{"id":93425,"date":"2023-06-26T10:45:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T14:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-vowels\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T00:16:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T05:16:52","slug":"german-vowels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-vowels\/","title":{"rendered":"German Vowels and How to Pronounce Them [with Audio]"},"content":{"rendered":"

German vowels are one of the basic building blocks of the language. And while some will look familiar, there’s a feature in the German alphabet that doesn’t appear in English\u2014umlauts!<\/p>\n

Knowing your vowels won’t only help improve your speaking<\/a> and pronunciation. Having all this vowel knowledge is really great for your writing<\/a> and reading<\/a> skills, too.<\/p>\n

In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about German vowels, including umlauts and dipthongs, and the different sounds they make.
\n[fluentu-toc]
\n<\/p>\n

German Vowels<\/h2>\n

Like English, the German language contains the basic vowels a, e, i, o<\/em>\u00a0and u<\/em>, which can be long or short. It also has umlauts: \u00e4, \u00f6, \u00fc<\/em> and diphthongs (vowel pairs): ai, ei, eu, \u00e4u, ie, au.<\/em><\/p>\n

We’ll go over each in more detail in the following sections, with examples and audio to help you perfect your pronunciation.<\/p>\n

Basic German Vowels: a, e, i, o, u<\/em><\/h3>\n

The German alphabet<\/a> contains the same basic vowels as English: a, e, i, o<\/em>\u00a0and u. <\/em>As noted above, each of these vowels can be long or short. See the table below for their pronunciations and examples of each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Vowel<\/th>Sounds like<\/th>Examples<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
a<\/em> (short)<\/td>the \"u\" in \"cut\"<\/td> ka<\/strong>lt<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 cold
\n
\n die Ka<\/strong>tze<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 cat
\n
\n a<\/strong>lt<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 old<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
a<\/em> (long)<\/td>the \"a\" in \"harm<\/td> ha<\/strong>ben<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 to have
\n
\n Ha<\/strong>mburg<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 Hamburg
\n
\n der Va<\/strong>ter<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 father<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
e<\/em> (short)<\/td>the \"e\" in \"set\"<\/td> das Ge<\/strong>ld<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 money
\n
\n die E<\/strong>nte<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014\u00a0duck
\n
\n der Te<\/strong>rmin<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 appointment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
e<\/em> (long)<\/td>the \"a\" in \"say\"<\/td> re<\/strong>gen<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 to rain
\n
\n das Mee<\/strong>r<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 sea \/ ocean
\n
\n der Fe<\/strong>bruar<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 February<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
i<\/em> (short)<\/td>the \"i\" in \"bit\"
\n(but slightly more clipped)<\/td>		 mi<\/strong>t<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 with
\n
\n die Li<\/strong>mo<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 lemonade
\n
\n bi<\/strong>tte<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 please<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
i<\/em> (long)<\/td>the double \"e\" in \"feet\"
\n(but lift your tongue
\nslightly higher)<\/td>		 der I<\/strong>gel<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 hedgehog
\n
\n der Termi<\/strong>n<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 appointment
\n
\n i<\/strong>risch<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 Irish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
o<\/em> (short)<\/td>the \"o\" in \"hot\"<\/td> der Go<\/strong>tt<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 God
\n
\n Lo<\/strong>ndo<\/strong>n<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 London
\n
\n blo<\/strong>nd<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 blond<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
o<\/em> (long)<\/td>the \"uar\" in\u00a0\"quarter\" or
\nthe \"aw\" sound in \"call\"<\/td>		 o<\/strong>der<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 or
\n
\n ro<\/strong>t<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 red
\n
\n der Mo<\/strong>nat<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 month<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
u<\/em> (short)<\/td>the \"u\" in \"bush\"
\n(shape your lips as if
\nblowing out a candle)<\/td>		 ru<\/strong>nd<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 round
\n
\n Augu<\/strong>st<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 August
\n
\n der Fu<\/strong>nk<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 radio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
u<\/em> (long)<\/td>the double \"o\" in \"moon\"<\/td> anru<\/strong>fen<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 to call \/ to phone
\n
\n die Blu<\/strong>me<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 flowers
\n
\n der U<\/strong>hrenturm<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 clock tower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

German Umlauts: \u00e4, \u00f6, \u00fc<\/em><\/h3>\n

You have no doubt come across those curious-looking German vowels with the two dots hanging above them. They’re called umlauts and appear quite often throughout the German language.<\/p>\n

Like with the basic vowels, they can be long or short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Umlaut<\/th>Sounds like <\/th>Examples<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u00e4<\/em> (short)<\/td>the \"e\" in \"get\"<\/td> f\u00e4<\/strong>hrt<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 drives \/ goes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00e4<\/em> (long)<\/td>the \"a\" in \"day\"<\/td> der K\u00e4<\/strong>se<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 cheese<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00f6<\/em> (short)<\/td>a bit like the \"e\" in \"her\"<\/td> die \u00d6<\/strong>ffnung<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 opening<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00f6<\/em> (long)<\/td>similar to the \"u\" sound in \"burn\"<\/td> b\u00f6<\/strong>se<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 evil<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fc<\/em> (short)<\/td>a bit like the \"ew\" in \"pew\"<\/td> das St\u00fc<\/strong>ck<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 piece<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fc<\/em> (long)<\/td>same as above but for longer<\/td> die T\u00fc<\/strong>r<\/em> <\/a>\n \u2014 door<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Here are some pronunciation tips for the trickier German umlauts.<\/p>\n