In the German alphabet, there are 21 consonants and 25 consonant sounds (phonemes). This means that one consonant can be associated with more than one sound, depending on its placement in a word or syllable (e.g. d with /d/ and /t/). Or, two or more consonants can form a new sound (e.g. sch for sh). In comparison, there are 44 phonemes in the English language.
A consonant is a sound that is produced by stopping vocalization. In other words, a consonant is pronounced using one or more interrupted breaths of air and closing the mouth or throat. All other letters that are not consonants are called vowels; they are produced uninterruptedly without closing the mouth or throat. Practice will pay off when pronouncing German vowels and consonants.
Hard and Soft Consonants
Many consonants have a short and a soft version, depending on where in a word they appear. As a rule of thumb, the soft consonants b, d, g at the end of a word are pronounced hard, as p, t, k, respectively. Therefore, Hand (hand) is pronounced like hunt; lieb (dear) is pronounced like leap. Would b, d and g in the following words be soft or hard? Wald, Talg, Bude, herb, sieben (solution below).
Preceding vowels also determine how a consonant is pronounced. After a, o and u, ch is pronounced hard like ch in the Scottish loch; after e and i it is soft: echt, ich. S after a vowel and at the beginning of a word is soft: Suppe (soup) and leise (quiet) as in lazy. Ss or ß indicates a sharp (hissing) s-sound, often at the end of a word: Bus (bus) like s in sun.
German Consonant Chart
Rather than listing all consonants of the German alphabet, the consonants below are grouped by sound to indicate same sounds with different spelling. The consonants k, p, t, w and x are therefore clubbed with c (hard), b (hard), d (hard), v (soft) and chs (hard), respectively. Notice that y, a consonant with vowel function, is discussed together with German vowel pronunciation.
b (soft): bitte as in blue – at the beginning of a word
b, p (hard): lieb as in leap – b is hard at the end of the word or syllable; p always
c, k (hard): Café, Kaffee as in coffee – c hardly stands on its own, but if, is pronounced hard like k
ch (hard): acht as in loch – after a, o, u
ch, -ig (soft): echt, ich, lustig similar to h-sound in huge – ch is soft after e, i; -ig as a suffix
chs, x (hard): sechs, Hexe as in six – chs is never at the beginning of a word and x only in foreign words
d (soft): da as in dull – at the beginning of a word
d, dt, t (hard): Stadt, Hand as in hunt – d is hard at the end of a word or syllable; dt and t are always hard
f, v (hard): Fass, vier as in fear – f always hard, v after e, i and ie
g (soft): grau as in grey – at the beginning of a word
g, k (hard):Talg, Falke as in walk – k always hard, g at the end of a word
h: Hut as in hat – at the beginning of a word, same pronunciation as in English
h (silent): sah, sehen – not pronounced at the end of a syllable, just makes the preceding vowel long
j: ja as in yet
l: Leute as in loud
m: mein as in my
n: nein as in no
q: Qual – always in conjunction with u and pronounced kv
r: rollen – the famous German r is always rolled at the back of the mouth, not in front
s, ss, ß, st, sp (sharp): Bus, lassen, süß , Hast, Wespe as in sun – s, st, sp sharp at the end of a word or syllable; ss and ß always sharp
s (soft): Sonne as in lazy – single s always soft at the beginning and in the middle of a word
sch, st, sp: schön, stand, Sprung as in ship – sch is always sh; st and sp are shp andsht at the beginning of a syllable
tsch: deutsch as in rich – like ch in English
v, w (soft): Vase, Wasser as in vase – w always soft, v in foreign words
z: zehn as in nuts – like ts in English
Pronouncing German consonants can be tough. Especially the different /s/ sounds can be confusing. Look at the following words and determine if the s in them is soft or hard: Walnuss, Maus, Hase, Füße, rasen, Susanne (solution below). The history and usage of the letter ß is interesting as it is unique to the German alphabet. Want to practice pronouncing some words and sentences now? Try ordering beer in German.
(Solution to Question 1 above: hard, hard, soft, hard, soft)
(Solution to Question 2 above: hard, hard, soft, hard, soft, both soft)
