German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "das Büro" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce das Büro in German?

das Büro is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /das byˈʁoː/. It means “office (pl. Büros).” dass bue-ROH. A front-rounded ü in the unstressed first syllable and the beat on RO with a long o.

dass bue-ROH. A front-rounded ü in the unstressed first syllable and the beat on RO with a long o.

das Büro /das byˈʁoː/

Second syllable, since the word comes from French bureau and keeps its original rhythm. The plural Büros takes an -s ending, another borrowing marker, and the stress stays on the o throughout — so this small word breaks two German rules at once, on stress and on plural formation.

Listen: das Büro

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Sound it out

B A plain b, though released with less breath than the English one.

ü Front-rounded, and unstressed here so it is fairly short — but the rounding and the forward tongue position are still required.

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

o A long, steady 'oh' carrying the stress.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich arbeite im Büro.

I work in the office.

Listen: Ich arbeite im Büro.

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Ich arbeite im Büro contracts in and dem into im, which is compulsory. Arbeite opens on a glottal catch and takes an inserted helping e in its ending, and it is front-stressed — so the sentence contains a front-stressed native verb and a back-stressed borrowed noun side by side.

Where English speakers slip

English bureau supplies both the wrong stress and the wrong first vowel, giving 'BYOO-roh'. German puts the beat on the second syllable and needs a genuine front-rounded ü, not a y-glide plus 'oo'. Say the ü on its own first, then attach the stressed RO behind it.