How English and German connect, and how sounds map to spellings
Week 5 · Article
Week 5 of 6
English and German are closely related languages-in fact, they're both West Germanic languages. This shared origin means you can actually see the connection in everyday words.
Germanic cousins
English water = German wasser
English mother = German mutter
English pepper = German pfeffer
While the words look similar, German spelling patterns are quite different from English. The good news? Once you learn the patterns, German words tend to follow the rules consistently. Let's break down the key patterns you need to know.
Vowel patterns
Sounds and how they are spelled
/ah/ sound (ä)
Spelled a or o
angst, bratwurst, stalag, rottweiler
/aw/ sound (ȯ)
Spelled o or a
foosball, waldhorn, cobalt, vorlage
/ay/ sound (ā)
Spelled e or eh
lederhosen, wedel, geopolitik, gegenschein
Use "eh" based on roots like "wehr"
/a/ sound (a)
Spelled a
hinterland, frankenstein, rucksack, salband
/ee/ sound (ē)
Spelled ie or i
wiener, diesel, accordion, kriegspiel
Use "i" for English endings like -ium, -ion, -ian, -ial
/e/ sound (e)
Spelled e
seltzer, pretzel, feldspar, notgeld
/ahy/ sound (ī)
Spelled ei
meister, kreis, eider, eigenvalue
/oo/ sound (ü)
Spelled u or uh
strudel, noodle, dudelsack, nagelfluh
"uh" is quite rare
/oh/ sound (ō)
Spelled o or oh
kohlrabi, kobold, ohm, stollen
/uu/ sound (u̇)
Spelled u or uh
putz, wurst, fraktur, guhr
"uh" appears at the end of words, especially near "r"
/uh/ sound (ə)
Spelled e or u
wanderlust, bagel, hamster, geige
E is most common, especially at word ends and in -el endings
/oy/ sound (ȯi)
Spelled eu
streusel, keuper, kreuzer, krausen
Sometimes "au" when the a has an umlaut
/ow/ sound (au̇)
Spelled au
frau, umlaut, lauter, posaune
/y/ sound (y)
Spelled j
junker, jager, jass, klaberjass
Consonant patterns
Clusters and letter choices
/sh/ sound (sh)
Spelled sch or s
schiller, schnitzel, schwa, stummel
Use "s" before p or t only
/s/ sound (s)
Spelled s or ss
haversack, gruss, spritz, gneiss
"ss" in the middle of words or end
/z/ sound (z)
Spelled z or s
panzer, flaser, spareribs, sangerfest
Z is quite rare
/ch/ sound (ch)
Spelled tsch
kitsch, putsch, nutsch, pitchblende
"tch" also appears occasionally
/ts/ sound (ts)
Spelled tz or z
glitz, waltz, quartz, existenz
Use z at beginning, end, or next to w, f, v
/t/ sound (t)
Spelled t, tt, or d
prattle, stulm, diktat, trinklied
tt in middle of words; d at end of syllable
/k/ sound (k)
Spelled k, ck, c, q, or g
flak, bockwurst, caffeine, bergstock
C only in Greek/scientific words; ck in middle/end; g in specific roots like "berg"; ch in roots like "kuchen"
/kh/ sound (k)
Spelled ch
brotchen, schlich, nachschlag, lebkuchen
/v/ sound (v)
Spelled w
wedel, wenzel, wunderkind, wiesenboden
/f/ sound (f)
Spelled f, v, ff, or pf
fife, flugel, vorspiel, pfeffernuss
ff in middle of words; pf in specific roots; ph in Greek words
/r/ sound (r)
Spelled r or rr
reiter, riesling, herr, realschule
rr in middle/end; rh in scientific words
/n/ sound (n)
Spelled n, nn, or kn
nosh, knapsack, eiswein, minnesinger
nn common in name ending "mann"; kn at beginning
/p/ sound (p)
Spelled p, b, or pp
panhas, stippen, graupel, abwehr
pp in middle; b at end of syllable, common in "ab-" prefix
A note on German plurals
Plural endings
German plurals work very differently from English. While English typically adds "-s" to make words plural, German usually adds "-en" instead.
Common plural examples
pickelhaube → pickelhauben (note: English version uses "pickelhaubes")
decke → decken
volkerwanderung → volkerwanderungen
Here's an important rule: words that already end in "-en" in singular form will not add a second "-en" ending to become plural. Instead, they simply end with "-s."
Your strategy
Use these patterns as your foundation, then treat words in the dictionary as "case studies." Break down each word sound by sound, noticing where the patterns show up and where they deviate. With consistent practice, German spelling will become second nature.
📋 Key patterns to remember
English and German are West Germanic cousins-you can see this in similar words
Once you learn German patterns, they follow consistently-German is actually very rule-based
Vowel spellings can vary (like /ee/ spelled ie or i), so context and roots matter
Consonant clusters are common in German (tsch, sch, pf) and create distinctive sounds
German plurals typically add -en, not -s like English
Use the dictionary as your learning tool-break down each word sound by sound
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Article Complete!
Week 5, Day 1 done
Review these patterns before Tuesday's live session where we'll dive deeper into exceptions and practice with real examples.