German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "das Auge" in German?

dass OW-guh. A glottal catch, the au as 'ow', a hard g, and a schwa at the end.

das Auge /das ˈaʊ̯.ɡə/

Loud on AU-, quiet on -ge. The plural Augen replaces the schwa with a syllabic n and changes nothing else, so singular and plural share their rhythm exactly — which makes this one of the easier body-part nouns to inflect.

Listen: das Auge

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Sound it out

Au The 'ow' diphthong of house, preceded by a light glottal stop since the word begins on a vowel.

g Hard g as in go, never soft. Fully voiced because it opens the second syllable.

e A reduced schwa, carrying no stress and no colour, only a little breath.

Hear it in a sentence

Sie hat grüne Augen.

She has green eyes.

Listen: Sie hat grüne Augen.

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Sie hat grüne Augen gives the adjective the plural -e ending, and grüne needs the long front-rounded ü. So the sentence contains one of German's hardest vowels immediately before one of its easiest diphthongs, which makes it a useful contrast to practise.

Where English speakers slip

English gauge and gouge both supply a soft g, and learners import it here. German g is hard in every position at the start of a syllable. The au is the other check: it is 'ow', not the 'aw' that English readers default to. The word should sound like the English word ow with a g and a hum attached.