Vowel Combinations

German has several important vowel combinations (diphthongs and digraphs) that produce specific sounds. Understanding these, along with the rules for long versus short vowels, will dramatically improve your pronunciation.

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The Three German Diphthongs

A diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds that glide together within a single syllable. German has three diphthongs.

1. EI and AI — the "eye" sound

Both ei and ai produce the same sound: like the English word "eye" or the "i" in "mine".

Key rule: In German, ei always says "eye" and ie always says "ee". Never confuse them!

Spelling	Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
ei	eins	ains	one
ei	Wein	vain	wine
ei	Stein	shtain	stone
ei	Reise	rai-zeh	journey
ei	Arbeit	ar-bait	work
ei	klein	klain	small
ai	Mai	my	May
ai	Kaiser	kai-zer	emperor
ai	Bayern	by-ern	Bavaria
ai	Hai	high	shark

Memory trick: Think of EI as the second letter (I) giving the sound: E-I = "eye". Think of IE as the second letter (E) giving the sound: I-E = "ee".

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2. EU and ÄU — the "oy" sound

Both eu and äu produce the same sound: like "oy" in English "boy" or "toy".

Spelling	Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
eu	Freund	froynt	friend
eu	heute	hoy-teh	today
eu	neun	noyn	nine
eu	Europa	oy-roh-pah	Europe
eu	Leute	loy-teh	people
eu	deutsch	doytsh	German
äu	Bäume	boy-meh	trees
äu	Häuser	hoy-zer	houses
äu	Läufer	loy-fer	runner
äu	träumen	troy-men	to dream

Note: äu exists because it is the umlauted form of au. When an au-word changes form (e.g., plural), au often becomes äu: Baum → Bäume, Haus → Häuser.

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3. AU — the "ow" sound

The combination au sounds like "ow" in English "cow" or "how".

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
Haus	hows	house
Frau	frow	woman/Mrs
Baum	bowm	tree
kaufen	kow-fen	to buy
blau	blow	blue
laut	lowt	loud
Auge	ow-geh	eye
Maus	mows	mouse
Pause	pow-zeh	break/pause
auch	owkh	also

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Diphthong Summary

Spelling	Sound	English Equivalent	Example
ei, ai	"ai"	"eye", "mine"	Wein, Mai
eu, äu	"oy"	"boy", "toy"	Freund, Bäume
au	"ow"	"cow", "how"	Haus, Frau

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The IE Digraph — Long "ee"

The combination ie is NOT a diphthong — it represents a single, long "ee" sound (like English "see").

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
die	dee	the (feminine)
sie	zee	she/they
Liebe	lee-beh	love
spielen	shpee-len	to play
viel	feel	much/a lot
Brief	breef	letter
Tier	teer	animal
Bier	beer	beer
nie	nee	never
Spiegel	shpee-gel	mirror

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EI vs IE — The Critical Distinction

This is one of the most important pronunciation distinctions in German. Confusing ei and ie will change words completely.

EI (sounds like "eye")	IE (sounds like "ee")
Wein (wine)	Wien (Vienna)
dein (your)	dien- (serve-)
Reis (rice)	Riese (giant)
Bein (leg)	Biene (bee)
Leid (suffering)	Lied (song)
sein (his/to be)	sie (she)
Seite (page/side)	Miete (rent)

Critical: EI = "eye" and IE = "ee". Always. No exceptions. Get this right and you avoid one of the most common pronunciation mistakes.

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Long vs Short Vowels

German vowels can be either long or short, and this distinction changes the meaning of words. Here are the rules:

When a Vowel Is Long