How to Pronounce German Umlauts Ä, Ö, Ü
Say ä, ö and ü clearly, long and short, hear the difference in pairs like schon/schön, and type them without a German keyboard.
The two dots change the vowel completely: schon means 'already', schön means 'beautiful'. Ö and ü have no English equivalent, but you can build them from sounds you already make.
The trick is to split the job: your tongue says one vowel while your lips say another.
Tap any word to hear it.
Ü: 'ee' tongue, 'oo' lips
Say a long 'ee', freeze your tongue, then push your lips into a tight 'oo' circle. If your tongue slides back, you get plain u instead.
long ü (üh, ü + one consonant)[yː]
say 'ee', then round your lips tightly
short ü (ü + two consonants)[ʏ]
'i' in 'bit' with rounded lips
tongue moves forward for ü
plural umlaut, same lip rounding
same tongue, only lips change
spread lips vs rounded lips
Ö: 'ay' tongue, 'oh' lips
Say 'ay' as in 'day' without the glide, keep your tongue still, and round your lips as for 'oh'. Short ö is the same move, starting from the 'e' in 'bed'.
long ö (öh, ö + one consonant)[øː]
say 'ay', freeze your tongue, round your lips
short ö (ö + two consonants)[œ]
'e' in 'bed' with rounded lips
tongue forward, lips stay round
same tongue, only lips change
short e plus rounding gives ö
Das ist schon sehr schön.
That's already very nice.
Ich möchte zwölf Brötchen, bitte.
I'd like twelve bread rolls, please.
Ä: an e sound, not an a
Short ä is exactly the 'e' in 'bed'; long ä is that sound held longer. Many speakers say long ä just like long e, and that is fine too.
long ä (äh, ä + one consonant)[ɛː]
like 'e' in 'bed', held longer
short ä (ä + two consonants)[ɛ]
same as 'e' in 'bed'
No umlaut key? Write ae, oe, ue
If you can't type umlauts, write the vowel plus e. It's the official fallback, and every German reads it correctly.
- Never just drop the dots: schon ≠ schön, Mutter ≠ Mütter.
- On phones, long-press a, o or u to get ä, ö, ü.
- ß works the same way: Straße becomes Strasse.
ae = ä[ɛ]
Maedchen means Mädchen, same pronunciation
oe = ö[ø]
schoen means schön; names like Goethe keep oe
ue = ü[y]
Mueller means Müller, same pronunciation
Common mistakes
✗ “shone” or “shern”
✓ [ʃøːn] — 'ay' tongue with rounded lips
Pull your tongue back and schön turns into schon.
✗ “tour”
✓ [tyːɐ̯] — 'ee' tongue, 'oo' lips
Tongue must stay forward; only the lips round.
✗ “mutter”, ignoring the dots
✓ [ˈmʏtɐ] — short ü, lips rounded
Dropping the umlaut changes 'mothers' into 'mother'.
✗ “mad-chen” with the 'a' of 'cat'
✓ [ˈmɛːtçən] — the 'e' of 'bed', held
Ä is an e-sound, never the English 'a'.
How to practise
- Say 'eeee', hold it, and slowly round your lips into ü.
- Alternate schon – schön ten times; only your tongue position changes.
- Read Mutter, Mütter, Bruder, Brüder aloud, exaggerating the rounding.
- Say 'fünf Brüder, zwölf Brötchen' three times, slowly then fast.
Questions learners ask
How do you type German umlauts without a German keyboard?
Write ae, oe, ue instead — every German reader understands it. On phones, long-press a, o or u to get ä, ö, ü.
Is German ü the same as French u?
Yes, long ü [yː] is essentially the French u in 'tu'. Short ü [ʏ] is a little more relaxed, like 'i' in 'bit' with round lips.
Is ä pronounced like e?
Short ä sounds exactly like short e (Äpfel, Eltern). Long ä is a more open [ɛː], though many speakers simply say it like long e.