German pronunciation guide
How to pronounce the German umlauts ü and ö
German ü and ö are rounded front vowels: the tongue says one vowel while the lips say another. Ü is “ee” with rounded lips; ö is a steady “eh” with rounded lips. Without them, schön (beautiful) turns into schon (already) and müssen (must) into missen (to miss).
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Long ü
Tongue as for “ee”, lips tightly rounded.
über, müde, Tür, früh
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Short ü
Shorter and more relaxed. Usually before two consonants.
müssen, Glück, fünf, Stück
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Long ö
Tongue as for a steady “eh”, lips rounded.
schön, hören, Öl, böse
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Short ö
Shorter and more open.
können, zwölf, Köln, öffnen
How to make the sounds
- For ü, say a long “ee” and hold it. Now round your lips as if to whistle, without letting your tongue move back.
- For ö, say a steady “eh”, like the vowel in “hey” without the glide at the end. Round your lips the same way.
- Check in a mirror: the lips are round and pushed forward, as for “oo”.
- Long ü and ö come before a single consonant or an h (über, Höhle). Short ones come before two consonants (müssen, können).
Minimal pairs
- schon schön already · beautiful
- missen müssen to miss · must
- vier für four · for
- Kiste Küste box · coast
- lesen lösen to read · to solve
- kennen können to know · can
- Mutter Mütter mother · mothers
- Bruder Brüder brother · brothers
9 minimal pairs: wurde and würde7 minimal pairs: schon and schön
Practice with real sentences
Tap Practice to open the sentence in Tono, listen to it, and say it.
- Die Tür ist schön grün. The door is a lovely green.Practice
- Ich bin heute sehr müde. I am very tired today.Practice
- Können Sie mir bitte helfen? Can you help me, please?Practice
- Wir müssen um fünf Uhr gehen. We have to leave at five.Practice
- Das Frühstück ist fertig. Breakfast is ready.Practice
- Meine Brüder hören gern Musik. My brothers like listening to music.Practice
- Zwölf Stück, bitte. Twelve pieces, please.Practice
- Viel Glück in München! Good luck in Munich!Practice
Common mistakes
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“oo” for ü: Tur for Tür
Common for speakers of English, Spanish and Italian: the lips are right but the tongue is too far back. Move the tongue forward, as for “ee”.
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“ee” for ü: missen for müssen
The tongue is right but the lips are flat. Round them and keep them round until the vowel ends.