A1 · 1.2 · die Vokale
Long and short vowels in German
German has 8 vowels: a, e, i, o, u, ä, ö, ü. Each one can be long (you hold it) or short (quick and clipped). The spelling shows you which.
Each vowel, long and short
| Vowel | LONG (held) | short (quick) |
|---|---|---|
| a | der Name NAH-muhname | die Stadt SHTUTTtown |
| e | der Tee TEHtea | das Bett BETbed |
| i | die Miete MEE-tuhrent | das Kind KINTchild |
| o | das Boot BOHTboat | die Sonne ZON-nuhsun |
| u | die Uhr OORclock | die Mutter MUTT-ermother |
| ä | der Käse KAY-zuhcheese | die Äpfel EP-felapples |
| ö | schön SHURNbeautiful | können KURN-encan |
| ü | müde MEW-duhtired | der Müll MEWLrubbish |
Same letter, two lengths. ö sounds like “ur” in “fur” (don’t say the r). ü sounds like “ew” in “few”. The next card shows how the spelling tells you which length.
How to see it
LONG (held)
- Double vowel
- vowel + h
- ie
- usually one consonant after it (in short words like das, mit, man, hat, bin, um, in the vowel is still short)
der Tee TEHtea
die Uhr OORclock
die Miete MEE-tuhrent
der Name NAH-muhname
short (quick)
- Two or more consonants after it
- ck
- ss
die Stadt SHTUTTtown
der Zucker TSUCK-ersugar
das Wasser VUSS-erwater
Vowel pairs that trick English speakers
| Spelling | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ie | ee in “see” | die Miete MEE-tuhrent |
| ei | eye | die Arbeit AR-bitework |
| eu / äu | oy in “boy” | heute HOY-tuhtoday |
| au | ow in “now” | das Haus HOWSShouse |
| -e at the end | a soft uh | die Pause POW-zuhbreak |
Good to know 1 1
1
1ie vs ei: say the second letter in English. ie → “e” → ee. ei → “i” → eye. So Wien (Vienna) is VEEN, Wein (wine) is VINE.
A final -e is never silent: Name is NAH-muh, not “name”.
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