How To Pronounce ö And ü - The German Professor

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The most difficult sounds to pronounce are typically the ones that do not exist in your native language (or in languages whose sounds you have already mastered). For English speakers these include the umlauted vowels ö and ü. Fortunately, there is a very effective method you can use for arriving at these sounds.

To pronounce the ö-sound, say “ay” as in day (or as in the German word See). While continuing to make this sound, tightly round your lips. Look in a mirror to make sure your lips are actually rounded. Voilà! The resulting sound is the ö-sound.

A similar method results in the ü-sound. Say “ee” as in see (or as in the German word vier). Again, while saying the sound, round your lips. The resulting sound is the ü-sound.

Like any unfamiliar sounds, being able to pronounce ö and ü correctly will come with repeated practice. After you find the correct mouth position using the tips above, practice reading words containing these characters aloud. Below are several audio files for you to listen to.

Here are two lists of commonly used words to get you started:

Long ö-sound Short ö-sound Long ü-sound Short ü-sound
Long ö is full with strongly rounded lips.Short ö is shorter in duration and sounds more clipped.Long ü is full with strongly rounded lips.Short ü is shorter in duration and sounds more clipped.
schön mögen nötig Söhne Lösung möglich hören persönlich Österreich Königkönnen zwölf Körper Töchter öffentlich löschen Köche Schlösser völlig öfterTür führen Schüler Füße grün für über natürlich früher üblichfünf müssen dürfen Stück wünschen künftig erfüllen Glück Küche Gründe
And now here are some sets of minimal pairs using the long and short o, ö, u, and ü sounds. Listen closely to the differences between the sounds.
Short o-soundShort ö-sound
bocke konnte TochterBöcke könnte Töchter
Long o-soundLong ö-sound
losen Boden lohnelösen Böden löhne
Short u-soundShort ü-sound
Mutter durfte BurgenMütter dürfte bürgen
Long u-soundLong ü-sound
Spuren gute Bruderspüren Güte Brüder
Short vowel soundLong vowel sound
Hölle flösse schösse wüsste Hütte FülleHöhle Flöße Schöße Wüste hüte fühle
Short ö-soundShort ü-sound
Hölle Röcke Köche Stöcke knöpftHülle rücke Küche Stücke knüpft
Long ö-soundLong ü-sound
schwöre flöge Söhne zöge töteSchwüre Flüge Sühne Züge Tüte

Related pages & posts:

  1. Zungenbrecher – German tongue twisters
  2. How to pronounce ei and ie
  3. How to pronounce front ch and back ch
  4. Deutschland Quiz – 1990-heute
  5. Teaching “Arbeiten trotz Rente” (DW)
  6. Teaching “Europa wird alt” (DW)

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