When you open your mouth, shape it as if you are forming a large “o” or a lowercase “u. " Try to find videos of people speaking German so you can understand how they keep their mouth when speaking. Germans also pronounce some consonants and vowels differently than English speakers would.
In German, the vowel combination of “ei” is pronounced like the “i” in “lie” or the “y” in “dry. " For example, the word “drei” in German means three. However, it’s pronounced “dry. " Similarly, the word “frei” means free in German. It’s pronounced “fry. " It’s the opposite for the vowel combination “ie. " This combination is pronounced like the “ee” in the English word “free. " So when you say the German word for four (“vier”) remember to pronounce the “ie” in it as “ee. " The vowel combination of “eu” is pronounced “oy” in German. If you see an umlaut over a vowel, you pronounce that vowel differently. The German word for “five” has an umlaut: fünf. The ü should sound like “oo” but with rounded lips.
The consonant “v” is pronounced as an “f” sound. So make an “f” sound, not a “v” sound, when you pronounce the German word for four. In German, the consonant “s” is pronounced as a “z” when it starts a word, such as “sieben” (the German word for seven). When the letter “r” ends a word, it’s pronounced lightly, as in “uh. " The letter “r” is also pronounced very lightly when it’s in the middle of a word. Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth as you say it. [3] X Research source So, the word in German for four “vier” is pronounced “feeah. " When the consonant “z” starts a word, pronounce it as “ts. "
You might also need to know how to say the word for zero in German once you’ve mastered how to count 1 through 10. Zero is “null,” but that’s pronounced as “nool. "
Put the word “zehn” after each number to indicate you’ve added 10 when counting from 13-19. So, “neunzehn” is how you say 19 and “achtzehn” is how you say 18, and so on. Eleven is pronounced “elf” and 12 is “zwölf. " Twenty is “zwanzig. " To count past 20, start with the German word for the second number and add the word for the number 1-10 and “und” and then “zwanzig. " So, 21 is “einundzwanzig,” which literally means “1 and 20” (while dropping the “s” in “eins. “) To say 22, follow the same process. The word for 22 is “zweiundzwanzig. " And so on through 29. Follow the same process all the way up to 100. However, instead of zwanzig, put the words for 30 (“dreißig” - the ß is “ss” in German and pronounced the same as the “s” in English), 40 (“vierzig” - pronounced “feahtsig’), 50 (“funfzig”), 60 (“sechzig”), 70 (“siebzig”), 80 (“achtzig”), and 90 (“neunzig”). The German word for 100 is “(ein)hundert” (pronounce the “d” like a “t” and the “u” like “oo. “)
Various language sites online will match you with native speakers. Some allow you to hear pronunciation by putting your cursor on a letter. [15] X Research source Look up You Tube videos of people speaking German, including counting from 1 to 10, so that you can hear the words before you try speaking them. [16] X Research source Some sites use music and song to teach children and others how to count in German. [17] X Research source
You could also record yourself counting to 10 in German, and then play it back. This is one of the best ways to perfect your speech. Traveling to or living in Germany is going to greatly enhance your language abilities. Speaking a foreign language repeatedly to native speakers is really the best way to learn it.
