Reading and pronunciation of German words is quite simple and does not cause any difficulties for a Russian speaker. The main thing here is to know a few firm rules for reading German, since in some combinations not all letters are read the same way as they are written. Let's present them in the form of a visual table.

Rules for reading individual German letters and their combinations

In conclusion, it is necessary to note several general points typical of the German language:

all German double consonants convey one sound when read, indicating the brevity of the preceding vowel sound, for example: re nn en - rush, rush;

all doubled German vowels convey one long sound, for example: der Aa l [a:l] - eel;

if the letter h stands after vowels, it is never read, but only indicates the length of the previous vowel; letter h usually heard only at the beginning of a syllable/word, for example: se h r - very (not pronounced), h ier - here (pronounced);

for transmitting Russian letters I, yo, yu the letter uses combinations of German letters ja, jo, ju, for example: Yura - Ju ra, Yasha - Ja scha;

In the German language there are several variants of reading the letter r: at the beginning of words - burr [r], which is pronounced like a long Russian sound [x], but only with the participation of the voice; at the beginning of words, a rolling forelingual [r] is also possible; in the middle of words [r] is noticeably quieter, but quite distinguishable, but at the end the letter r conveys a sound that is completely different from the previous two in its essence, since it is vocalized [α], that is, closer to a vowel sound. Example: der R abe - raven (loud [r]), leh r en - to teach, teach (muffled, but quite distinguishable [r]), der Zuschaue r- spectator (vocalized [α]);

the combination of two or more consonants indicates the shortness of the previous vowel sound, even in cases where these consonants indicate one sound, for example lö sch en - go out, fade, erase;

vowel sounds that appear at the beginning of a root or word are always pronounced much sharper, with a so-called hard attack, for example: der Alter [ `a ltәα], this gives German speech a more abrupt and clear character compared to smooth Russian speech;

all German consonants are hard, all voiced consonants are muffled and pronounced half-voiced, and at the end of words they are always completely devoiced, for example: der D ie b thief (the consonant d is semi-voiced, and the b at the end of the word is completely muted);

The stress in German words predominantly falls on the first syllable. The exceptions are:

1. words with unstressed prefixes ( be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, emp-, miss-). In this case, the stress falls on the second syllable;
2. loanwords (der Comp u ter); and the suffix -tion is always stressed and is read with the emphasis falling on O(die Kontribu tio n);
3. some other exceptions (war u m).

German is one of the European languages ​​spoken by 120 million people. If you know him, you can communicate freely with Germans, Austrians, Swiss, residents of Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. These are not all countries where many speak the language of Heine and Nietzsche. Learning any language begins with the alphabet, and German will be no exception.

How many letters are in the German alphabet?

The German alphabet consists of 26 letters. It is also based on Latin, but has its own characteristics. What makes the language special are symbols such as umlauts (vowel letters with dots, for example: Ä-ä, Ü-ü, Ö-ö) and the ligature ß.

The language of Kafka and Mann has a phonetic basis. If you study the sound system, it will be clear how the word is written, and its graphic representation will not cause obstacles in pronunciation.

How many vowels are there in the German alphabet?

There are 8 vowels in German, they form twice as many sounds.

Vowels in German can be long or short, and the duration of the vowels can change the meaning completely. Like most European languages, German also has diphthongs:

• Ei - (ai);
• Ai - (ai);
• Ie - long(s);
• Eu - (oh);
• Äu - (oh);
• Au - (ay).

Vowels in words create open and closed syllables. In an open syllable or a conditionally closed one, when the form of the word changes, the syllable can again become open.

How many consonants are there in German writing?

There are 21 consonant letters in the German alphabet.

Features of consonants and their combinations in German

• The letter C forms an affricate with h – ch (хь) or (с);
• chs gives sound (ks);
• before e and i in some cases one “c” is pronounced as (ts).

Other cases are no less interesting:

1. The juxtaposition of the letters Sch gives the sound (sh).
2. The affricate ph gives rise to the sound (f).
3. The letter combination ts is pronounced (ts). A special feature is the ligature ß (esset), which expresses the short sound of a sound similar to Russian (c). It traditionally stands in the middle of a word or at its end.
4. DT or TH produce the same sound (t).
5. The letter combinations tsch are similar to the sound (ch).
6. And Z or TZ give rise to sound (ts).

German alphabet and speech. 15 interesting facts

1. Until about the 12th century, runic writing was widespread in Germany.
2. Since the 15th century, the Schwabacher font, which belongs to the Gothic writing style, has spread. It was widespread until the beginning of the last century. However, in the century before last, it began to be supplanted first by Fraktura, and later by Antiqua. They were officially recognized only after the 1918 Revolution.
3. Since the 20s of the twentieth century, the Sütterlin font has become popular.
4. In 1903, a special telephone directory was published for reading German words by sounds. Initially, they tried to convey the letters in numbers, but this was difficult to remember.
5. In military affairs, when encrypting, the ligature ß and affricate ch were replaced by letter combinations.
6. During Hitler's reign, they tried to revive the imperial font, but the idea did not take root.
7. The stress in German usually falls on the first syllable. When a word has an unstressed prefix, the stress shifts to the second syllable.
8. All nouns in German writing, regardless of their place in a sentence, are written with a capital letter.
9. The word "girl" in German is neuter. And this is not an isolated case: similar inconsistencies often occur in language.
10. Some phraseological units in German are funny when translated directly. The phrase, which we would translate as “You have a pig!” means that the person was called lucky. With the words “This is not your beer!” Germans remind each other not to meddle in other people's affairs.
11. The word "fraer", which is considered jargon in Russian speech, comes from German. They call it the groom.
12. The longest word in the German language, which is still used in speech and writing, consists of 63 letters.
13. Germans often use the words “treasure”, “Romeo” and even “stallion” as endearing words for their lovers.
14. John Guttenberg printed the first book on his press not in German, but in Latin. The famous Bible in German translation appeared 10 years later.
15. German could become the official language in the United States. After the Civil War, at a meeting of Congress, the English won by chance. It received one more vote than the German language.

Video on the topic

Learning any language begins with the basics, namely its alphabet. Some people have been familiar with it since school, but even for those who have never learned it but have some knowledge of English, it will not be difficult to figure it out. The fact is that these two languages ​​are similar in many ways, moreover, they contain the same characters as English, but their pronunciation is different. Therefore, phonetics will not seem too difficult.

All characters are based on the Latin alphabet. In total it has 26 letters. It is worth noting that the German alphabet and pronunciation are easier than English. Grammar may be difficult to understand at first, but this will not be a big problem.

For Russian-speaking citizens, it is comfortable to study in Russian, the table of which is presented below.

Why is it worth learning German?

Connection with tourism

As you know, in countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, people speak predominantly German. However, knowing the German alphabet with pronunciation in Russian, you can also easily communicate with people from Liechtenstein, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, northern Italy, eastern Belgium and some other countries.

German language is important for tourism

New useful acquaintances

You should be more confident in a foreign country. Knowing the language will greatly simplify communication with local residents. Knowing the language for beginners with pronunciation, you can easily meet new people, learn their character and interests.

Education and self-development

Many people strive to become more educated, expand the range of their knowledge and skills, and what could be better in this matter than learning one or more foreign languages? It is worth noting that not only the quantity is taken into account, but also the level of mastery of them. The alphabet in German with pronunciation will help solve this problem.

Work abroad

It's no secret that even the minimum wage in Europe can exceed Russian standards. With knowledge of at least one foreign language, you can choose more than one prestigious profession, or try to open your own. Russian-speaking citizens will benefit from the German alphabet with Russian pronunciation.

Educational literature

Approximately 18% of the world's books are published in German. Of these, only a tiny part has been translated into Russian. Reading works in their original form allows a person to enrich himself with invaluable knowledge, learn more about the culture of a given country, and better understand the specifics of its language. The German alphabet with pronunciation will help you appreciate the fullness of works of art.

Consonants. Pronunciation

For beginners with pronunciation, it is advisable to remember such an important nuance that all German consonants are hard. The voiced ones are slightly muffled in pronunciation. The final consonant of the word is completely deafened.

Phonetics offers clear examples for analysis. The word dieb is thief. As can be seen from the transcription, the letter “d” is semi-voiced, and “b”, since it is at the very end, is significantly muted.

1. The letter “h” at the root or the first one in a word is read as “x” with a little aspiration. For example, herz, which translates as heart. Inside and at the end, it lengthens the vowel that comes before it: fahren - to go; froh – cheerful or joyful.
2. The letter "j" is similar to the Russian "y". It is worth remembering the phrases “ja” and “ju”, which sound like “ya” and “yu”. For example, jahr, which translates as year or juni - June.
3. The letter “l” is always slightly softened: blume – flower.
4. The letter “s” preceding the vowel is converted into the sound “z”: sonne - sun, verb lesen - read.
5. The letter "ß" is pronounced like "s". For example, groß – big.
6. The consonants k, p, t should be pronounced with a slight aspiration: park - park, torte - cake, ko†fer - suitcase.
7. It is important to note that the letter “v” is read not as “v”, but as “f”: vater - father. However, in borrowed words it can be pronounced as “in”: vase - vase.
8. The letter “w” should be pronounced by analogy with the Russian “v”: wort – word.
9. You should remember a small rule: double consonants sound like single consonants, shortening the vowel in front of them: rennen - rush, sommer - summer, mutter - mother.

Letter "r". Pronunciation Features

The German alphabet with pronunciation will help you master the alternative pronunciation of "r".

• If she begins a word, the sound will be a little burry and drawn out, like the Russian sound [x], but in this case the voice will play a direct role.
• Another pronunciation option is possible if the letter is at the beginning of the word. The sound will become more rolling and front-lingual [r].
• Toward the middle of the word, the [r] becomes much quieter, but still audible.
• It is worth noting that at the tail of the word the letter loses its original sound and is transformed into a vocalized [α], which is closer to a vowel.

The German alphabet with Russian pronunciation provides an opportunity to practice comparative analysis. For example, in the word der rabe, which means raven, the sound [r] is predominantly loud and rolling. In the verb to teach – lehren, this sound will be more muffled, but will not lose its color. As for the word spectator - der zuschauer, in its example you can see how [r] turns into a vocalized [α].

Pronunciation of vowels

To convey the Russian letters ya, ё and yu, the German language uses special letter combinations ja, jo, ju. They are able to most accurately convey the sound of analogue letters. For example, we can consider a couple of Russian names: Yura - Jura and Yasha - Jascha.

As for double vowels, they are read with one long sound. For example, eel – der Aal [a:l]. In the transcription you can see that the sound [a] is prolonged. The remaining vowels are read using the same principle: tee – tea; raar – pair; boot - boat.

If the vowel is located at the beginning or at the root of the word, the sound will be much sharper and harder, giving German speech a rougher character, abrupt phrases in comparison with the usual Russian speech. You can trace this intonation in the word der Alter [altә].

Letter combinations in vowels and consonants

The alphabet in German with pronunciation has its disadvantages. Not every sound is optimally described by a letter. Sometimes, to achieve the desired result, you have to resort to combining certain characters of the alphabet:

1. The combination of letters “ie” is converted into the drawn-out sound “i”. For example: bier – . And if you swap these symbols - “ei”, you get a short sound “ai”: heimat - homeland.
2. In combination with “u” the letter “e” makes the sound “oh”: heute – today. The same sound can be obtained by combining the letter “ä” with “u”: bäume – trees. The features of this symbol will be discussed further.
3. The letter combination “sp” at the root or beginning of a word should be pronounced as “shp”: sport, which in translation means sport.
4. There is another sound similar to this - “piece”. It is formed by combining the letters "s" and "t" by analogy at the beginning or root. Example word: stern – star.
5. The pure sound “sh” is formed using three letters at once: s, c, h, coming in a row one after another. As an example: schule - school, schwester - sister.
6. The letter combination “ck” is pronounced like a short “k”: backen – oven. This sound also has variations: “ks” and “kv”. The first of them is formed by three letters: c, h, s. For example: sechs – six. And the sound “kv” can be obtained by combining two elements “q” with “u”: quark - cottage cheese.
7. It is impossible not to note such sounds as “x” and “ch”. They are an integral basis of the German language. As a rule, combining “c” and “h” you can get a dull “x”: buch - book, machen - to do. And to get a short “h” you will need 4 letters at once: t, s, c, h. This combination is used in one very useful word: deutsch - German.

Unusual characters and their pronunciation

The German alphabet with pronunciation in Russian, the table of which is shown below, has specific letters that have a cap in the form of two dots. These characters also have their own pronunciation. For example, the sound of the letter “ä” is more similar to the Russian sound “e”: mädchen - girl.

The next letter is ö. It is very reminiscent of “ё” from the Russian alphabet and is read exactly like it. Example word: schön – beautiful.

And the last character is “ü”, by analogy with “yu”: müll - garbage.

Features of stress

In German, stress usually falls on the first syllable. In words with an unstressed prefix, the stress moves to the next syllable. As an example, consider the suffix –tion. It will always be stressed and pronounced like, where “i” is a short slipping sound, and the emphasis falls on “o”.

As for the letter combinations “ts”, they form the sound “ts”. For example, you can take the foreign word kommunikation, which means connection or communication.

Words where the stress falls on the first syllable: ausländer - foreigner or aufmachen - to open. An exception to the rule is the common borrowing from foreigners of the word computer and others.

It is worth noting words with the presence of an unstressed prefix, these include: be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, miss-. The stress in words with such prefixes will be shifted to the next syllable. For example: verkaufen – sell, bekommen – receive.

Simple words to practice pronunciation

The German alphabet with pronunciation in Russian, a table for practicing simple words of which is presented below, allows you to practice reading them, while at the same time expanding your vocabulary.

• strand – beach;
• reise – journey;
• leute – people;
• zeit – time;
• frühling – spring;
• herbst – autumn;
• fleisch – meat;
• fisch – fish;
• wein – wine;
• kaffee – coffee;
• zwieback – cracker;
• radieschen - radish;
• richtig – correct;
• schule - school;
• volk ​​- people.

German alphabet with pronunciation in Russian: table, phonetics updated: June 3, 2019 by: Amazing-world!

Each language has its own special sound structure, unique to it, which must be familiarized with, since a person who does not know the correct pronunciation will not be able to correctly perceive foreign speech by ear and will not be able to be correctly understood. The German language, along with sounds unique to it, has a number of sounds, the pronunciation of which practically coincides with the corresponding sounds of the Russian language.

In German 42 sounds, for recording which are used 26 letters Latin alphabet. Both in German and in Russian, vowels and consonants are distinguished. The German language has 15 simple vowel sounds, 3 complex two-vowel sounds (diphthongs) and 24 consonants.

German alphabet

Ha

upsilon

Additional German letters to the Latin alphabet:

a-umlaut

u-umlaut

o-umlaut

esset

Vowel sounds The German language has two features:

1. At the beginning of a word or root, vowels are pronounced with a strong attack, reminiscent of a light click, which gives German speech a jerky sound that is not characteristic of the Russian language.

2. Vowels are divided into long and short, which explains their greater number compared to the Russian language.

Long vowels are pronounced more intensely than the vowels of the Russian language, and do not change their character throughout the entire time of sounding. The consonant sound following a long vowel is freely adjacent to it, as if with a slight pause. When transmitting German sounds in Russian letters, the length of vowels is indicated by a colon after the corresponding letter.

Short vowels are pronounced more briefly than Russian vowels. The consonant sound following the short vowel is closely adjacent to it, as if cutting it off.

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The length and shortness of vowels often have a distinctive meaning and determine the general character and rhythm of German speech:

Vowel pronounced for a long time:

A. in an open syllable, i.e. a syllable ending in a vowel:

Vater f A:ta

Leben l e:Ben

b. in a conditionally closed syllable, i.e. a syllable that can be opened when the word is changed:

Tag T A:To

Ta-ge T A:ge

In writing, vowel length is indicated:

A. doubling the letter

Meer me:a

b. letter h after a vowel

Uhr y:a

V. letter e after i

Sie zi:

Vowel pronounced briefly, if followed by a consonant or group of consonants:

Consonants The German language has the following features:

A. they are pronounced more intensely than the corresponding Russian consonants;

b. German voiceless consonants p, t, k pronounced aspirated, especially at the end of a word;

V. German consonants, unlike the corresponding Russian consonants, are never softened;

d. in contrast to the Russian language, where a voiceless consonant is voiced under the influence of the following voiced consonant (from is tunnel, but: from from at home), in German the opposite phenomenon occurs: a voiceless consonant partially deafens the following voiced consonant, remaining voiceless (das Bad yes bpa:t).

Accent in German it falls, as a rule, on the root of a word or on a prefix, i.e. on the first syllable. When a word is changed, the stress does not change. The pronunciation of German words is conveyed in this manual in Russian letters without the use of generally accepted transcription signs. The transcription of the word and the stressed vowel are highlighted in different fonts. This transcription allows (with some exceptions) to pronounce German words and sentences quite correctly.

Please note that when you hover over the Russian transcription, the IPA transcription will be displayed. This is for particularly advanced students, if you don’t need it, use only Russian.

Pronunciation of German vowels

Sound indicated by letters A, ahh, ah, pronounced like Russian A(long) in the word "brother" or A(short) in the word "tact": baden b A: Dan,Saal for:l, Fahrt fa:at, Satz zats .

Sound indicated by letters ä , ah, pronounced like Russian uh in the word "era": Väter f e: that, wahlen V e: linen , Männer m uh on .

Sound indicated by letters i, ie, ih, pronounced like Russian And in the word "blue": mir mi:a, sieben h And:ben,Ihr and:a, Mitte m And te, Tisch hush .

Sound indicated by letters e, her, eh, pronounced like Russian uh or e in the words “these”, “believe”, “measure”: nehmen n e: Maine,See ze: gehen G e: en Geld Gaelt, sechs zex. In an unstressed final syllable (endings -en, -er), as well as in some prefixes (for example: be-, ge- etc.) this sound is pronounced unclearly and is similar to Russian uh in the word "should": fahren f A: ren, beginnen bag And Nan .

However, particularly attentive listeners may have noticed the overtone of the “i” sound in the words Leben and See. This sound does not exist in either Russian or English; pay attention to it when listening to German speech. Pronounce it like the Russian [e/e], and the position of the lips is like for [i]. You can also try to pronounce the diphthong [hey], without completely pronouncing the second part of the sound, i.e. the first part of the sound is [e/e], and the second [th], [th] is not pronounced until the end. Let's listen again:

Sound indicated by letters oh, oh, oh, pronounced like Russian O(long) in the word "will" or O(short) in the word "clown": Oper O :pa ohne O :ne ,Boot bo:t Rolle R O le .

Sound indicated by letters u, uh, pronounced like Russian at in the word "will": du do:, Uhr y:a, hundert X at ndat .

Sound indicated by letters ü, üh, is absent in Russian. It's pronounced like Russian Yu in the words "jury", "puree": führen f Yu: Ren, fünf fünf, Übung Yu:bun(g). Having rounded the lips, as for [u], we pronounce [and]. Although in Russian transcription it will be designated as [yu], with the sound [yu] it Not is.

Sound indicated by letters ö, oh, is also absent in Russian. Having rounded the lips, as for [o], we pronounce [e]. Reminds me of Russian e : schön w e: n, Sohne h e:ne, Löffel l e fael, öffnen e fnen . Although in Russian transcription it will be designated as [е], with the sound [е] it Not is.

ei, ai, pronounced like Russian ah in the words "give": drei drive Weise V A ize .

Diphthong denoted by letters au, pronounced like Russian aw in the word "howitzer": blau bl A at, Faust f A mouth .

Diphthong denoted by letters eu, äu, pronounced like Russian Ouch in the word "your": neu Noah, Нäuser X Ouch behind .

Pronunciation of German consonants

Many consonant sounds of the German language are pronounced almost the same as the corresponding sounds of the Russian language: b b, p P,w V,f f, s c or h(before a vowel or between two vowels), k To, g G, n n, m m, z ts.

Sound indicated by letters ch(after e, i, ö, ü and after l, m, n) pronounced like soft Russian xx in the word "chemistry": welche V uh lhe, richtig R And slightly , manchmal m A nkhmal .

The sound indicated by the letter h(at the beginning of a word or syllable) is pronounced as a noisy exhalation on the subsequent vowel. This sound is absent in Russian, however, it is enough to pronounce Russian [х] with a slight exhalation: halt halt,Herz Hertz .

Sound indicated by letters l, ll, pronounced like a mean between Russian soft l(in the word "summer") and hard l(in the word "varnish"): Ball bal, alt alto .

The sound indicated by the letter j, pronounced like Russian th before the corresponding vowels (for example: "Christmas tree", "hole", "south"): Jacke yea ke,jemand yeah:manta ray .

Pronunciation R r

Consonant sound indicated by letter r, can also sound like a vowel sound, close to the Russian sound A.

1. After long vowels (except long "a") in stressed and unstressed syllables that are final, for example:
   Factor f A who:a,wir V And:A, Klavier clave And:A, Natur nat at:A .

   There may be exceptions:
   Haar ha:p, Ha: ; Bart Bart, ba:at ; Arzt artst, a:tst ; Quark quark, kwa:k ; Quarz quartz, kva:ts ; Harz harz

2. In unstressed prefixes: er-, her-, ver-, zer-, for example:
   erfahren eaf A:ren , verbringen feabr And:n(g)en , zerstampfen ceasht A mpfen ,hervor heaf O:A .
3. In the final unstressed word – er, and also when it is followed by consonants, for example:
   Vater f A that,immer and:ma, besser b uh:sa,anders A ndas, Kindern To And ndan, auf Wiedersehen auf in And:daze:en .

In other cases it is pronounced as a consonant. There are three types of pronunciation of the consonant sound “r” (the 2nd option is now more common):

1. If you touch your fingers at the base of your neck and try to pronounce “r” so that your fingertips feel it, you will get the first “r”.
2. If you pronounce “g” and try to continue the sound (“gggggg..r..”), you will get a second sound (“tiger roar”).
3. The sound pronounced with the tip of the tongue is the “Russian” “r”.

Remember the rules for reading some letter combinations:

ch after a, o, u reads like Russian X:Buch boo:x,Fach wow; after all other vowels, as well as after l, m, n is read as xx: rect recht wichtig V And slightly , Milch miles .

chs, and also the letter X, read like Russian ks: wechseln V uh xeln .

ck reads like Russian To: Stuck piece, Ecke uh ke .

sch reads like Russian w: Schuh shu:,waschen V A: sheng .

st PC: Stelle PC uh le .

sp read at the beginning of a word or root like Russian sp: Spiel spire, sprechen Sprächen .

tz reads like Russian ts: Platz parade ground, sitzen h And price .

ng reads like... the English sound [ŋ]. The back of the tongue closes with the lowered soft palate, and air passes through the nasal cavity. In order to achieve the desired position of the speech organs, you can inhale through your nose with your mouth wide open, then pronounce the sound [ŋ], exhaling air through your nose. In Russian transcription we will denote it as n(g), because G there they still sometimes pronounce it, as in the first word: Übung Yu:bung, verbringen feabr And:n(g)en , Ding din(g). This sound is also combined nk: Bank tank, links liŋx, tanken T Aŋken .

From letter to sound