Learn German A1: Pronunciation & Adjectives Lesson 13. Ask-scholars.com has started a series of lessons for German language and all the lessons are free to consume. You will learn different ways of pronunciation in German in this lesson. Meanwhile, You will get to know about adjectives in German.
Fertig? Los! (Ready? Go!)
Table of Contents
Pronunciation of ” r ” Sounds
It can take time to get the different types of German “r” right. That’s okay!
Meine Mutter ist nett. (My mother is nice.)
You can hardly hear the “r” at the end of “Mutter“. It sounds like an “a”, but you write “er“.
Ich spreche Deutsch. (I speak German.)
To say the “r” in “spreche”, make an “r” sound, then pretend you are gurgling while you do it.
There are different types of German “r“, formed in different places in the mouth and throat:
| “r” in the middle or at the start of a word sounds like gurgling with water. | ruhig, Sprache, sprechen |
| “r” at the end of a word sounds like “a“. | Mutter, Vater |
Note:
“r” in the middle or at the start of a word sounds like gurgling. “r” at the end sounds like “a“.
For Example:
1): Mein Vater spricht Englisch. (My father speaks English.)
The “r” in “Vater” sounds like an “a“, the “r” in “spricht” comes from the back of your throat.
2): Mein Bruder und mein Vater sind sehr sympathisch. (My brother and my father are very likeable.)
The “r” at the end of “Bruder” and “Vater” sounds like an “a“.
3): Ich spreche ein bisschen Spanisch. (I speak a little Spanish.)
The “r” in “spreche” sounds like you’re gurgling water in the back of your throat.
German Alphabets Pronunciation & 100 German Words
Pronunciation of ” h ”
Hallo. Hi. Hey.
Hello. Hi. Hey.
At the beginning of a word, “h” is pronounced just like the English “h” in “heart“.
To pronounce a word beginning with “h“, you need to let some air stream out of your mouth.
Just like when you breathe on your hands to warm them up.
| Hallo! (Hello!) |
| Ich heiße Hans. (I’m Hans.) |
| Wie heißt du? (What’s your name?) |
Lots of German names start with “h“.
Another example:
Er wohnt in Berlin. (He lives in Berlin.)
You can’t hear the “h” after a vowel, but instead we say a long vowel sound.
So, We can say:
You can’t hear the “h” after vowels (a, e, i, o, u), but it makes the vowel long.
Wir wohnen in Hamburg. (We live in Hamburg.)
You can’t hear the “h” in “wohnen” but it indicates that the “o” is long.
Wie geht’s? (How are you?)
You can’t hear the “h” after a vowel (here: “e”) but it makes it longer.
Conclusion:
An initial “h” is pronounced. After a vowel, “h” isn’t pronounced, it just lengthens the vowel.
Pronunciation of ”ck”
Ich bin glücklich. (I am happy.)
The German letters “ck” are pronounced in the same way as the letter “k“.
The vowel preceding “ck” is always short.
Be careful not to mix up “ch” and “ck“. Because, The “ch” sound in German is often mispronounced as a hard “ck” sound.
Nackt (naked) vs. Nacht (night)!
Learn German A1: Plurals & Pronunciation Lesson 11
Pronunciation of ” ß ”
The German letter “ß” is called “Eszett” or “scharfes s” (sharp s). It sounds just like how you’d pronounce the English “s” in “see” or “sail”.
Ich heiße Ali. (I’m Ali.)
“Ich heiße…” contains a special letter, “ß“, pronounced like an English ”s” (as in “snow”).
The Eszett (ß) always makes a sharp s sound, whether it comes in the middle of the word or at the end. It never appears at the beginning of a word.
Switzerland and Liechtenstein are the two German-speaking countries that have no Eszett. The “ß” is never used there, only “ss“. Both sound the same!
Liechtenstein and Switzerland always write “ss” instead of “ß“.
Pronunciation of ” J ”
A German “j” most commonly appears at the start of words, especially names, but never appears at the end of a word.
Ja (Yes)
The German “j” sounds like the English “y” in “yes”.
Jahr, Joghurt : Here, “j” is pronounced like the “y” in “yes”.
Exceptions! A few German words with a “j” that were taken from English and French still retain their original sound.
| from English: Job ? , Jeans ? , joggen ???? (job, jeans, jogging) |
| from French: Journalist ??? , Journal ? (journalist, journal) |
Learn German A1: describe a city & pronunciation Lesson 8
Adjectives in German
Mein Cousin ist blöd. (My cousin is silly.)
It’s offensive to call somebody “blöd” to their face.
Das ist blöd! (That’s stupid!)
We use the word “blöd” for people, but also for unfavorable situations.
Mein Freund ist nervig. (My boyfriend is irritating.) “nervig” is pronounced like “nerfich”.
These words (blöd & nervig) are usually used to talk about someone, rather than to someone.
Mein Großvater ist langweilig. (My grandfather is boring.)
Meine Tochter ist arrogant. (My daughter is arrogant.)
Meine Cousine ist unsympathisch. (My female cousin is unlikeable.)
Mein Lehrer ist unsympathisch und langweilig. Das ist blöd! (My teacher is unlikeable and boring. That’s stupid!)
Hope It Helps!
Weiter so! (Keep it up!)
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