Phonetic Script:
Vowels

 

Here you learn about the phonetic script used for the German vowels. To listen to the pronunciation, click on the little button in front of the respective word.

Script Letter Vowel Type     German English
      Height   Backness   Roundedness      
                     
[a:] a,
aa
or ah
(long) open
(the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth)
  front
(the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  unrounded
(the lips are spread)
  Tag
day
Zahn tooth
   
                     
                     
[a] a (short) open
(the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth)
  front
(the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  unrounded
(the lips are spread)
  acht
eight
Mann man
   
                     
                     
[ɐ] -er (end of word or syllable)
reduced a
near-open
(the tongue is positioned similarly to an open vowel, but slightly more constricted)
  central
(the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel)
  rounded
(the lips are rounded) or unrounded (the lips are not rounded)
  Amerikaner
American
Computer computer
                     
                     
[e:] e,
ee
or eh
(long) close-mid
(the tongue is positioned halfway between a close vowel and a mid vowel)
  front
(the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  unrounded
(the lips are spread)
  Eva
female name
zehn ten
   
                     
                     
[ɛ] e (short) open-mid
(the tongue is positioned halfway between an open vowel and a mid vowel)
  front
(the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  unrounded
(the lips are not rounded)
  kennen
to know
elf eleven
   
                     
                     
[ə] e (unstressed or toneless e) mid
(the tongue is positioned halfway between a close vowel and an open vowel)
  central
(the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel)
  unrounded
(the lips are not rounded)
  kommen
to come
Dame lady
                     
                     
[i, i:] i,
ie
or ih
(long) close
(the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  front
(the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  unrounded
(the lips are spread)
  ihn
him (acc.)
sieben seven
   
                     
                     
] i (short) near-close
(the tongue is positioned similarly to a close vowel, but slightly less constricted)
  near-front
(the tongue is positioned similarly to a front vowel, but slightly further back in the mouth)
  unrounded
(the lips are not rounded)
  ich
I
Kind child
                     
                     
[o, o:] o,
oo
or oh
(long) close-mid
(the tongue is positioned halfway between a close vowel and a mid vowel)
  back
(the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  rounded
(its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed)
  orange
orange
ohne without
   
                     
                     
[ɔ] o (short) open-mid
(the tongue is positioned halfway between an open vowel and a mid vowel)
  back
(the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  rounded
(the lips are rounded)
  Mittwoch
Wednesday
kommen to come
   
                     
                     
[u:] u, uh (long) close
(the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  back
(the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant)
  rounded
(its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed)
  du
you (familiar)
Uhland German poet
   
                     
                     
[ʊ] u (short) near-close
(the tongue is positioned similarly to a close vowel, but slightly less constricted)
  near-back
(the tongue is positioned as in a back vowel, but slightly further forward in the mouth)
  rounded
(the lips are rounded)
  und and
Ulla female name