German Letters That Trip Up English Speakers: W, V, Z, S, SP, ST, EI and IE

Most German letters sound roughly as an English speaker would expect. A small group do not, and because they appear in extremely common words (wie, was, wo, vier, viel, zu, zehn, sie, sein, mein), they cause errors in almost every sentence a beginner reads aloud. Here are the ones to fix first.

The quick reference

W and V

Historically, German w was pronounced like English w, but it shifted to [v] centuries ago. Meanwhile v in native words became [f]. The result is a trap for English readers: wie is "vee", and vier is "feer". Wein (wine) and fein (fine) differ only in [v] vs [f]; Wetter and Vetter (cousin) sound like "vetter" and "fetter".

Loanwords are the exception: v is [v] in Vase, Klavier, Universität and Video. If a word looks international, try [v].

Z

German z is always [ts], never the English [z]. English has the same sound at the end of words (cats, bits), so the only difficulty is putting it at the start. Practise by saying cats, then dropping the ca: ts... Zeit. Common words: zu, zehn, zwei, Zug, Zimmer, ganz, jetzt, Platz.

S, SS and ß

A single s before a vowel is voiced [z] in standard northern pronunciation: sieben, Sohn, lesen. At the end of a syllable it is [s]: Haus, das, es. ss and ß are always [s]; the choice between them shows vowel length: ß after long vowels and diphthongs (Fuß, groß, weiß), ss after short vowels (Fluss, muss, Kuss). Switzerland does not use ß at all.

At the start of a stem, sp and st are [ʃp] and [ʃt]: spielen, Stadt, Frühstück, verstehen. Inside or at the end of a stem, they are [sp] and [st]: Wespe, ist, Fenster, Gast. In the north around Hamburg, some older speakers say [st] everywhere, famously "über den s-pitzen S-tein s-tolpern", but this is regional.

EI and IE

These two look alike and sound completely different. The rule of thumb: pronounce the name of the second letter in English. ei ends in i, so it says "eye": Stein, klein, Zeit. ie ends in e, so it says "ee": Brief, spielen, wieder.

They can even meet in one word: Beispiel, Feier, zweimal vs Ziel.

EU and ÄU

Both spell [ɔʏ], similar to English boy but with rounded lips at the end: Euro, Freund, Deutsch, Bäume, Fräulein. Äu is used when the word is related to a form with au: Baum → Bäume, Haus → Häuser.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remember whether ei or ie is "eye"?

Say the second letter. In ei, the second letter is i, pronounced "eye": mein, Stein. In ie, the second letter is e, pronounced "ee": Liebe, viel.

Is German v ever pronounced like English v?

Yes, in many words borrowed from Latin, French or English: Vase, Vitamin, Klavier, Universität, Villa, Video. Native German words like Vater, viel, vier and Vogel use [f].

How is German s pronounced at the start of a word?

Before a vowel, it is voiced [z] in northern and central Standard German: Sonne, sagen, sieben. In southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, it is often voiceless [s].

Sources and further reading

• Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung (2018). Deutsche Rechtschreibung: Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis. Mannheim.
• Dudenredaktion (2015). Duden – Das Aussprachewörterbuch (7th ed.). Dudenverlag.
• Hall, C. (2003). Modern German Pronunciation (2nd ed.), chapter 1. Manchester University Press.

Read More in This Topic

• German Pronunciation for English Speakers: The Complete Sound Guide
• German Vowel Length: How to Tell Long and Short Vowels Apart
• German Final Devoicing: Why Hund Sounds Like "Hunt"

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