German pronunciation is difficult, but especially the vowels. I find it a challenge even after developing fluency in the German language and using it on a regular basis in a business setting and with immediate family members. The trickiest vowels are surprisingly not the umlauted ones, even though their sound does not exist in the English language. They are obviously different; so many singers spend a significant amount of time learning to pronounce them without even giving a thought to other vowels.


The hardest vowels are actually the ones similar to English, but enough different that when mispronounced a native speaker may find it hard to understand you.

Similarities: The similarities between German and English are numerous. For instance, the pronunciation of ‘a’ as in “Vater” is the same sound you make when you say “water.” Another similarity is the ‘i’ sound used in “liebe,” which can also be heard when you pronounce the English word, “me.” The sound ‘o’ as in “Brot” or “throat,” is also the same. In addition to ‘a’ ‘i’ and ‘o’, the schwa is pronounced the same and used the same way in English and German. The schwa sound heard in the word “could,” is typically heard on unstressed syllables, such as the second vowel sound heard in “hilfe” or in the second syllable of the English word “raisin.” The languages are so similar, that sometimes words are even spelled the same, for instance, “Winter,” in which the only difference between the languages is the pronunciation of the consonant ‘w.’

Differences: Since German and English are so similar, many singers gain a false sense of confidence in their German pronunciation skills and fail to note when the languages differ but look the same on paper, especially when it comes to two vowels in particular. Those vowels are ‘e’ as in “der” in German or “fair” in English and ‘u’ as in the German word, “du” or in English, “moo.”

The German ‘e’: The ‘e’ sound is found in the first syllables of the German words “ewig” or “regen.” Though the sound is similar to ones found in the English words, “faith” or “mate,” in German the vowel is higher with the point of the tongue held closer to the mouth. Another common error is to make the vowel a diphthong in English, with a slight ‘?’ as in “if” sound at the end of the vowel ‘e’ found in “mate.” To avoid making the vowel a diphthong, simply hold the mouth in one position during the duration of the ‘e’ vowel.

The German ‘u’: The vowel sound found in the German word, “zu,” and in English “move,” sounds the same, but Germans round their lips more.  Not only are the lips well rounded, but Germans never slide into a schwa sound as in “could,” as some English speakers do. Similarly the more open vowel ‘?’ found in the English word “book,” or the German word, “Mutter,” also requires more rounding of the lips when pronounced in German.

Diphthongs Versus Pure Vowels: Another distinct difference between the languages mentioned briefly above is the use of diphthongs versus pure vowels. In order to achieve a pure German vowel, the mouth must be held in one place. Especially Americans, tend to move their mouths while pronouncing vowels, creating changes that to a native German speaker is both noticeable and undesirable. A helpful visualization is the description that English speakers, but especially Americans, sound like they are constantly chewing gum. Hence if you want to sound native, all the German vowel sounds, unless there are two vowel sounds that are intentional, as in “Mai,” or in English, “lie,” must be pronounced with an unmoving mouth.