German pronunciation guide
How to pronounce the German R
The German R works in two ways. At the start of a syllable (rot, Straße, Frau) it is a soft back R /ʁ/, made where the back of the tongue meets the soft palate, much like the French R. At the end of a syllable (Wasser, hier, Uhr) most speakers say no consonant at all: the R turns into a short, open vowel /ɐ/, close to the “u” of English “but”. Getting the second one right does more for your accent than making the first one perfect.
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The back R
At the start of a word or syllable, and after a consonant. The back of the tongue rises towards the soft palate; the tip stays down.
rot, Straße, Frau, Reise
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The vowel R
In the ending -er, and after a long vowel at the end of a syllable. No consonant: a short, relaxed “uh”.
Wasser, hier, Uhr, Mutter
How to make the sounds
- Keep the tip of your tongue behind your bottom front teeth. For the German R it never curls up and never taps.
- For the back R, start a “g” as in “go” but do not close: raise the back of your tongue until it nearly touches the soft palate and let voiced air rub through. It is softer than the ch in Bach.
- For the ending -er, say nothing like an R. Wasser is “VAS-sa”, with a short, open final vowel, and Mutter is “MUT-ta”.
- After a long vowel at the end of a syllable, the R melts into a glide: hier sounds like “hee-a”, Uhr like “oo-a”.
A rolled tongue-tip R is still heard in Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland, and it is understood everywhere. Tono scores German against the standard of Germany, which uses the back R.
Hear the R come back
In the first word of each pair the R is a vowel. Add an ending that starts with a vowel, and the back R returns.
- Tür Türen door · doors
- Uhr Uhren clock · clocks
- Bier Biere beer · beers
- Jahr Jahre year · years
- Tier Tiere animal · animals
- Meer Meere sea · seas
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it.
- Wir fahren morgen nach Bremen. We are driving to Bremen tomorrow.Practice
- Mein Bruder trinkt gern Wasser. My brother likes drinking water.Practice
- Die Tür ist offen. The door is open.Practice
- Hier ist deine Uhr. Here is your watch.Practice
- Rot, grün und braun sind meine Lieblingsfarben. Red, green and brown are my favorite colors.Practice
- Der Zug fährt um vier Uhr. The train leaves at four o’clock.Practice
- Meine Mutter arbeitet in Frankfurt. My mother works in Frankfurt.Practice
- Kannst du das bitte wiederholen? Can you repeat that, please?Practice
Common mistakes
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An English R
The tongue tip curls back and the word sounds American. Rot and rund need the back of the tongue, not the front.
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Saying the R in -er
A clear R at the end of Wasser or Lehrer is the most common giveaway. End on a short, open “a” instead.
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Too much scrape
Pressing hard turns the R into the ch of Bach. Use more voice and less air; between vowels it is barely a touch.