Pronunciation of German in English Definition

1a. Belonging or relating to Germany, a federal republic in central Europe formed by the unification of West Germany and East Germany in 1990;
1b. Belonging or relating to its inhabitants or their language.
2. historical
Belonging or relating to the country, state or republic of Germany in any of its various historical forms.

1. A citizen or inhabitant of, or person born in, Germany.
2. The official language of Germany and Austria, and one of the official languages of Switzerland.

1. consonants

○ ch is pronounced /x/, as in Bach and the Scots pronunciation of loch; after i and e, it is pronounced with a sound between /x/ and /G/.

○ sch is pronounced /G/, as in Schumacher.

○.j is pronounced /j/, as in the name of the psychologist Jung.

○ w is pronounced /v/, as in auf Wiedersehen.

○ z is pronounced /ts/, as in Mozart.

2. vowels

○ ie is pronounced /i:/, as in auf Wiedersehen (so Riesling is / 'ri:slNE/, not /'raN-/).

○ ei is pronounced /aN/, as in Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

○ au is pronounced /AL/, as in Strauss.

○ aü is pronounced /CN/, so the first vowel in fraülein rhymes with the English vowel in coy, not in cow.

○ eu is also pronounced /CN/, as in Deutschland.

○ ö, sometimes written oe, is pronounced /M:/, as in Goethe.

○ ü, like the French u, is pronounced /y/, close to the common Scottish pronunciation of the vowel in words such as you and book.

○ u is close to the Standard English pronunciation of the vowel in words such as you and book.