The German consonants 'sp' and 'st' 

When they occur at the beginning of a word, the German consonant combinations 'sp' and 'st' are pronounced 'schp-' and 'scht-' respectively. To practise these sounds, click either here or on the sound icon on the left. The eight words that you will hear are supplied in the box below along with an English translation:

Sounds 1: 'sp' and 'st' at the start of a word Straße (street)    Stein (stone) Stadt (town; city)    Stoff (material) Sport (sport)    Speisekarte (menu) Spiel (sport)    Sparkasse (savings bank)

But when 'sp' and 'st' occur in the middle or at the end of a word, then these consonant combinations are pronounced as they would be in English. This means that 'sp' is pronounced as it would be in the English word 'lisp' and 'st' is pronounced as it would be in the English word 'lost'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to six words in which 'sp' and 'st' appear in either medial or final position.

Sounds 2: 'sp' and 'st' in medial and final position Wespe (wasp)    Knospe (bud) Donnerstag (Thursday)    Gast (guest) Liste (list)    Husten (cough)

An exception to the above rule occurs when words beginning with 'sp' and 'st' are used as the final element in a compound noun. Although these sounds are positioned in the middle of the compound noun, the consonant combinations are still pronounced as they would be at the start of a word, i.e. as 'schp-' and 'scht-'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four compound nouns containing 'sp' and 'st' in medial position.

Sounds 3: 'sp' and 'st' within compound nouns Hauptstadt (capital city)    Hauptstraße (high street) Ballspiel (ball game)    Profisport (professional sport)

 How to pronounce the German consonant 't'

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