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German pronunciation practice with real sentences, sound by sound

German is mostly said the way it is written, so its pronunciation comes down to a short list: the two sounds of ch, the vowels with dots, the R from the back of the throat, vowel pairs that English reads the other way round, letters that look English but are not, and hard endings. Here are 12 real sentences from a German lesson with hand-written captions, grouped by those sounds, with the word to listen for in bold. Each one opens at its own line: listen, say it after the speaker, then play your take beside the original. Start with this one:

Try it now: both sounds of ch in one question

Was mache ich gerade?

What am I doing right now? The ch in mache comes after a, so it is the rough sound at the back of the mouth; the ch in ich comes after i, so it is soft and made at the front. The W of Was sounds like an English v.

Say this line after the speaker

2:04–2:09 · After the speaker · German Shadowing, human-written captions

The two sounds of ch: ach and ich

After a, o, u and au, ch is made at the back of the mouth, like the “ch” of Scottish “loch”: mache, Buch. After e, i, ä, ö, ü, ei, eu and after a consonant, it is made at the front: put your tongue where you say the y of “yes” and push air through without voice, close to the h of “huge” said with more air. So ich is neither “ick” nor “ish”. The -ig at the end of a word is often said the same way.

  1. Was mache ich gerade? What am I doing right now? 2:04–2:09
  2. Ich bin heute sehr glücklich. I’m very happy today. 9:47–9:52

Ü and Ö: rounded vowels English doesn’t have

For ü, say “ee”, then round your lips tightly as if for “oo” without moving your tongue. For ö, say the e of “bed” (or a long “ay” without its glide) with the same rounded lips. Leave the lips flat and the word changes: für (for) becomes something close to vier (four).

  1. Ich lerne Schritt für Schritt. I learn step by step. 3:20–3:26
  2. Ich höre Musik, sie klingt schön. I’m listening to music; it sounds lovely. 6:47–6:52

Ä, EI, IE and EU: vowels spelled the German way

The letter ä is the e of “bed” when short, as in Hände. The pair ei sounds like “eye”, and ie like the “ee” of “see”: read the second letter the way English names it (e is “ee”, i is “eye”). And eu and äu are the “oy” of “boy”, as in Leute and heute. German vowels don’t glide: sehe holds one clean vowel, not “say-ee”.

  1. Ich sehe meine Hände und den Raum. I see my hands and the room. 13:34–13:39
  2. Ich sehe viele Leute. I see a lot of people. 5:28–5:33

The German R

At the start of a word or a syllable, the R is made at the back of the throat, a light, soft gargle: Rasen, grau. Keep the tip of your tongue down behind your lower teeth. At the end of a word and in -er, it softens into a short “uh”: der sounds close to “dare” without the r, sehr close to “zair”. A rolled R is understood and heard in the south, but the throat R is the common one.

  1. Der Rasen ist grün, und die Blumen sind rot. The lawn is green, and the flowers are red. 5:03–5:10
  2. Der Himmel ist blau und die Wolken sind grau. The sky is blue and the clouds are grey. 7:34–7:42

Letters that look English but aren’t: w, v, z, s, sp, st and ß

The letter w is an English v (Wolken), and v is usually an f (viele, voll). z is always “ts”, even at the start: Zeit is “tsite”. An s before a vowel is a z sound (sehe, Rasen). At the start of a word, sp and st are “shp” and “sht”: spreche, Straße. ß is a plain s.

  1. Ich spreche langsam und deutlich. I speak slowly and clearly. 0:58–1:04
  2. Die Straße ist lang und voll. The street is long and full. 5:17–5:23

Hard endings and long words

German whispers b, d and g at the end of a word: they become p, t and k. Geduld and Abend end in a t, Tag in a k. Long words are short words stuck together, with the stress usually on the first part: Feierabend is Feier + Abend. Say the parts apart, then join them.

  1. Ich habe Zeit und Geduld. I have time and patience. 3:09–3:14
  2. Am Abend habe ich Feierabend. In the evening I finish work. 16:18–16:24

How to practise German pronunciation with these sentences

  1. Pick one sound a day. Read its rule, then listen to its sentences twice before you speak.
  2. Say each line after the speaker three times. If it feels fast, choose 0.75× under “More options”.
  3. Compare. Open Compare and play your take beside the original. Listen only for the bold word first, then for the whole line.
  4. Come back tomorrow and say yesterday’s lines once before the next sound.

What Sada can and cannot tell you

Sada compares your take with the captions: which words its speech recognition heard, which it missed, and your timing against the speaker. It does not grade a single sound, so it cannot tell you whether your ü was rounded enough or your ch was soft: grün said with flat lips may still be heard as grün. A missed word is a hint to listen again; your ears judge the sound. Recordings stay on your device.

For a ten-minute routine and German videos by level, see the German shadowing guide. Preparing for the Goethe A1 exam: Goethe A1 Sprechen practice.

Every line comes from Learn to Speak German Without Thinking | Shadowing (German Shadowing), whose German captions are written by hand; the speaker says each sentence twice and the link opens the first. Lines and ranges were checked against the captions Sada uses on 2026-10-25. Captions can change.

Pronunciation in other languages

Questions people ask

How can I practise German pronunciation on my own?

Work on one sound at a time inside real sentences: read the rule, listen to a native speaker say the sentence, say it after them three times, record it and play your take beside the original. A few sounds (the two ch sounds, ü and ö, the R, the vowel pairs ei, ie and eu, the letters w, v and z, and hard endings) cover most of what English speakers get wrong.

Which German sounds are hardest for English speakers?

Usually the ü of “für” and the ö of “schön” (rounded vowels English doesn’t have), the soft ch of “ich”, and the R made at the back of the throat. Letters like w, z, ei and ie are easy once you know they are read differently from English.

Is German pronounced the way it is written?

Mostly, yes. Once you know a few fixed rules (ei is “eye”, ie is “ee”, eu is “oy”, w is v, z is ts, sp and st start with “sh” at the start of a word, and b, d and g turn into p, t and k at the end), you can read almost any word aloud.

Can Sada check my German pronunciation?

Sada shows which German words its speech recognition heard in your take, which it missed, and your timing against the speaker. It does not grade individual sounds, so listen to your take beside the original in Compare to hear the difference. It is free and works in the browser without an account.

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