Wortbetonung

Word Stress (Wortbetonung)

German native words stress the first syllable (ARbeiten, MUTter). Foreign words vary (telefoNIEren, UniverSITÄT). Separable verbs stress the prefix (ANrufen, AUFstehen). Inseparable prefixes are unstressed (verSTEhen, beSUchen). Compound words stress the first element (HAUSaufgabe).

Sounds

IPA	Beispiel	Translation
1st syllable	ARbeiten	to work
last syllable	telefoNIEren	to phone
prefix stressed	ANkommen	to arrive
prefix unstressed	verSTEhen	to understand

Minimal Pairs

UMfahren

to drive around

umFAHren

to knock over

ÜBERsetzen

to ferry across

überSETZen

to translate

Tips

Always mark stress when learning new words. It changes meaning in some cases!

Compound words: stress the FIRST element. HAUSaufgabe, not hausAUFgabe.

Common Mistakes

Stressing foreign words on the first syllable

Fix: Foreign words often stress a later syllable: -ieren, -ität, -tion

Stressing inseparable prefix

Fix: Inseparable prefixes (be-, er-, ver-) are NEVER stressed

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