The absolute-beginner foundation in one place: 714 essential words across 28 sections — each with how to say it and what it means. Pick your language above; tap 🔊 to hear it. When these feel familiar, the sentences in the Alltag chapters come easy.
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German has a handful of sounds English and Ukrainian don’t. Get these and the rest falls into place. Tap 🔊 on any example to hear it.
This is a long, open 'e' — like the 'e' in 'bed', but held longer and with a slightly wider mouth. It is NOT the 'a' in 'cat'; keep the corners of your lips relaxed and the jaw a little dropped.
Say a long 'e' as in 'bed', then — without moving your tongue — round your lips as if you were about to say 'oh'. The tongue stays forward and high; only the lips change. English has no such sound.
Say 'ee' as in 'see', then round your lips as if to whistle — but keep the tongue exactly where it is, right up front. There is no English equivalent; the trick is: tongue for 'ee', lips for 'oo'.
Read by the SECOND letter: 'ei' sounds like English 'eye' (mein = 'mine'), while 'ie' is a long 'ee' as in 'see' (Liebe = 'LEE-buh'). Beginners flip these — remember: eI → 'I', iE → 'E'.
Both 'eu' and 'äu' sound the same: like 'oy' in 'boy', but starting a touch more open. Glide from an 'o'-like sound into a rounded 'ü'. So 'neu' rhymes roughly with 'boy'.
A soft, breathy sound made near the front of the mouth — like the 'h' in 'huge' or 'hue', with the tongue arched high toward the hard palate. Whisper 'ee' and let air hiss over the tongue; no voice, just breath.
A hard, raspy sound deep in the throat, like the 'ch' in Scottish 'loch' or the way you clear your throat. It follows the dark vowels a, o, u. Let air scrape at the back — no English 'k' here.
The German 'r' is made in the throat, not with the tongue-tip. Gently gargle-vibrate the back of the tongue against the uvula, like a light throat-clear. At the end of a word (Uhr) it often softens almost to an 'ah'.
German 'w' is pronounced like an English 'v': top teeth touch the lower lip and buzz. 'Wein' sounds like 'vine', not 'wine'. Never make the English 'w' lip-rounding.
In most native German words the letter 'v' is said like an English 'f': 'Vater' sounds like 'FAH-ter'. (In borrowed words like 'Vase' it can be a 'v', but for A1 words, think 'f'.)
German 'z' is always 'ts', as in the end of 'cats' or 'pizza' — but at the START of the word. 'Zeit' begins with the 'ts' cluster: 'tsight'. Never a soft English 'z' buzz.
When 's' comes before a vowel at the start of a word or syllable, it buzzes like the 's' in 'rose' or 'zoo'. 'Sonne' starts like the English 'z': 'ZON-uh'.
'ß' (and 'ss') is a sharp, voiceless 's' like the 's' in 'see' or 'hiss' — no buzzing. It also signals that the vowel before it is spoken cleanly. 'Fuß' ends in a crisp 'ss'.
'sch' is exactly the English 'sh' in 'shoe'. Round the lips slightly and let the air hiss. 'Schule' = 'SHOO-luh'.
At the START of a word (or root), 'st' is said 'sht' and 'sp' is said 'shp'. 'Stadt' = 'SHTAT', 'Sport' = 'SHPORT'. In the middle/end of a word it stays a plain 's' (e.g. 'ist').
German 'j' is the English 'y' in 'yes'. 'ja' = 'yah', 'Junge' = 'YOONG-uh'. Never the English 'j' of 'jam'.
At the end of a word, '-ig' is pronounced '-ich' with the soft ich-Laut, not a hard 'g'. 'richtig' ends like 'RICH-tich'. (Before an ending, e.g. 'richtige', the 'g' comes back.)
German re-starts each word or stem that begins with a vowel with a tiny catch in the throat — the little stop in the middle of 'uh-oh'. So 'ein Ei' is 'ein ˀEi', clearly separated, not run together like 'a negg'.
Vowel length changes the word. A vowel is LONG before a single consonant or when doubled (Staat, ihn) — hold it. It is SHORT before a double consonant (Stadt, in) — clip it. 'Staat' (state) vs 'Stadt' (city) differ only in that length.
The '-e' at the end of a word is a soft, unstressed 'uh' — the schwa in 'sofa' or 'the'. Say it lightly but DON'T drop it: 'Name' = 'NAH-muh', 'danke' = 'DUNK-uh', 'Blume' = 'BLOO-muh'.