German letters and their names

In German-Russian dictionaries, as well as in German language 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 the 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, similar to 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 exactly 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 phonetic transcription. In general, this is a separate big topic, and on initial stage learning a language, it can be difficult to understand - 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 written, but you do not need to memorize all this. This information in one form or another will be constantly found in dictionaries and training materials, you will gradually 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 attack. Try to pronounce with effort and annoyance Russian word"Oh!" 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. To be able to tell the German alphabet in any of two directions: to 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.

The study of any language begins with the basics, namely with its alphabet. Some people have known him since school, but even for those who have never taught him, but have some knowledge of English, it will be easy to figure it out. The fact is that these two languages ​​are similar in many ways, moreover, it contains the same characters as English, but their pronunciation is different. Therefore, phonetics will not seem too complicated.

All characters in are based on the Latin alphabet. In total it has 26 letters. It is worth noting that the German alphabet with pronunciation is easier than English. At first, there may be difficulties in learning grammar, but this will not be a big problem.

It is comfortable for Russian-speaking citizens to study in Russian, the table of which is presented below.

Why you should learn German

Relationship with tourism

As you know, in countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, people mostly speak German. However, knowing the German alphabet with Russian pronunciation, you can also easily communicate with people from Liechtenstein, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, northern Italy, eastern Belgium and some other countries.

German important for tourism

New useful acquaintances

In a foreign country, you should be more confident. Knowledge of the language will greatly facilitate communication with local residents. Knowing the language for beginners with pronunciation, you can easily meet new people, learn their character and interests.

Education and self-development

Many people strive to become more educated, to expand the range of their knowledge and skills, and what can be better study one or more foreign languages? It is worth noting that not only the quantity is taken into account, but also the level of mastering them. The German alphabet with pronunciation will help with this problem as well.

Work abroad

It's no secret that even the minimum wage in Europe can exceed Russian standards. Knowing at least one foreign language you can choose more than one prestigious profession, or try to open your own. Russian-speaking citizens will be helped in this by the German alphabet with Russian pronunciation.

Educational literature

Approximately 18% of the total mass of books in the world are printed in German. Of these, only an insignificant part has been translated into Russian. Reading works in their original form allows a person to enrich himself with invaluable knowledge, learn more about the culture of a given country, and better understand the specifics of its language. Appreciate the fullness works of art help the German alphabet with pronunciation.

Consonants. Pronunciation

For beginners with pronunciation, it is advisable to remember such an important nuance that all German consonants are hard. Voiced pronunciation is slightly muffled. The final consonant of the word is completely stunned.

Phonetics offers illustrative examples for analysis. The word dieb is a thief. As can be seen from the transcription, the letter "d" is semi-voiced, and "b", as it stands at the very end, is significantly muffled.

1. The letter "h" in the root or the first in the word is read as "x" with a slight aspiration. For example, herz, which translates as heart. Inside and at the end, she lengthens the vowel before her: fahren - to go; froh - cheerful or joyful.
2. The letter "j" is similar to the Russian "y". It is worth remembering the phrases "ja" and "ju", sounding like "I" and "yu". For example, jahr, which translates as a year, or juni - June.
3. The letter "l" is always slightly softened: blume is a flower.
4. The letter "s" preceding the vowel is converted to the sound "z": sonne - the sun, the verb lesen - to read.
5. The letter "ß" is pronounced like "s". For example, groß is big.
6. The consonants k, p, t should be pronounced with a slight aspiration: park - park, torte - cake, ko†fer - suitcase.
7. It is important to note that the letter "v" is not read as "v", but as "f": vater - father. However, in borrowed words it can be pronounced as "in": vase - vase.
8. The letter “w” must be pronounced by analogy with the Russian “v”: wort is a word.
9. A small rule should be remembered: double consonants sound like single ones, shortening the vowel in front of them: rennen - rush, sommer - summer, mutter - mother.

Letter "r". Pronunciation features

The German alphabet with pronunciation will help you master the alternative pronunciation of "r".

• If she starts a word, then the sound will be a little burry and stretched like a Russian sound [x], but in this case the voice will play a direct role.
• Another pronunciation is possible if the letter is at the beginning of the word. The sound will become more resonant and front-lingual [r].
• Toward the middle of the word [r] becomes much quieter, but still distinguishable.
• It is worth noting that in the tail of the word the letter loses its original sound and is transformed into a vocalized [α], which is closer to a vowel.

The German alphabet with Russian pronunciation provides an opportunity to practice comparative analysis. For example, in the word der rabe, which means raven, the sound [r] is predominantly loud and rolling. In the verb to teach - lehren, this sound will be more muffled, but will not lose its color. As for the word spectator - der zuschauer, you can see how [r] turns into a vocalized [α] by its example.

Vowel pronunciation

To convey the Russian letters i, ё and yu, special letter combinations ja, jo, ju are used in German. They are able to most accurately convey the sound of analogues of letters. For example, consider a couple of Russian names: Yura - Jura and Yasha - Jascha.

As for double vowels, they are read with one long sound. For example, an eel is der Aal [а:l]. On the transcription, you can see that the sound [a] is lingering. The rest of the vowels are read according to the same principle: tee - tea; raar - pair; boot - boat.

If the vowel is located at the beginning or at the root of the word, the sound will turn out to be much sharper and harder, giving the German speech a rougher character, jerky phrases in comparison with the usual Russian speech. You can trace this intonation in the word der Alter [altә].

Letter combinations in vowels and consonants

The alphabet in German with pronunciation has its drawbacks. Not every sound is optimally described by a letter. Sometimes, to achieve the desired result, you have to resort to combining certain characters of the alphabet:

1. The combination of the letters "ie" is converted into a drawl "and". For example: bier -. And if you swap these characters in places - "ei", then you get a short sound "ai": heimat - homeland.
2. In combination with "u", the letter "e" gives the sound "oh": heute - today. The same sound can be obtained by combining the letter "ä" with "u": bäume - trees. The features of this symbol will be discussed further.
3. The letter combination "sp" at the root or the beginning of the word should be pronounced as "shp": sport, which means sport in translation.
4. There is another sound similar to this - "piece". It is formed by combining the letters "s" and "t" by analogy at the beginning or root. Example word: stern - star.
5. The pure sound "sh" is formed using three letters at once: s, c, h, going in a row one after another. As an example: schule - school, schwester - sister.
6. The letter combination "ck" is pronounced like a short "k": backen - oven. This sound also has varieties: "ks" and "kv". The first of them is formed by three letters: c, h, s. For example: sechs - six. And the sound "kv" can be obtained by combining two elements "q" with "u": quark - cottage cheese.
7. It is impossible not to note such sounds as "x" and "h". They are an integral part of the German language. As a rule, by combining "c" and "h" you can get a deaf "x": buch - book, machen - to do. And to get a short "h" you will need 4 letters at once: t, s, c, h. This combination is used in one very useful word: deutsch - German.

Unusual symbols and their pronunciation

The German alphabet with Russian pronunciation, the table of which is shown below, has specific letters that have a cap in the form of two dots. These symbols also have their own pronunciation. For example, the letter “ä” sounds more like the Russian sound “e”: mädchen is a girl.

The next letter is ö. It is very reminiscent of "yo" from the Russian alphabet and is read exactly the same way as it is. Example word: schön - beautiful.

And the last character is “ü” by analogy with “yu”: müll is garbage.

Emphasis features

The stress in German usually falls on the first syllable. In words with an unstressed prefix, the stress moves to the next syllable. For example, consider the suffix –tion. It will always be stressed and pronounced as , where "i" is a short slip sound, and the stress fell on "o".

As for the letter combinations "ts", they form the sound "ts". For example, we can take the foreign word kommunikation, which means connection or communication.

Words where the stress falls on the first syllable: ausländer - a foreigner or aufmachen - to open. An exception to the rule is a common borrowing from foreigners of the word computer and others.

It is worth noting the words with the presence of an unstressed prefix, these include: be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, miss-. The stress in words with such prefixes will be shifted to the next syllable. For example: verkaufen - to sell, bekommen - to receive.

Simple words to practice pronunciation

German alphabet with Russian pronunciation, practice table simple words which is presented below, allows you to practice reading them, at the same time replenishing your vocabulary.

• strand - beach;
• reise - travel;
• leute - people;
• zeit - time;
• frühling - spring;
• herbst - autumn;
• fleisch - meat;
• fisch - fish;
• wein - wine;
• kaffee - coffee;
• zwieback - cracker;
• radieschen - radish;
• richtig - correct;
• schule - school;
• volk ​​- people.

German alphabet with Russian pronunciation: table, phonetics updated: June 3, 2019 by: Amazing World!

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 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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Great news! Our website has the option pronunciationhave any German text. For this it's simple highlight German text or word anywhere on our site and click on the bottom right button "Play"(white triangle in a black circle). After that, you will hear the text spoken in German. We advise you to use this function in the Phrasebook section of our website.

Features of reading consonants:

1) The letter h at the beginning of a word or root is read as an aspirated x: Herz (heart). In the middle and end of words, it is not readable, but serves to lengthen the previous vowel: fahren (to go), froh (cheerful, joyful).

2) The letter j is pronounced like й, and in combinations ja and ju, the Russian ear hears I and yu: Jahr (year), Juni (June).

3) The letter I always softens when reading: Blume (flower).

4) Sound r Most Germans pronounce burr: Regen (rain).

5) The letter s before or between vowels is read as z: Sonne (sun), lesen (read).

6) The letter ß is read as with: groß (big).

7) Consonants k,p, t are pronounced with some aspiration: Park (park), Torte (cake), Ko†fer (suitcase).

8) The letter v is pronounced like f: Vater (father). Only in rare cases (most often in borrowed words) is it pronounced as in: Vase (vase).

9) The letter w is read as a Russian sound in: Wort (word).

10) Double consonants are read as single ones, but at the same time they shorten the leading vowel: Sommer (summer), Mutter (mother).

In German, not every consonant has a corresponding letter. In some cases, they resort to letter combinations:

1) The letter combination sp at the beginning of words and roots is read as sp: Sport (sport).

2) The letter combination st at the beginning of words and roots is read as pcs: Stern (star).

3) The letter combination ck is read as to: backen (furnace).

4) The letter combination chs is read as ks: sechs (six).

5) The letter combination ch reads like x: Buch (book), machen (to do).

6) The letter combination sch reads like sh: Schule (school), Schwester (sister).

7) The letter combination tsch is read as h: deutsch (German).

8) The letter combination qu is read as kv: Quark (cottage cheese).

The German alphabet has specific letters with two dots on top (Umlaut):

1) The letter ä is closest to the Russian e: Mädchen (girl).

2) The letter ö is read approximately like ё: schön (beautiful).

3) The letter ü is read almost like yu: Müll (garbage).

Vowel letter combinations:

1) The letter combination ie is read as a long and: Bier (beer).

2) The letter combination ei is read as ah: Heimat (Motherland).

3) The letter combination eu reads like oh: heute (today).\

4) The letter combination äu reads like oh: Bäume (trees).

5) Doubling the vowel indicates the length of the sound: Tee (tea), Paar (couple), Boot (boat).

In some ways the German language is akin to Russian. In German, voiced consonants at the end of words are also muffled during pronunciation, despite possible misunderstandings. So, for example, by ear it is impossible to distinguish (Rad) a wheel from (Rat) a council.

Features of reading at the ends of words:

1) The ending -eg in some regions of Germany is rather slurred: Kinder (children).

2) At the end of words -ig is read as ih: wichtig (important).

Accent features:

1) The stress in German usually falls on the first syllable: Ausländer (foreigner), aufmachen (to open). The exception is words borrowed from other languages: Computer. There are a lot of such borrowings in German.

2) If the word has an unstressed prefix (be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, miss-), then the stress shifts to the next syllable: verkaufen (sell), bekommen (receive).

3) The suffix -tion (read as zion) always pulls the stress on itself: Kommunikation (communication, connection).

Exercise 1

Practice pronunciation of the following words, and at the same time learn their meanings:

Strand (beach), Reise (travel), Leute (people), Zeit (time), Frühling (spring), Herbst (autumn), Fleisch (meat), Fisch (fish), Wein (wine), Kaffee (coffee), Zwieback (cracker), Radieschen (radish), richtig (correct), Schule (school), Volk (people)

Julia Groshe, "German for Beginners"

Each language has its own special sound structure, inherent only to it, with which it is necessary to get acquainted, since a person who does not speak correct pronunciation, will not be able to correctly perceive foreign speech by ear and will not be able to be understood correctly. The German language, 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	about fan	open	-	Ofen	about: fan	stove

Vowel pronounced for a long time:

a. in open syllable, i.e., 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

in. 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;

in. 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 in e: linen , Manner m uh on the .

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 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 [i]. 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 about(long) in the word "will" or about(short) in the word "clown": Oper about :pa ohne about :ne , Boot bo:t, Rolle R about 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 in 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 oh in the word "your": neu Noah, Hauser X oh per .

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 in, 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 in 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 in 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 about: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 in and htikh Milch milch .

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

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

sch reads like Russian w: Schuh shu:, waschen in a: sheng .

st PCS: Stella PCS 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 the 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	oh	Hauser	X about 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	in 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	oh	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 about maine
n, nn	n	Name	n a: me
		Dann	Dan
ng	n(g)	Ding	dyn(g)
oh, oh, oh	about:	oben	about: ben
		Boot	bo:t
		Ohr	o:a
o	about	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	in 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	PCS	stellen	PCS 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)	in	visite	visas and: te
		November	new uh mba
w	in	Wagen	in 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