Umlauts & Special Sounds

German has three vowels that do not exist in English: ä, ö, and ü. These "umlauted" vowels are not decorative — they represent completely different sounds from their base vowels. Mastering them is essential for being understood in German.

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What Is an Umlaut?

The word Umlaut literally means "sound change" (um = around/change, Laut = sound). The two dots above the vowel (called the Trema or Umlautpunkte) signal that the vowel is pronounced differently from its un-dotted version.

Base Vowel	Umlauted Vowel	Sound Shift
a (ah)	ä (eh)	Back → front
o (oh)	ö (er)	Back → front, rounded
u (oo)	ü (ew)	Back → front, rounded

Tip: The umlaut always moves the sound toward the front of your mouth. Think of it as the vowel being "pulled forward".

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The Sound: Ä ä

The letter ä sounds like the "e" in English "bed" or "pet". It is the simplest umlaut for English speakers because the sound already exists in English.

Ä Example	Pronunciation	Meaning
Äpfel	ep-fel	apples
Mädchen	meht-khen	girl
Käse	keh-zeh	cheese
spät	shpeht	late
Bär	behr	bear
Hände	hen-deh	hands
Gäste	ges-teh	guests

Long ä vs Short ä

Like all German vowels, ä can be long or short:

Length	Sound	Example	Meaning
Long ä	Like "ay" in "say" (some dialects) or long "e"	Käse (keh-zeh)	cheese
Short ä	Like "e" in "bet"	Hände (hen-deh)	hands

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The Sound: Ö ö

The letter ö does not have an exact English equivalent. To produce it:

1. Say "eh" (as in "bed")
2. Keep your tongue in that position
3. Round your lips as if saying "oh"

The result is a sound similar to the "i" in the English word "bird" or the "ea" in "earth" — but with rounded lips.

Ö Example	Pronunciation	Meaning
schön	shern	beautiful
Öl	erl	oil
Löffel	lerf-fel	spoon
böse	ber-zeh	angry/evil
Vögel	fer-gel	birds
hören	her-ren	to hear
möchten	merkh-ten	would like

Practise Tip for Ö

Try these minimal pairs. The only difference is the vowel:

Without Umlaut	Meaning	With Umlaut	Meaning
schon	already	schön	beautiful
Kopf	head (singular)	Köpfe	heads (plural)
konnte	could	könnte	could (subjunctive)
Ton	tone	Töne	tones

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The Sound: Ü ü

The letter ü is perhaps the most challenging for English speakers. To produce it:

1. Say "ee" (as in "see")
2. Keep your tongue in that position
3. Round your lips tightly as if whistling

This sound is identical to the French "u" (as in "tu") or the "ü" in Turkish.

Ü Example	Pronunciation	Meaning
über	ew-ber	over/about
Tür	tewr	door
grün	grewn	green
fünf	fewnf	five
Stück	shtewk	piece
Brücke	brew-keh	bridge
müde	mew-deh	tired

Practise Tip for Ü

Again, minimal pairs help you hear the difference:

Without Umlaut	Meaning	With Umlaut	Meaning
Mut	courage	Mütze	cap/hat
Bruder	brother	Brüder	brothers
Buch	book	Bücher	books
Kuh	cow	Kühe	cows

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The CH Sound

German has two main "ch" sounds, often called the ich-Laut and the ach-Laut.

Ich-Laut (soft ch)

Used after front vowels (e, i, ä, ö, ü), after consonants (l, n, r), and in the diminutive suffix -chen.

The sound is like a breathy "h" made with the tongue pushed forward, similar to the first sound in English "huge" or "human" — but stronger.