Vowels, long and short
German has the same five vowel letters as English, but each one can be long or short, and the difference changes the word: Staat is a state, Stadt a city. The spelling almost always tells you which one to say.
Long and short
Two lengths
Long: held. Short: quick.
| Long when | Examples | Short when | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| doubled | Boot, Meer, Staat | before a double consonant | Bett, Mitte, offen |
| followed by h | Sohn, Uhr, fahren | before two consonants | Stadt, Hand, Wurst |
| ie | Miete, Bier, vier |
Hear the pairs
Each card shows two words: the first with a long vowel, the second with a short one. Daniel says both.
Long, then short, with Daniel
Five pairs
| Vowel | Long | Short |
|---|---|---|
| a | Staat, state | Stadt, city |
| e | Beet, flower bed | Bett, bed |
| i | Miete, rent | Mitte, middle |
| o | Ofen, oven | offen, open |
| u | Mus, purée | muss, must |
The umlauts
Ä, Ö and Ü, with Vicki
ä
like e in bed
The endings English speakers drop
Final e and final er
-e
a short uh, never silent
Practice: train your ear
Listen: question 1
Press Play and listen.
Which word did Daniel say?
Hint
Solution
Daniel said Bett: a short e before the double t.
Listen: question 2
Press Play and listen.
Which word did Vicki say?
Hint
Solution
Vicki said Miete: ie is a long ee.
Listen: question 3
Press Play and listen.
Which word did Daniel say?
Hint
Solution
Daniel said schön, with ö.
Which word has a long vowel?
Hint
Solution
Boot: the doubled oo is long. Bett and Hand are short, before two consonants.
How do you say the final e in bitte?
Hint
Solution
A final e is a short, relaxed uh: BIT-tuh.
Next: letter pairs, like ei and ie, and the two sounds of ch.