Umlaute (ä, ö, ü)
Umlaute (ä, ö, ü)
The 3 German Umlauts are modified vowels unique to German. ä sounds like English 'bed' but can be long /ɛː/ or short /ɛ/. ö is made by saying 'e' with rounded lips — no English equivalent. ü is made by saying 'ee' with rounded lips — also no English equivalent. Umlauts appear in plurals (Buch→Bücher), conjugations, and many common words.
Sounds
| IPA | Beispiel | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| /ɛː/ | Mädchen | girl |
| /ɛ/ | Hände | hands |
| /øː/ | schön | beautiful |
| /œ/ | Löffel | spoon |
| /yː/ | über | over |
| /ʏ/ | fünf | five |
Minimal Pairs
schwul
gay
schwül
humid
schon
already
schön
beautiful
fuhlen
to feel
füllen
to fill
Tips
For ö: say 'e' and slowly round your lips without changing the tongue position.
For ü: say 'ee' and slowly round your lips. The tongue stays forward.
Practice switching: a-ä, o-ö, u-ü. This trains the lip rounding reflex.
Common Mistakes
Pronouncing ö like English 'o'
Pronouncing ü like English 'oo'
Related Sounds
Explore More
Helpful tools for anyone learning German. No signup required.
See how de-de works alongside popular German learning tools.
Master German sounds with IPA guides and practice tips.
German courses tailored to your goals.
Conjugation tables for the 100 most important German verbs.
10 daily news from Germany, adapted to your language level
Ready to speak German?
Start your AI-powered German course today. No subscription — just your OpenAI API key (~$0.50/week).