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deutsche Vokale - German Vowel

Apart from being letters of the alphabet, the characters a, e, i, o, u, as well as the special Umlaut characters ä, ö, ü, also function as single vowels in the German language.

a

like a in "father"

malen
(Verb) - to paint

-e-

when it appears in the middle of a word like in "pen"

das Leben - life

-e

When the German vowel "e" is at the end of a word or syllable, it often sounds like the English "uh" sound, similar to the schwa sound /ə/ in English like in "sofa"

die Sonne
- sun

i

like i in "sit"

die Kommunikation
- communication

o

like o in "go"

die Woche
- week

u

like oo in "good"

die Musik
- music

In German, there are also diphthongs.

In addition to the main single vowels, there are also various diphthongs. Let's learn together about what they are.

Doppelvokale aa, ee, oo


On the contrary, with certain spellings, when a letter is doubled, it shortens the sound". For example, in English, when a consonant is doubled in the middle of a word, it often signals that the preceding vowel is short, as in "hammer" or "letter".
In vowels, when a vowel is doubled, it results in a longer sound. For instance, in English, when a vowel is doubled in a word, it typically indicates that the vowel sound is lengthened, such as in the words "moon" (where the 'o' is long) and "see" (where the 'e' is long).

aa

like ah in "father"
das Haar - hair
der Saal - hall
der Staat - country

ee


like in "see"
der Tee - tea
der Kaffee - coffee
der Jeep - jeep

oo

like in "moon"
das Boot - boat
der Zoo - zoo

Vowel from Umlaut ä ö ü


Besides being letters, Umlauts can also function as vowels

ä

ike the "e" in the English word "bet," but with a more fronted quality.
IPA: /ɛː/
spät (Adj.) - late
die Fähigkeit - ability
der Bär - bear

ö

is pronounced with rounded lips and sounds somewhat like the "i" in the British English word "bird".
IPA: /øː/
möglich (Adj.) - possible
möchten (Verb) - to want
hören (Verb) - to hear

ü

is pronounced with a tight, rounded lip position and a high front tongue, somewhat like the "u" in the British English word "fur", but more fronted.
IPA: /yː/
mütig (Adj.) - brave
lügen (Verb) - to lie
glücklich (Adj.) - happy

au

like ow in "how"

der Baum
- tree

ai

like i in "bike"

der Mais
- corn

äu

like oy in "boy"

der Verkäufer
- salesperson

ei

like i in "ice"

die Meinung
- opinion

eu

like oy in "boy"

die Leute
- people

er

The "er" sounds like a weak "uh" or schwa sound with a slight "r" quality.
IPA: /ɐ/

vergessen
(Verb) - to forget

ie

like ee in "see"

die Liebe
- love

ier

sounds like "ee-er" in "year"

das Bier
- beer

ir

sounds like the "ear" in "dear"

der Pfirsich
- peach

oh

is pronounced like the long "o" in "go"

die Wohnung
- apartment

ur

is pronounced with a rounded "u" sound, like in "fur"

die Frisur
- hairstyle

ür

is pronounced with a fronted rounded "u" sound, more tense than "ur"
IPA: /tyːʁ/

die Tür
- door

-y-

Whenever 'y' appears in the middle of a word, it functions as a vowel and can be compared to the sound of 'ü' from the Umlaut or the 'ü' sound. Many Greek words are written using 'y' as a vowel. For example:
der Typ 👉 type
die Psyche 👉 psyche
die Hypothese 👉 hypothesis
die Acrylfarbe 👉 acrylic paint

Important! Never confuse the sounds of "ie" (/iː/) with "ei" (/aɪ/) under any circumstances. Additionally, in German, the pronunciation usually matches the spelling or the sounds you have learned, except in cases where the word comes from another language. Therefore, don’t be afraid to memorize pronunciation rules and practice pronouncing words on your own later without relying on pronunciation guides.

a e i o u Doppelvokale ä ö ü au
ai äu ei eu er ie ier ir
oh ur ür -y-