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vowels
German
vowels
have
both
long
and
short
variants,
and
would-be
long
vowels
are
often
shortened
when
they
precede
multiple
consonants
(e.g.
Schmidt
=
shmit,
not
shmeet).
Likewise,
would-be
short
vowels
are
lengthened
by
doubling
of
the
vowel
(e.g.
Staat
=
shtaht,
Boot
=
boht,
See
=
zay),
or
by
the
letter
"h"
placed
after
the
vowel
(e.g.
Mahler
=
mah-
ler,
ohne
=
oh-nuh).
Also
take
note
of
the
German
final
e:
it's
not
silent,
but
it
is
very
short.
German
has
eight
vowels:
a,
e,
i,
o,
u,
,
,
.
They
can
be
short
or
long.
Vowel
length
makes
a
difference
in
word
meaning.
also
German
has
three
diphthongs:
ai,
oi,
au.
long
Long
like
ee
in
feet.
short
Like
the
vowel
in
English
"mitt",
but
very
short
and
clipped.
O
long
Like
the
vowel
in
English
"so",
but
with
lips
extremely
rounded
and
no
offglide
into
an
"ooh"-sound.
short
Short
like
o
in
hot,
but
even
shorter.
U
long
Long
like
oo
in
boot,
said
with
pursed
lips.
short
Like
the
vowel
in
English
"bush",
but
very
short
and
clipped.
long
The
long
""
sound
-
which
can
be
written
""
or
"h",
but
never
""
-
is
pronounced
like
the
"a"
sound
in
the
English
"day"
or
"played",
but
the
German
sound
is
a
longer
one
which
does
not
slide
away
into
"ee"
as
the
English
sounds
tends.
short
The
short
""
sound
-
which
can
only
be
written
""
-
sounds
like
the
"e"
in
English
"get"
or
"set".
long
Some
what
like
the
vowel
in
English
"burn".
To
produce
it,
say
the
German
long
e,
then
round
the
lips
as
for
the
long
o.
Do
not
allow
your
tongue
to
move
toward
the
back
of
your
mouth
as
you
round
your
lips.
short
A
shorter
version
of
German
long
.
To
produce
it,
say
the
German
short
e,
then
round
the
lips
as
for
the
short
o.
Do
not
allow
your
tongue
to
move
toward
the
back
of
your
mouth
as
you
round
your
lips.
long
The
German
long
""
and
short
""
are
two
of
the
hardest
sounds
for
the
English
HOW
TO
PRONOUNCE
GERMAN
CONSONANTS
b
-
like
'b'
in
"bed"
c
-
like
'ts'
in
"bits"
before
'i'
and
'e';
like
'k'
in
"kid"
else
d
-
like
'd'
in
"dog"
f
-
like
'ph'
in
"phone"
g
-
like
'g'
in
"go"
(never
as
in
"giraffe")
h
-
like
'h'
in
"help"
j
-
like
'y'
in
"yoga"
k
-
like
'c'
in
"cat"
l
-
like
'l'
in
"love"
m
-
like
'm'
in
"mother"
HOW
TO
PRONOUNCE
GERMAN
DIPHTHONGS
(gliding
vowels)
au
-
like
'ow'
in
"how"
ae
-
transcription
for
''
if
not
available
on
a
keyboard
or
in
URLs
ah
-
like
'a'
in
"bar",
longer
than
'a'
u
-
like
'oy'
in
"boy"