You look up a German word to check how it sounds, and Wiktionary gives you something like /ˈyːbɐ/. That line of symbols is the International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA, and it answers the questions German spelling leaves open. The spelling is fairly regular, but it doesn't consistently show whether a vowel is long, it uses one ch for two different sounds, and its r often comes out as a vowel.
This guide gives you the German IPA chart, the twelve symbols worth learning first, and the German sounds the symbols make easy to see: long and short vowels, ü and ö, the two ch sounds, the r, final devoicing, the glottal stop and stress. The symbols, example words and transcriptions come from Wikipedia's German pronunciation key and Wiktionary, so you can check every one.
What is German IPA?
German IPA is the International Phonetic Alphabet used to write German. The alphabet belongs to the International Phonetic Association, founded in Paris in 1886, and it is built on the principle of one sound, one symbol, in every language. The official IPA chart shows all of them. German needs only part of it.
German transcriptions come in two kinds of brackets. Slashes show the sounds that tell words apart, and square brackets show how a word is actually said. Wiktionary often gives both: Bier (beer) is /biːr/ and [biːɐ̯], because an r after a long vowel turns into a vowel. Wikipedia's German pronunciation key writes its examples in square brackets, such as Bahnhofstraße (station street) [ˈbaːnhoːfˌʃtʁaːsə]. Read both the same way, and follow the brackets when you want to know what to say.
Do you need to learn the whole IPA chart?
No. The full alphabet has 107 letters for consonants and vowels, plus marks for length, stress and more. Many German consonants are written with ordinary letters that sound about as they do in English, so a dozen symbols carry most of the work. Learn those first and look up the rest when a transcription shows you one.
One of our rules at Copycat Cafe is “Your ears come before your brain.” A symbol tells you which sound to aim for. Your ears tell you whether you hit it, so hear the word before you study its transcription.
How do you read German IPA?
Read it one symbol at a time, from left to right. Each symbol is one sound, and letters German writes but doesn't say, like the h in Kuh (cow), simply aren't there. The IPA also exposes the letters that don't mean what an English reader expects. German w is /v/, as in was /vas/ (what). German z is /ts/, as in Zeit (time). At the start of a word or syllable, st and sp are said /ʃt/ and /ʃp/, as in Stadt /ʃtat/, according to Wikipedia's article on German spelling.
A handful of small marks do the rest:
- Length ː looks like a colon and makes the vowel before it long: Staat /ʃtaːt/.
- Stress ˈ and ˌ sit before the syllable with the main and the secondary stress: Bahnhofstraße [ˈbaːnhoːfˌʃtʁaːsə].
- The arch ◌̯ under a vowel means it glides off the vowel before it instead of forming its own syllable, as in Bier [biːɐ̯].
- The line ◌̩ under a consonant means it forms a syllable on its own, as in reden (to talk) [ˈʁeːdn̩].
- The dot . marks a syllable break: verstehen (to understand) [fɐˈʃteː.ən].
Expect small differences between references. Wikipedia's key writes the diphthong of ein as /aɪ/ and the z of Zeit as /ts/. Wiktionary writes the same word [t͡saɪ̯t], with a tie bar joining t and s into one sound and the arch under the second half of the diphthong. The sounds are the same.
Which German IPA symbols should you learn first?
Start with the vowels written ü and ö, the two ch sounds, the three ways German says or swallows its r, the small vowel /ə/ and the two consonants German spells differently from English. Say each example aloud after you read it. Symbols, examples and English comparisons follow Wikipedia's German key, and the transcriptions come from Wiktionary.
| Symbol | Example | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|
| /yː/ | über /ˈyːbɐ/ — over | A long ee with rounded lips, somewhat like few |
| /ʏ/ | fünf /fʏnf/ — five | The short ü, somewhat like cute |
| /øː/ | schön /ʃøːn/ — beautiful | A long ö, somewhat like heard with rounded lips |
| /œ/ | Köln /kœln/ — Cologne | The short ö, somewhat like hurt |
| /ç/ | ich /ɪç/ — I | Like the h in hue: the ich-Laut |
| /x/ | nach /naːx/ — after, to | Like the ch in Scottish loch: the ach-Laut |
| /ʁ/ | reden /ˈʁeːdən/ — to talk | Like the r in French rouge; a rolled [r] in Austria and Switzerland |
| /ɐ/ | immer /ˈɪmɐ/ — always | The -er ending, like the u in frustration |
| [ɐ̯] | Bier [biːɐ̯] — beer | An r after a vowel, said like the end of sofa |
| /ə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ — name | Like the a in balance; closer to bet in Austria and Switzerland |
| /ts/ | Zeit [t͡saɪ̯t] — time | Like cats; this is German z |
| /v/ | was /vas/ — what | Like vanish; this is German w |
Once these twelve feel familiar, most German transcriptions will read like a word you nearly know already.
What do the other German IPA symbols sound like?
The rest of the German chart is either close to English or a long or short partner of a sound you already have. Together with the first table, the one below covers every sound in Wikipedia's German key. The English comparisons are approximations. Most symbols in the key link to a page about that sound with a recording, so play it whenever a symbol is new to you.
| Symbol | Example | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|
| /a/ | alles, Kalender | Like pasta |
| /aː/ | aber, sah, Staat | Like father |
| /ɛ/ | Ende, hätte | Like bet |
| /ɛː/ | spät, wählen | Like hair in British English; often /eː/ in northern Germany |
| /eː/ | eben, gehen, See | Like mate in Scottish English |
| /ɪ/ | ist | Like sit |
| /iː/ | Liebe, Berlin, ihm | Like seed |
| /oː/ | oder, hohe, Boot | Like story |
| /ɔ/ | kommen | Like off |
| /ʊ/ | und | Like pull |
| /uː/ | Hut, Kuh | Like tool |
| /aɪ/ | ein, Kaiser | Like high |
| /aʊ/ | auf | Like vow |
| /ɔʏ/ | Euro, Häuser | Like choice |
| /e i o ø u y/ | Element, Italien, originell, Ökonomie, Universität, Psychologie | Short forms of /eː iː oː øː uː yː/, mostly before the stressed syllable of a loanword |
| /i̯ o̯ u̯ y̑/ | Studio, Pointe, Linguist, Etui | Glides, like the y of yard, the u of quite and the w of would; mostly in loanwords |
| /p b t d k ɡ f h l m n/ | Person, bei, Tag, dann, kann, gut, für, hat, Leben, Mann, Name | About as in English |
| /j/ | Jahr | Like yard |
| /s/ | lassen, groß, Fest | Like fast |
| /z/ | Sie, diese | Like zebra; Austria says /s/ |
| /ʃ/ | schon, Stadt, spitz | Like shall |
| /ŋ/ | lang | Like long |
| /pf/ | Pfeffer | Like the middle of cupful |
| /tʃ/ | Matsch | Like match |
| /l̩ m̩ n̩/ | Mantel, großem, beiden | An l, m or n that forms its own syllable, as in bottle, rhythm, sudden |
| /ʔ/ | beamtet [bəˈʔamtət] | The catch in uh-oh |
| /ð θ/ | Motherboard, Thatcherismus | Like this and think, in English loanwords |
| /dʒ ʒ/ | Dschungel, Genie | Like jungle and pleasure |
| /ʎ ɲ/ | Melilla, Gnocchi | Like million and canyon, in Spanish and Italian loanwords |
| /ɹ w/ | Spray, Web | Like English rice and web |
| /ɛɪ ɔʊ ɔː/ | Mail, Code, stalken | Like face, goal and dog, in English loanwords |
| /œːɐ̯/ | surfen, Flirt | Roughly like bird in British English |
| /ãː ɛ̃ː õː œ̃ː/ | Restaurant, Pointe, Garçon, Parfum | French nasal vowels in words from French; short /ã ɛ̃ õ œ̃/ when unstressed, as in engagieren |
You won't need the loanword rows on day one. If the nasal vowels are new to you, our French IPA guide covers them in their home language.
German sounds the IPA makes obvious
Long and short vowels
In German, vowel length changes the word. Staat /ʃtaːt/ is a state and Stadt /ʃtat/ is a city; Hüte /ˈhyːtə/ are hats and Hütte /ˈhʏtə/ is a hut. Spelling only hints at the difference, and it doesn't mark length consistently. A doubled vowel, ie, a silent h or ß usually means long, and a doubled consonant usually means short, as in kam [kaːm] (came) and Kamm /kam/ (comb). The IPA settles it with ː.
Look at the symbol as well as the mark. Most short vowels are also looser versions of the long ones, so they get their own letters: Bett /bɛt/ (bed) against Beet /beːt/ (flower bed).
Ü and ö are rounded vowels
/y/ is the ee of meet said with rounded lips, and /ø/ is a rounded /e/. Keep your tongue where it is for ee or ay, then push your lips forward as if for oo. Each comes long and short: über /ˈyːbɐ/ and fünf /fʏnf/, schön /ʃøːn/ and Köln /kœln/. If über comes out as oober, your tongue has slid back with your lips.
The ich-Laut and the ach-Laut
German ch is two sounds, and the vowel before it decides which. After a, o, u and au you get the ach-Laut /x/, made at the back of the mouth, as in ach /ax/, Buch /buːx/ (book). After the front vowels and after consonants you get the ich-Laut /ç/, made further forward, under the hard palate, as in ich /ɪç/, mich /mɪç/, durch /dʊʁç/ (through). After /a/ the back sound can move even further back, which Wiktionary writes [χ] in Bach [baχ] (brook).
Region matters at the edges. In the standard pronunciation of Germany, the ending -ig takes the ich-Laut, so Leipzig is /ˈlaɪpt͡sɪç/, while southern speakers say /ˈlaɪpt͡sɪk/. China starts with /ç/ in the standard, [k] in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and [ʃ] in northern and western Germany.
The R, and the r that becomes [ɐ]
Most of Germany says r at the back of the throat, the /ʁ/ that Wikipedia's key compares to French rouge. A rolled [r] is now heard mainly in Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria. In most regions, an r after a vowel at the end of a syllable stops being a consonant. It becomes the glide [ɐ̯], as in Bier [biːɐ̯] and hier [hiːɐ̯] (here), and the ending -er becomes the vowel [ɐ], as in immer /ˈɪmɐ/. Most of Switzerland keeps the consonant, and in southern Germany [ɐ] can sound like /ə/.
This is why the English r sounds so foreign in Bier. Aim for the end of sofa and you will be much closer.
Final devoicing: b, d and g at the end
In German Standard German, /b/, /d/ and /ɡ/ turn into /p/, /t/ and /k/ at the end of a syllable. Tag (day) is /taːk/, but its plural Tage is /ˈtaːɡə/. Kleid (dress) ends in /t/, and ab (off, from) is /ap/. Spelling keeps the g, d or b; the IPA shows what you say. Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland don't do this, and Wikipedia's key lists Tag with /ɡ/ for Austria and Switzerland.
The glottal stop
/ʔ/ is the little catch in uh-oh. In careful German it appears before a word part that starts with a vowel, which keeps the parts apart: Spiegelei (fried egg, from Spiegel and Ei) is /ˈʃpiːɡəlˌʔaɪ̯/, and Wikipedia's key gives beamtet [bəˈʔamtət]. Wikipedia's key leaves it out at the start of a phrase, where English speakers are just as likely to use it. It is much rarer in Austria and Switzerland and is often dropped in casual speech, so treat it as a careful-speech habit.
Stress
Native German words usually stress the first syllable of the stem, and the stress mark comes before that syllable: Bahnhofstraße [ˈbaːnhoːfˌʃtʁaːsə]. Words that start with be-, ge-, er- or ver- are stressed after the prefix, so verstehen is [fɐˈʃteː.ən]. Loanwords and names often stress a later syllable, as in Hotel /hoˈtɛl/ and Berlin [bɛʁˈliːn]. When a word you say sounds off, check where the ˈ sits.
How to use German IPA without memorizing it
- Look it up when a word surprises you. Search the word on Wiktionary and read the IPA under Pronunciation. If you see both a slash and a bracket version, the bracket version is closer to what people say.
- Listen before you read. Hear the word or line at normal speed, then slowly, and rebuild it from what you heard. Use the transcription to name the sound you keep missing, such as /ç/ instead of /ʃ/ in ich.
- Copy it aloud, one sound at a time. Say the whole line, compare it with the original, and fix one sound per attempt.
- Use it in a conversation. A line you can say on cue in a reply is worth more than a symbol you can name.
If you want real German lines to copy by ear, Copycat Cafe (we make it) is built around that. You hear an everyday German conversation at normal or slow speed and rebuild each line, say it aloud with a 0–100 pronunciation score on every word, then use it with Copy, your AI conversation partner. Personal costs $174/year or $29/month in the US, with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first payment.
Let your ears lead
Back to that /ˈyːbɐ/ from the start. You can now read it as a long rounded ee, a b and an -er that is really a vowel: über. That is the right job for German IPA. Check a word when the spelling leaves you guessing, then listen, copy the line out loud and use it.
Learning Spanish or Italian too? We have the same guide for Spanish IPA and Italian IPA.