Pronouncing German Special Characters169

German has a number of special characters that can be difficult for non-native speakers to pronounce. Here is a guide to help you with the pronunciation of these characters:

Ä

This character is pronounced like the "a" in "bat". It is similar to the sound of the English "e" in "bed" but with more of an "ah" sound.

Ö

This character is pronounced like the "e" in "bet". It is similar to the sound of the English "o" in "bone" but with more of an "eh" sound.

Ü

This character is pronounced like the "u" in "put". It is similar to the sound of the English "i" in "bit" but with more of an "oo" sound.

ß

This character is pronounced like the "ss" in "sip". It is similar to the sound of the English "s" in "sin" but with more of a "sh" sound.

Ch

This character is pronounced like the "ch" in "chat". It is similar to the sound of the English "k" in "kit" but with more of an "h" sound.

J

This character is pronounced like the "y" in "yes". It is similar to the sound of the English "y" in "yacht" but with more of an "ah" sound.

R

This character is pronounced like the "r" in "run". It is similar to the sound of the English "r" in "red" but with more of a "rr" sound.

W

This character is pronounced like the "v" in "vat". It is similar to the sound of the English "w" in "wet" but with more of an "oo" sound.

Z

This character is pronounced like the "ts" in "hats". It is similar to the sound of the English "z" in "zip" but with more of a "sh" sound.

Special Cases

There are a few special cases to be aware of when pronouncing German special characters:*

The character "ä" is pronounced like the "a" in "bat" when it is followed by a consonant. However, it is pronounced like the "e" in "bet" when it is followed by a vowel.*

The character "ö" is pronounced like the "e" in "bet" when it is followed by a consonant. However, it is pronounced like the "o" in "bone" when it is followed by a vowel.*

The character "ü" is pronounced like the "u" in "put" when it is followed by a consonant. However, it is pronounced like the "i" in "bit" when it is followed by a vowel.

2025-01-16

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