German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "das Kind" in German?

dass KINT. A short lax i, and the final d hardening into a t.

das Kind /das kɪnt/

One short syllable carries everything. Its plural, Kinder, adds a softened -er ending and in doing so brings the d back to life as a real voiced consonant, because it is no longer at the end of the word — so 'kint' becomes 'KIN-duh'.

Listen: das Kind

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Sound it out

K A crisp k. German aspirates it at the start of a stressed syllable.

i A clipped i, the vowel in bin. Keep it loose and short.

n A plain n with no adjustment needed.

d Devoiced to t. German hardens b, d and g to p, t and k at the end of a word.

Hear it in a sentence

Das Kind spielt draußen.

The child is playing outside.

Listen: Das Kind spielt draußen.

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Das Kind spielt draußen has spielt opening with 'shp' and draußen combining the 'ow' diphthong with an ß and a syllabic-n ending. Both words are more difficult than the noun itself, which makes the sentence a good stretch beyond the headword.

Where English speakers slip

Trusting the spelling leaves the final d voiced, giving 'kind' as in the English adjective. German hardens it to t. Watch the vowel too: English kind has a diphthong, German Kind has a short lax i, so the two words share nothing but their letters.