German for American Speakers
Your personalised pronunciation map based on the American English accent. 7% of coached German sounds transfer directly from your accent.
1
Direct Transfer
Sounds you already make
8
Small Adjustment
Close — needs a tweak
6
New Sounds
Focus practice here
Your accent gives you a 7% head start — 1 sounds you already make
Sounds That Transfer Directly (1)
You already make these German sounds in your American accent. Recognition, not learning.
Sounds That Need Adjustment (8)
Close to sounds in your accent — small modifications will get you there.
German z/tz
You already make this sound — the 'ts' at the END of 'cats' or 'bits'. The only challenge: German puts it at the START o...
Final devoicing
In English, 'dog' ends with a voiced 'g'. In German, 'Tag' ends with 'k' even though it's spelled with 'g'. ALL voiced s...
Long vs short vowels
English has some vowel length differences (beat vs bit) but they also differ in QUALITY. German is more systematic — lon...
German w
German 'w' is pronounced as English 'v' — NOT as English 'w'. 'Wasser' = 'vasser', 'Wein' = 'vine'. Simply use your Engl...
German dental l
Same as French l — English has light l (start) and dark l (end). German ONLY uses light l. Keep tongue tip behind upper ...
German sp/st (initial)
At the START of a word or stem, German sp = 'shp' and st = 'sht'. Straße = 'shtrah-se', sprechen = 'shpre-chen'. In the ...
German eu/äu
Very close to English 'oy' in 'boy' — but German starts slightly more rounded and ends more fronted. Say 'boy' with tigh...
German kn- / gn-
In English, the 'k' in 'knee', 'knot', 'know' is silent. In German, you pronounce BOTH consonants. 'Knie' (knee) = 'k-ne...
Genuinely New Sounds (6)
No equivalent in American English. These deserve your focused practice time.
German ü
Same technique as French u. Say 'ee' as in 'see', hold tongue position, round lips tightly like 'oo'. Tongue says 'ee', ...
German ö
Say 'her' — notice tongue position. Keep tongue there, round lips like 'oh'. That rounded 'her' is German ö. Long ö (sch...
ch (ich-laut)
Say 'huge' slowly — the 'hy' at the start is very close to the German ich-laut. It's a breathy friction made with the mi...
ch (ach-laut)
Start saying 'k' as in 'back' but DON'T let your tongue touch the roof of your mouth completely. Let air squeeze through...
German r
Same as French r — back of the throat, not tongue tip. Start by gargling gently. BUT German r has a twist: after vowels ...
German pf
English never combines 'p' and 'f' into one release. Say 'cupful' very fast — the 'p-f' junction is what you need. Now c...
Your American Advantages
z/ts already exists in cats
ei diphthong is direct transfer
German w = English v (simple substitution)
Familiar with French r technique if learning both
Frequently Asked Questions
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What German sounds do American speakers already make?▾
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