German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "bereit" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce bereit in German?

bereit is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /bəˈʁaɪ̯t/. It means “ready.” buh-RITE. The be- prefix is an unstressed schwa and the beat lands squarely on REIT.

buh-RITE. The be- prefix is an unstressed schwa and the beat lands squarely on REIT.

bereit /bəˈʁaɪ̯t/

Say buh-RITE with the weight at the back, which is the reliable signal of an unstressed German prefix. Once you recognise be- as a prefix rather than part of the root, the stress placement of a whole family of words becomes predictable — bereit, bezahlen, bekommen, besuchen all put the weight after it.

Listen: bereit

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Sound it out

be An unstressed prefix reduced to b plus a schwa. It never carries the stress.

r The uvular r as a full consonant, opening the stressed syllable.

ei The diphthong of night. Keep it fully open at the start rather than clipping it.

t A crisp t. German never swallows or glottalises a final t the way American English does.

Hear it in a sentence

Bist du bereit?

Are you ready?

Listen: Bist du bereit?

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Bist du bereit? puts the verb first for a yes-no question, and bist is the irregular du form of sein. The question ends on the fully released t of bereit, which should not be swallowed — a clean final consonant is what gives the question its crispness.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers front-load the stress, producing 'BE-reit', because English generally stresses early. German unstressed prefixes are absolute about this. The diphthong is the second check: 'ba-REET' is the other common attempt, and the ei there needs to be a full 'eye' — the word rhymes with the English word right.