German Pronunciation: The German R - Not What You Thought

[@mariafecaguladamoller5633]

Omg!,you finally open the Pandora's box of the German language! I'm speechless! You got it all! Thank u from the buttom of my 💓!! You are the best teacher I'ved encountered of my journey in learning Deutsch! Now ,you fill up the missing piece that I been searching! Finally it's done!

[@rogeriojoaquim5646]

agree

[@Solivagant13]

💯 spot on?

[@Bamsi-tl4nk]

Finally, nobody told this simple rule, that the german R is pronounced BEFORE vowels Ty, I appreciate a lot

[@RAMAFASTENAMONATO]

A German linguist named Theodor Siebs introduced the first standard pronunciation in 1898. It was called _die deutsche Bühnenaussprache_ or _Bühnendeutsch_ or stage pronunciation. This kind of German pronunciation is unique. Every speech sound had to be pronounced clearly, with /p t k/ in initial position were followed by a clear /h/. An alveolar trill 'r' was the standard pronunciation, which means all r's had to be pronounced just like a Spanish 'r'. There was no vocalized /r/ that is heard like /ah/. There were no syllabic consonants for the pronunciation of -en and -el. Thus, such words as _reich_ , _über_ , _Urlaub_ , _arbeiten_ , _Wappen_ , _backen_ , _Apfel_ and _Katze_ were just pronounced [raɪç], ['yːbər], [ˈuːrlaʊp], [ˈarbaɪtən], [ˈvapən], [ˈbakən], [ˈapfəl] and [ˈkhatsə] respectively. All people in German-speaking countries understood this stage pronunciation. Unfortunately, this artificial pronunciation was used formally in Germany until 1950s because the second type of standard pronunciation appeared: _Deutsche Hochsprache_ . Today, its name has been changed to _Deutsche Aussprache_ . The second type of German pronunciation is more difficult to many learners of German since a uvular 'r' is the standard pronunciation and it becomes a vocalized 'r' [ɐ] when the letter 'r' is at the end of words and before consonants. This means that 'r' is pronounced like /ah/ at the end of words and before consonants, but it is pronounced just like a French 'r' when it appears in other positions. The endings -en and -el become a syllabic-n and a syllabic-l respectively. Thus, _reich_ , _über_ , _Urlaub_ , _arbeiten_ , _Wappen_ , _backen_ , _Apfel_ and _Katze_ should be pronounced [ʀaɪç], ['yːbɐ], [ˈuːɐlaʊp], [ˈaʀbaɪtn̩], [ˈvapm̩], [ˈbakŋ̩], [ˈapfl̩] and [ˈkʰatsə] respectively.

[@unicornglitterfart5201]

Wowzie Wow!!! This short video just easily answered about 20 questions I've been trying to find answers to for the past week!!! I've been trying to get a straight answer on when to use which R sound. Thank you so much!

[@mysticartist7]

OMG ! Mind blown & clarified. Thank you ! I'm at B1.1 level and this helped so much!

[@jesuscapote2372]

Ich liebe diese Lektion...vielen Dank!!

[@Germanonlinegym]

Sehr gerne!

[@lovelywolfgamer7832]

@@Germanonlinegym german sounds like British when they speak

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

Hello. Your pronunciation is very clear. Yes i am a new learner of German. Danke schön.

[@marcocisneros4379]

Thanks a lot I noticed this in the Geman songs I listen to

[@danielfife243]

Thanks!

[@ryandavid739]

You just changed my life.

[@ai_vfx856]

Thank for the video. Could you also please explain how the r in ändern are being pronounced?

[@mfst100]

1:55 Isn't there "rrr" sound in "lernen" ??

[@Germanonlinegym]

It depends on the region, but usually not

[@rhythmharmony2923]

In fact, an "r" should be pronounced after open and short consonants in Standard High German. So an "r" is pronounced as such in "Fürst", "lernen", "durch", "Farbe", "färben" etc. But unless you want to an professional newscaster, a narrator etc., you honestly don't need to care about this.

[@Musfiq77]

a big salute to you bro.. , grateful to you !!

[@victorakandu9419]

Vielen Dank für Alles.

[@Sam-shushu]

these are great lessons thank you

[@andrenascimento8036]

This man explains very well. Congats!

[@Germanonlinegym]

Thanks!

[@MdAsifIqubal-uk7xi]

Very much kind of you, now I got you. Many many thanks to you 🙏

[@Digifan001]

I don't know what to say. I have always learned to pronounce this vocalic R as in the examples above. But my aunt , she lives in Bavaria and she says R that is pronounced like a long R (like italians or russians do, no matter where the letter is in the word). Also with words than end with "-ig", such as wichtig she says something like "wichtig" with a strong ig, and not "wichtich", that special "ch". I don't know... it frustrates me because she says I am wrong ...also she doesn't understand me.

[@Germanonlinegym]

First of all, don't be frustrated. You're both right. The pronunciation of the R depends on the region where the speaker comes from. In Bavaria it's indeed pronounced like the rolled Russian/Italian/Spanish etc. R. In most other regions it's vocalic. Same goes for -ig. In Bavaria it's pronounced -ik and not -ich as in the rest of Germany. So just continue the way you speak and don't believe that you're wrong, because you're right. There are so many dialects in Germany that we're used to different pronunciations, so it really shouldn't cause a problem in understanding.

[@danielsahagun4367]

You are my best TEACHER. Thanks Sir God Bless you

[@Jana181100]

In the video it's mentioned that you have a video of R pronunciation after consonants... Can someone send me a link please?

[@Germanonlinegym]

Hi Alya, the video is in the pronunciation master class (link in the description)

[@HamzaAfridi999]

Omg you’re unbelievable 😭😭 I can’t thank you enough ❤❤❤😭❤️❤️❤️ RESPECT 😭😭😭❤️❤️ TYSM … I was always confused in these things but now i am crystal clear ALHAMDULLILAH TY AGAIN❤

[@alexanderdevaux661]

I'm from Boston and I don't have any trouble with Ahhs at all.

[@kaliah1494]

Only Americans will get this! Haha xD

[@steelcantuna]

I spent hours on this lesson today & took a bunch of notes. Thanks!!! But... the way you spell (or make) your lower case "t" was throwing me off for a while. It looks like the capital letter "E" with the top part missing. 🤥

[@robertbrawley5048]

2:55. The silent "r" . Same in Spanish the"r" at the end of the word isn't pronounced by Castilian speakers. Or it cab sound like the English "uh" a "r" in the interior of a spanish word sounds like a "d" . I believe this is not intentional but the intention is to pronounce the "R" sound but it doesn't come out

[@gonzalo_rosae]

Mentira xd, sí que se pronuncia. En todo caso no se hace en Andalucía y ciertos lugares de Hispanoamérica

[@Hoo88846]

R as a consonant sounds like the “H” sound, and I studied French too, R is also like an H sound in French. I think it’s due to historical reasons as France was West Francia, while Germany was East Francia, so French is somewhat different from other Romance languages that descended from Latin (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Occitan, etc) because it has this Germanic or Frankish influence (Franks were one of the many Germanic tribes). 😃

[@poliorcetix979]

Hi, good reasonement, but the story of the strong R began in Paris by the XVIe, and was popularised in the countries following the French fashion, such as Germany, Danemark and Portugal.

[@Hoo88846]

@@poliorcetix979 Oh I see, so the R wasn’t pronounced that way before the 16th century? Est-ce que vous êtes français ou francophone? Merci. 😃

[@poliorcetix979]

@@Hoo88846 oui, je suis français. Before the XIVe, every European language (even English) had a rolled r. The French language is different from the other romance languages by his own internal evolutions, and not really thank to the germanic influences.

[@rohitturambekar5457]

Awesome teaching!

[@anlace3447]

0:53 Können Sie mir bitte sagen, wo die Lektion ist, wie man das R wie einen Konsonanten ausspricht?

[@Germanonlinegym]

Dieses Video ist aus meinem Online-Kurs "German Pronunciation Masterclass". Die Lektion zum R ist in dem Kurs, Link in der Beschreibung.

[@athirababuk1366]

Hello Sir, I'm really happy after watching your German lessons on KZbin. I have seen your 'TekaMolo' first time today. When i saw your videos, i can't say nothing, because your way of teaching is very easy to understand. I want to learn German with your videos and I'm also a beginner. Could you help me to improve my German? I hope that you can help me.

[@shad1791]

I keep ducking up the r it’s so hard to do

[@ChristianRichardBauer]

Actually there are two different schwa sounds in German. To begin with, the e-schwa, e.g. at the end of words like Wette or gerne. The first e in those words is an e like in „to get“, but the e at the and is a schwa like in the English article „a“, when it‘s pronounced in custom speech flow. The second one is the a-Schwa, which is the one in the „-er“-combination (gern, er, Stier) which sounds more like a very sloppy u in „but“, but you still pronounce the e before the a-schwa. „er“ are still two sounds: an e AND an a-schwa.

[@ausos4503]

I still don't get it can u explain a little more?

[@ChristianRichardBauer]

@@ausos4503 There is the normal schwa sound that we know from the English „the“ like in „the house“ or in „a“ like in „a house“. This schwa-Sound is used at word endings („Wette“, the first is an e like Englisch „get“, the second sound at the end is a schwa like in „the“), or in unstressed syllables („beginnen“, first and last syllable are schwa here). The other sound is the „a-schwa“ which is actually similar to the same phenomenon in British English, e.g. „mister“. In British English you don‘t pronounce the r at the end but it‘s still not the same schwa-sound like in „the“ or „a“. It‘s an a-schwa („minista“ more or less). Same broad idea in German.

[@M94-24]

Vielen Dank!

[@RagingGoblin]

You're wrong about /erzählen/. Standard German pronunciation definitely suggests a diphthong; maybe /(əɐ)/. /ə(ts)ɛ:ln/ sounds clearly wrong to my ears. While I think the difference between ə and ɐ isn't *huge* , I still think you should've mentioned it. You definitely pronounce 'Vater' correctly, but it's also definitely not the same sound as in 'be-', 'ge-' prefixes (schwa). On the other hand, your pronunciation of 'Wette', 'Fliege', and 'meine' is clearly off again, suggesting a high or upper German dialect influence. Standard German mandates /ə/ at the end here, not an /ɛ/ or /e/. Which is so wild to me, because the way you pronounce /r/ in Brot, Reis, grau, grün seems to suggest a more Low German influence to me (then again, I'm not very good with dialects). And while Standard German accepts many different realisations of /r/, it has to be said that your variant definitely is *not* the most common one, which would probably be the uvular fricative or approximant [ʁ ~ χ]. You definitely leave me confused here :)

[@someonerandom704]

Yeah I immediately noticed that he was pronouncing his /r/'s as a tapped [ɾ]. As a learner I have a very difficult time saying the uvular [ʁ] properly, even though I know the phonetics behind it. I actually came here looking for [ʁ] examples, but evidently this channel isn't it. His erzählen was actually the point where I clicked out of the video and checked the comments :P

[@RagingGoblin]

@@someonerandom704 The approximant is probably among the most difficult phons to master, and I've never really looked at German linguistics from a pedagogical standpoint. Best I can do is that the approximant is pretty close to 'tapping'' /x/ (the softer allophone of /χ/ ('e.g. 'ach': [ax] -> 'brach' [bxa:x], with the first /x/ in 'brach' obviously being lenis, but I can't remember the diacritic right now. It's a bit further towards /ç/, but the difference is marginal and probably not noticeable to most ears in fluent speech. It might not be 100%, but you're there about 95% of the way. Just don't tell any non-linguist German native because they'll heavily dispute that /r, R/ could have anything to do with /x/. ;)

[@ekkogaming5461]

a little too late but thank you for this amazing tutorial.

[@mbester2232]

You state in the first minute that there’s a separate lesson for the other R. Can you link it, I can’t find it.

[@miznasb1164]

This vedio is a boon for many❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@musicofnote1]

Bier with the slightly rolled "r" is typically Swiss German.

[@ДавидМеяфеКамиль]

Hallo, es stimmt, dass in Deutschland einige Deutsche das "R" stärker aussprechen.

[@peterg.8941]

Nein.

[@sheepleslayer586]

I feel smart.. kind of already figured this one out from listen to how words were said. though, I do like rolling my "R's" 😁

[@jessmos3]

I need help with the other type of R. The “rrrhhrr”

[@simonkemfors]

in seven years of school german, this was never explained to me

[@zopa9999999999999]

0:49

[@juliange7]

Well, good on the R part. Although with regard to the German schwa,according to the International phonetic alphabet, it is not a proper schwa but rather an /ɐ/, a bit different (bit stronger, towards a light A sound) . But mostly the unstressed vowel in bitte or können is never pronounced like an E sound bittE or könnEN but, in that case, yes, like a Schwa ə /bɪtə/

[@mfst100]

0:55 Wir brauchen jetzt eine Lektion für andere "R".

[@husenrustay1607]

Oops owesome teacher thanks alot but please can you write consonant words in German thanks 😁😁

[@Germanonlinegym]

I'm glad you like the video. What do you mean by "consonant words"?

[@husenrustay1607]

@@Germanonlinegym for e.g in English we have 5 a I u e o

[@husenrustay1607]

@@Germanonlinegym is that same in german 5?

[@Germanonlinegym]

@@husenrustay1607 Yes, the vowels are the same: a, e, i, o, u and in German there are also 3 special letters: ä, ö, ü

[@husenrustay1607]

@@Germanonlinegym thanks alot

[@lazarusunkwon6]

I think I'm getting confused, is this the soft spanish r or the soft french r? I keep hearing both! HEEEEELP!

[@Germanonlinegym]

Both exist and both are fine. But this video is about the times when the R sounds like uh

[@lazarusunkwon6]

@@Germanonlinegym Oh, Ok. Thank you very much.

[@ryandupuis5860]

I was told to always pronounce the ending "-e" with a shwa.

[@azzteke]

We talk about ending "-R".

[@je4nette]

My mind is blown.

[@Nathan-Croft]

It's like the non rhotic english pronunciation.

[@bozhidar-petrov]

Soooomehow the video helped which is quite weird because I cannot see a person.

[@mohammadrezahajari6530]

Short n sweet