Tag Archives: pronunciation
Should I Roll My Rs In German? Posted by Constanze on Feb 21, 2018
Guten Tag! Today’s post is all about a question many German language learners encounter at one point or another, and that is: Should I roll my Rs when I speak German? And if I am supposed to, how do I physically do it? The rolled R is a stand-out feature of the German language for…
10 German Tongue Twisters Posted by Constanze on Sep 15, 2017
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at tongue twisters. In German, tongue twisters are called Zungenbrecher (which literally means ‘tongue breakers’!). Not only will I write the tongue twisters and their translations down for you, but I’ve recorded each one, too, so you can hear exactly how they are meant to be pronounced. Hopefully…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Weg” Posted by Sten on May 4, 2017
Wegisweg. That is the Dutch word for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. Weg means “lane”, but also “away”. They sound exactly identical, though. The same word, weg, means the same both things in German. But they are pronounced differently. Why? This is what weg sounds like: This is what der Weg sounds like: Ok, I already hear you say: But Sten, there is a…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Cousin” Posted by Sten on Mar 23, 2017
Hi everybody! Welcome to another post that looks at the curiosity of a certain word. Today, we will have a look at the German word cousin. Check out the video below that explains the post, if you prefer watching instead of reading! French? Cousin looks very un-German. Because it is. It was adapted to German…
How To Remember What German Letters Sound Like Posted by Sten on Feb 2, 2017
Recently, a reader of the blogs commented that it is difficult to remember what German letters sound like. Really, it is, just like most about learning a language, all about Übung (practice). Übung. How do you say that? Sounds like a good word to start with! How to pronounce Übung Ok. That is Übung. I am sure, when you listen…
How To Use The Umlaut RIGHT Posted by Sten on Nov 30, 2016
The Umlaut is used a lot in German. The a, o, and u become ä, ö, and ü. They sound different, and give words a different meaning. When do you use it though? And how? How do you pronounce them? Any exceptions? You read it all here! Why Umlaut? First of all to avoid confusion: In German, Umlaut has two meanings: it refers to the letters ä, ö…
Exploring the German letter ß Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 12, 2010
The German language has a letter that does not appear in its alphabet: the letter ß. Because of its shape the letter ß can be easily mistaken for a B. The ß, pronounced Eszett, is a ligature of the initial- and inner-s and the final-s of the German type font, which was used from the…