German vowels: long and short 'ü'  

The German long 'ü' and short 'ü' are two of the hardest vowel sounds for the English speaker to master, as there are no direct equivalents in the English language.

The long German 'ü' vowel
To form a long German 'ü' vowel - which can be written 'ü', 'üh' and sometimes 'y' - first articulate a long German 'ie' sound in a word such as 'Tier' (= animal). As you say it, gradually purse your lips and the word that emerges is 'Tür' (= door). If you try the same procedure with the German word 'Kiel' (= North German town), then the word that emerges when you purse your lips will be 'kühl' (= cool). Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to six German words containing this long 'ü' vowel:

Sounds 1: The long German 'ü' vowel früh (early)    Tür (door) grün (green)    über (above) Bühne (stage)    Lüge (lie)

The short German 'ü' vowel
The short German 'ü' sound - which can be written 'ü' and sometimes 'y' - is best described as a shorter version of the sound outlined above, but with slightly less lip-rounding. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear six German words containing this short 'ü' vowel:

Sounds 2: The short German 'ü' vowel Stück (piece)    Münze (coin) Brücke (bridge)    Perücke (wig) dünn (thin)    glücklich (happy)

Distinguishing between German 'u' and 'ü' vowels
To practise distinguishing between German 'u' and 'ü' vowels, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear nine pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains a 'u' vowel, whereas the second contains a 'ü' vowel.

Sounds 3: Distinguishing between German 'u' and 'ü' vowels jung (young)    jünger (younger) gut (good)    Güte (goodness) Schule (school)    Schüler (schoolboy) Kuh (cow)    Kühe (cows) Stuhl (chair)    Stühle (chairs) Busch (bush)    Büsche (bushes) Kuss (kiss)    Küsse (kisses) drucken (to print)    drücken (to press) Bruch (break)    Brüche (breaks)

 The German letter 'y'

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