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German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "alles" in German?
AH-luss. A small catch in the throat, a short open a, then a schwa and a hissing s.
Only the first syllable carries any weight, and the -es tail is barely there. Grammatically the word behaves as a singular even though it means everything, so the verb after it is singular too — that mismatch between meaning and agreement is easier to remember once you notice the word is rhythmically a single unit, not a plural-sounding one.
Listen: alles
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Hear it in a sentence
Alles ist bereit.
Everything is ready.
Listen: Alles ist bereit.
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Alles ist bereit takes a singular ist, which is where English speakers hesitate. Bereit carries the unstressed prefix be-, so the beat lands on REIT with the 'eye' diphthong, and its final t is fully released. Both words in the sentence therefore have their weight in different places: first syllable, then second.
Where English speakers slip
The l is where an English accent shows. English gives l a hollow, back-of-the-mouth quality before a consonant or at the end of a word — all, tall, full — and learners carry that into alles, which muddies the a in front of it. Keep the tongue tip forward and the sound bright. Then check the ending: it is a schwa plus a hiss, not the 'ess' of a spelled-out letter.