress falls on the first syllable in the root or on the prefix, in complex words there may be 2 stressed syllables, postfixes are unstressed, in the abbreviation the last letter is highlighted.

Pronunciation of German consonants

At the end of the word, the letter "g" is read "k", except for the combination ig, in which case the sound will be "xh". Lustig in transcription looks like [‘lƱstiç]. French concepts and words borrowed from this language suggest reading the letter as "g".

Duplicate consonants are read as one letter, and the vowel before them becomes short, for example, rennen or mutter - mother.

How to pronounce vowels?

The main features of the pronunciation of vowel sounds are:

• The first letters of the word are pronounced with a breath, with a click;
• Sounds can be short or long;
• In German there is the phenomenon of "umlauts" - letters, they have no analogues in our language: ä, ö and ü.

Depending on the type of syllable (closed or open), vowels can be read differently. And the position of the letter in the word also affects the pronunciation: at the beginning and at the end they are pronounced differently.

• The letters a, e, i, o, u, ä, ö, ü are read the same in an open or conditionally closed syllable, as well as in combination with the letter “h”:

• a, ha-, malen, Wahl, reads like a simple "a";
  e, he-, lessen, sehen, long "e" sound;
  i, hi-, Maschine, ihn, long sound "and";
  oh, ho-, rot, wohnen, similar to the Russian sound "o";
  u, hu-, du, gut, Kuh, both alone and in combination with "h" is read as "y"
  ä, hä - [ɛː], spat, Zähne, the sound is read, as in the word "era";
  ö, hö - [øː], böse, Söhne, similar to our sound in the word "honey";
  ü, hu-, müde, früh, it turns out the sound between the Russian "y" and "yu", a similar pronunciation in the word muesli.

Exceptions to the rules will need to be learned by heart as you build up your vocabulary, but most of the words used in everyday conversations are read this way.

Combinations of vowels and consonants

• There are special cases when letters are combined with each other and form a different sound. This happens with both vowels and consonants. There are slightly fewer such situations than in English and French, but more than in Spanish.
• Combinations of letters among themselves, when the output is an unusual result, can be divided into 3 main groups: 2 or 3 consonants, consonant + vowel, and 2 vowels together.

• ch [hard "x"], for example words: Buch, machen, lichen;
  ch [x], if the letters are in front of "i" and "e", you get a sound like in the words: Ich, mich, rechts;
  sch [w], and at the beginning of a syllable and at the end of it: Schule, Tisch, schreiben;
  ck [k], for example: lecker, Scheck;
  chs in transcription looks like [ks], occurs in the words: sechs, wachsen;
  ph is pronounced like [f]: Photo, Physik;
• pf reads like [pf], for example in the words: Pferd, Pfennig;
  sp [sp] at the beginning of a word and a syllable: Sport, sprechen;
  st [pcs] at the beginning of a word and syllable: Stunde, verstehen;
  ng [nasal n], for example, in the words: Übung, bringen, singen. In this case, the sound “n” is pronounced in the nose, and “g” is not pronounced;
  th in words Theater, Thema is read [t];
  tsch [h], as in the words: Tschechien, deutsch.

• This is how combinations of consonants in words will be pronounced, after a couple of months of training they will seem correct and will no longer be striking. A similar situation will be with the combination of the following letters:

• qu together will give the sound "kv", as for example in the words: Quadrat, Quelle;
  the ending is read [tsyon]: Funktion, Produktion;
  ig at the end of the word reads [ih]: richtig, wichtig.

If we consider combinations of vowels among themselves, then we can distinguish several unusual options. They are called diphthongs:

• ei = [ai], for example in the words: mein, sein, Arbeit, Ei;
  ai is read as [ai] and occurs in the words: Mai, Main;
  ie, or [and] long: Brief, hier;
  eu in the words Neu, deutsch, Euro are pronounced like [oh];
  au [oh], a vowel with an umlaut also gives an interesting combination, for example: Räume, Häuser;
  au read [au]: Haus, brown.

These rules will be enough to increase the level of knowledge of the language to the average and move on to reading books and doing exercises.

How to improve your German pronunciation in a short time?

Learning a foreign language is quite difficult, and almost impossible on your own. The correct setting of articulation and pronunciation should be done by the teacher so that an experienced person hears your mistakes and corrects them in time. And only then you can improve and develop abilities by your own efforts. What are the main tips for beginners:

1. Start with a slow pronunciation, let the words sound unusual at first, too picturesque, but then you can not think about the correctness of the sounds.
2. Try talking in front of a mirror and pay close attention to your articulation.
3. Transcription in Russian letters can help at the initial stage of study, but it is better not to use them, but immediately learn to read book designations. They will give more complete information about sounds and pronunciation rules.
4. Find an opportunity to listen to your speech: a voice recorder, programs and applications, read aloud. So you can notice inaccuracies in the pronunciation of individual sounds, difficulties and identify weaknesses.
5. Listen to as much German speech as you can: songs, films, radio, programs. You can listen to them, delving into the essence, trying to translate, or just in the background for developing a habit.
6. Read as often and as much as possible: adapted literature, children's books, newspapers and magazines. Try to remember not only the sound, but also the spelling of words, such an integrated approach will speed up learning.
7. Say new words to memorize, keep a dictionary of learned words and read it as often as possible.
8. Do not try to immediately learn all the dialects and their features. It is better to choose a classic book version and stop there. Diversity can be added later, but at the initial level it will be too difficult to distinguish between Bavarian and Berlin dialects.
9. Diversify your learning, include interesting books, tongue twisters, songs, communication with native speakers.
10. Find those who want to listen to you or help you talk and talk on any topic, choosing words from a phrasebook or textbooks. Live communication is the most effective way to learn a language.

Summing up...

Learning German is no more difficult than any other, there are features and subtleties that you need to know. The rest is a matter of time and is worked out by lessons, conversations, exercises. How can you briefly describe the features of the phonetics of the German language:

Learn German easily and with pleasure, raise your level of knowledge and replenish your vocabulary using tips for correct pronunciation.

German letters and their names

In German-Russian dictionaries, as well as in German textbooks, you can find an alphabet where the names of German letters are written in Russian: A - A, B- bae, C- ce,D- de etc. Let's say right away - this is some kind of convention in order to somehow, approximately, convey the names of the letters. We will learn the German letters in the alphabet correctly from the very beginning, listening and repeating after native speakers and watching their articulation on video.

The modern German alphabet consists of 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, the names of which, as in other languages, differ from purely Latin ones. Watch the following video (you can do it once, for review, we will return to it later):

As you may have noticed, in addition to the alphabet, there are three more letters with two dots above them − umlauts(or umlauts) Ä, ä; Ö, ö; Ü, ü, as well as the symbol ß, called in Russian escet ligature: the union of s (es) and z (cet) into one. In theory, like our letter ё, these additional characters should be included in the alphabet, since each of them either represents a separate sound, or affects the sound of letters standing next to it. However, in most cases they are not considered part of the alphabet, and almost every German speaker, when asked to tell the alphabet, will name only 26 letters.

That is, formally, these three umlauts and esset are not included in the German alphabet, and two dots above the letters are diacritic, indicating that the letter should be read differently. Accent is another example of a diacritic. For example, in German texts you can find such a spelling of the word "cafe", borrowed from French - Cafe.

When learning the German alphabet, four additional letters are still named, appended to the alphabet at the very end, or even included in it (Ä after A, Ö after O, Ü after U and ß after S). And when listing umlaut letters within the alphabet, many say not the actual names of these letters, but the sounds they give, for example, instead of "a-umlaut" for ä they will say - "e". Don't let all this surprise you.

We, for the purposes of study, will put 4 additional letters (Ää, Öö, Üü and ß) after the main alphabet and will pronounce their names, that is, we will do everything according to the same rules as for the main 26 letters of the alphabet.

German alphabet with transcription

Ideally, in order to correctly read words in any foreign language, you need to know the phonetic transcription. In general, this is a separate big topic, and at the initial stage of learning a language, it can be difficult to understand - there is too much new information. If you have already studied other languages ​​​​and are familiar with transcription symbols, this section will not be difficult for you, if not, you can read it at a time and try to pronounce the sounds as it is written, but you do not need to memorize all this. This information in one form or another will be constantly found in dictionaries and educational materials, gradually you will master transcription without much effort. At the initial stage, you do not need to focus on this especially.

In the table below, using transcription marks (in square brackets), it is written how the names of the letters of the alphabet sound in German. Let's take a look at some of the most common points:

• A colon [:] after a vowel means that it is long and pronounced much longer than a Russian vowel. If there is no colon after the vowel, then the sound is short and pronounced shorter than Russian.
• pronounced closed, similar to "e" and "e" in the words "these", "shadows"
• Consonants [d], [t], [l], [n] alveolar, they are pronounced differently than in Russian - the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveoli (bulging tubercles behind the upper teeth), and not against the teeth as in Russian.
• German sounds [b], [d], [g] are slightly muffled by Russian counterparts:
  [d] - something in between Russian [d] and [t],
  [b] - as an average between Russian [b] and [p],
  [g] - as an average between [g] and [k].
• The sign before the vowels ['] in this case is not an accent, but a designation of that feature of German pronunciation, which is called hard fit. Try to pronounce with effort and annoyance the Russian word "Ah!" and you will understand the essence - we prepare the air for an increased exhalation, but we hold it in the larynx just before pronouncing the sound. Like a slight cough. Note that all German vowels at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable are pronounced this way.

Let's move on to the practical development of the alphabet. First, sequentially, line by line, study the following table.

Letter		letter name	Features of pronouncing the sounds of the name of the letter
A	a	['a:]	a: pronounced like the Russian "a", but drawn out. Remember about ['] hereinafter
B	b		b sounds like a cross between the Russian "b" and "p"
C	c
D	d		d - the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveoli, and not against the teeth; middle sound between Russian "d" and "t"
E	e	['e:]	e: pronounced closed, similar to "e" and "e" in the words "these", "nets"
F	f	['ɛf]	ɛ is similar to the "e" in "this"; for f, the muscles are more tense than for "f"
G	g		g - does not sound as loud as Russian, as an average between Russian "g" and "k". Please note that the name of the letter sounds neither like Russian "ge", but not like "ge" - German g, unlike Russian, does not soften
H	h		h - like the sound of an exhalation without noise, or like when we breathe on glass
I	i	['i:]	i: pronounced like Russian "i", but drawn out
J	j		j - something like "th"; ɔ - short, clearer than Russian "o"; t - alveolar and aspirated
K	k		k - tense, breathy
L	l	['ɛl]	l - the average between the Russian "l" and "l", the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveoli
M	m	['ɛm]	m - more intense than the Russian sound "m"
N	n	['ɛn]	n - the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveoli, and not against the teeth
O	o	['o:]	o: pronounced drawling with strongly protruding, tense lips
P	p		p - tense, aspirated
Q	q		u: - like Russian "y", but drawling; the letter sounds like "ku-u", but not "cue"
R	r	['ɛr]	r - see footnote*
S	s	['ɛs]	s - muscles are more tense than for the Russian "s"
T	t		t - tense, aspirated, the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveoli
U	u	['u:]	u: pronounced like the Russian "u", but drawn out
V	v		aʊ̯ - resembles "ay" in the word "pause"
W	w		v - like Russian "v", not to be confused with the English sound [w], who studied
X	x	['ɪks]	ɪ is somewhat like a cross between Russian short "e" and "ы"
Y	y	['ʏpsɪlɔn]	ʏ - we pronounce it like [ɪ], but we slightly round our lips; stressed syllable first
Z	z		ts - like "ts", but with aspiration and more muscle tension
Ä	ä	['a:'ʊmlaʊ̯ t], [ɛ:]	ʊ as "y" in the word "joke"; ɛ: - as in "e" in the word "this", but drawn out**
Ö	ö	['o:'ʊmlaʊ̯ t], [ø:]	ø: Pronounced as , but the lips stick out strongly, as in
Ü	ü	['u:'ʊmlaʊ̯t],	y: pronounced like , but the position of the lips is similar to that of German
	ß	['ɛstsɛt]	the name is composed of the names of the letters s and z; second syllable stressed

* There are three ways to pronounce the German consonant sound [r]. One of them, reminiscent of the Russian "p", however, it is the least common and it is better to forget about it right away. The other two are "burry", they are recommended to learn and work out the skill. One option reed, denoted by [ʀ] is similar to the sound when gargling, another, posterior lingual fricative, denoted by [ʁ], is reproduced through the gap between the back of the tongue and the palate, with the participation of the voice. Often, students first master this particular [ʁ], and then work out a more "clean" [ʀ]. In addition, there is also a vocalized R, more like the sound [a], but still it is R. It is denoted by [ɐ].

** For umlauts, the table shows two alternatives for "letter names" (separated by commas). Learn the first one (that is, "a-umlaut", "o-umlaut", "u-umlaut"), and keep the second in mind.

Now, armed with theory, it's time to practice pronouncing the names of letters after native speakers. In the next video, you can not only listen to the German names of letters, but also observe the speaker's articulation. This will help you pronounce the sounds correctly.

Repeat each letter as many times as necessary to get it as close to the original as possible. First, we are working on the quality of pronunciation of the names of letters. Check out the table. By the way, in this example, R sounds more vocalized - like a vowel, similar to [a].

Test yourself by looking at another reading of the German alphabet, with slight differences in pronunciation. Pay special attention to the letters R and Y, try to learn how to reproduce this particular version of their names later. Here [ʀ] is reed, and [ʏ] is more pronounced.

In the next step, try to memorize the entire alphabet and retell it without mistakes. A little hint: when pronouncing the letters of the alphabet, call them in groups, it will be easier to remember, for example: ABCD EFGH IJKL MNOP QRST UVW XYZ ÄÖÜ ß.

Another way to group the letters of the alphabet is shown in the video at the very beginning of the lesson. It might be more suitable for you, give it a try. Anyway, watch that video at least one more time, listening carefully to the pronunciation of the names of the letters.

So, what should you strive for in this lesson and what results to achieve:

1. To be able to correctly name individual letters of the German alphabet in any order. To verify this, you can make 30 paper cards (one for each letter of the alphabet, including additional ones), mix them up and, pulling them out in random order, name the letter, referring to the table and video. If there are no errors with any letter, this goal is achieved.
2. Be able to tell the German alphabet in any of two directions: name all the letters in order, both from beginning to end, and in the opposite direction - from end to beginning, correctly and without a hitch.

An important aspect of learning any language is pronunciation - start German with phonetics. The Germans are very bad at mispronunciations. I had examples when a person who speaks correctly and fluently, but with some accent, officials offered to go learn German, he supposedly needs this to get a normal job. About pronunciation - there is a fundamentally different position of the speech apparatus, if you "tune" it, it will turn out very well.
Different foreign languages ​​use a different set of sounds - the main difference lies in the position of the language. In Russian, the position of the tongue is predominantly elevated, while in German the root of the tongue and the middle part are pressed down.
The vowel sounds of the German language have two features:
1. At the beginning of a word or root, vowels are pronounced with a strong attack, resembling a slight click, which gives the German speech a jerky sound that is not characteristic of the Russian language.
2. Vowels are divided into long and short, which explains their greater number in comparison with the Russian language.
Long vowels are pronounced more intensely than the vowels of the Russian language, and do not change their character during the entire time of sounding. The consonant following the long vowel freely adjoins it, as if with a short pause. When transmitting German sounds in Russian letters, the length of vowels is indicated by a colon after the corresponding letter.
Short vowels are pronounced more briefly than Russian vowels. The consonant sound following the short vowel tightly adjoins it, as if cutting it off.
The stress in German falls, as a rule, on the root of the word or on the prefix, that is, on the first syllable. When you change a word, the stress does not change. The pronunciation of German words is transmitted in this manual in Russian letters without the use of generally accepted transcription marks. The transcription of the word and the stressed vowel are in different fonts. Such transcription allows (with some exceptions) to pronounce German words and sentences quite correctly.

Related video:

In this video tutorial, you will get acquainted with the German alphabet, learn interesting facts related to it, and also be able to take a self-test exercise.

Each language has its own special sound system, which you need to get acquainted with, since a person who does not know the correct pronunciation will not be able to correctly perceive foreign speech by ear and will not be able to be understood correctly. There are 42 sounds in German, which are written using 26 letters of the Latin alphabet. The German language has 15 simple vowels, 3 complex two-vowel sounds (diphthongs) and 24 consonants.

How to learn German pronunciation in German tongue twisters.

What is the most important thing in learning foreign languages? Lexicon? Grammar? Speech rate? In general, all these answers are correct, but there is one thing that immediately catches your eye if a person speaks a non-native language - pronunciation. Perfect pronunciation is almost impossible to learn if you started learning a foreign language late. The situation with German is complicated by the fact that many sounds have a very unusual sound for the Russian ear. This is the reason for the appearance of the famous Russian accent. If the accent is not strong and does not interfere with understanding, it is not a problem. The answer is simple - exercise. From this video you will learn how to learn perfect German pronunciation in German tongue twisters!

In the German alphabet, in modern times, there are 26 stem letters. In addition to them, there are 3 more umlauts (Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü) and ligatures (a combination of two letters, in German this is ß). The basis of German is the Latin alphabet.

It may seem that German is similar to other Latin-based languages. But, the pronunciation of letters in words, sounds, are very different.

To learn German, you first need to memorize the alphabet. This is a very important element in learning a foreign language. Learn how to learn German.

Before you start learning the alphabet (below you will find the alphabet and a video of its pronunciation), remember that umlauts Ää Öö Üü - do not have names, their task is to designate sounds.

Sound Ää:

Sound Öö:

Sound Üü:

Escetom ß - denote double s (ss). It sounds like a Russian "s". It can be found only at the end or in the middle of the text. Also, escet is not used in writing.

Escet sounds like this:

Alphabet

Pronunciation of the letters of the German alphabet

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