Consonants

B - pronounced as in English
Examples: das Obst the fruit; die Gabel the fork

C - the letter C is never on its own in the German language, though some foreign words adopted by the Germans may contain it. In those cases, it would be pronounced similarly to the original language.

CH - the consonant cluster CH is pronounced as halfway between a K and an H. It is similar to the Scottish Loch or the Arabic Ahmed.
Examples: die Küche the kitchen; das Gefrierfach the freezer
Please Note: Given is the proper way of pronouncing CH, but regional differences will some times go as hard as a K sound, and as soft as a SCH sound (see below). You should aim for the pronunciation listed here, but recognise that you may hear people pronounce it differently.

D - pronounced as in English
Examples: der, die, das the; der Dosenöffner the can-opener

F - pronounced as in English
Examples: die Flasche the bottle; der Löffel the spoon

G - pronounced as a hard G in English; only in rare foreign words is it pronounced soft, like an English J. At the ends of words, some times pronounced like a CH.
Examples: das Gemüse the vegetable; das Geschirr the dishes (not plate); Montag Monday

H - pronounced as in English, some times placed after a vowel to lengthen it
Examples: der Stuhl the chair; der Wasserhahn the faucet

J - always pronounced as a Y in English, save for occasional words of foreign origin
Examples: ja yes; die Johannisbeere the red currant

K - pronounced as in English
Examples: der Kühlschrank the refridgerator; die Mikro-welle the microwave

L - pronounced as in English
Examples: die Linse the lentil; der Teller the plate

M - pronounced as in English
Examples: das Mittagessen lunch; das Messer the knife

N - pronounced as in English
Examples: die Untertasse the saucer; die Kanne the jug

NG - pronounced as in English
Examples: der Hunger hunger; das Ding the thing

P - pronounced as in English
Examples: der Platz the place; pikant spicy

PF - pronounced as an English P followed immediately by and with emphasis on an English F. The P is so subtle that one almost needs not pronounce it at all.
Examples: die Pfanne the pan; der Abtropfständer the dish drainer

QU - pronounced as an English K followed by an English V
Examples: der Quirl the whisk; die Qualität (the) quality

R - pronounced as in English, with a roll (quite honestly, I've never gotten the hang of it myself)
Examples: das Gewürzregal the spice-rack; das Frühstück the breakfast

S - pronounced as in English, though is pronounced as SH before P or T. Please note that some times, double S is written as ß (ascii code 225). SS and ß are almost always interchangeable.
Examples: die Nachspeise the dessert; die Serviette the napkin (serviette)

SCH - pronounced as English SH
Examples: die Schüssel the bowl; der Schrank the cupboard

T - pronounced as in English
Examples: der Tisch the table; der Spatel the spatula

V - usually pronounced as an English F (but in words taken form other languages, as an English V)
Examples: die Verdauung digestion; das Vitamin the vitamin

W - pronounced as an English V
Examples: das Wasser the water; die Mikro-welle the microwave

X - the letter X only appears in foreign words, and is then pronounced as the original language would pronounce it. The letter itself is pronounced like IKS.
Example: X-Beine knock-knees

Y - the letter Y only appears in foreign words, and is then pronounced as in the original language.

Z - pronounced as English T, followed immediately by an English S
Examples: das Kürzzeitmesser the egg-timer; der Zucker the sugar



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