German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "das Papier" in German?

dass pa-PEER, or 'pa-PEE-uh'. The beat is on the second syllable, ie is a long 'ee', and the r melts into a vowel.

das Papier /das paˈpiːɐ̯/

The second syllable is the loud one, following the word's Latin route into German. The plural Papiere adds a schwa, which restores the r as a real consonant, and the compound Papierkorb keeps the primary beat here while adding a secondary one on Korb.

Listen: das Papier

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Sound it out

Pa A p and a short unstressed a.

p A second p, opening the stressed syllable.

ie A single long 'ee', carrying the beat.

r Vocalised at the end into a dark 'uh'.

Hear it in a sentence

Gib mir bitte ein Blatt Papier.

Give me a sheet of paper, please.

Listen: Gib mir bitte ein Blatt Papier.

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Gib mir bitte ein Blatt Papier uses the measurement pattern with no preposition — Blatt Papier, where English needs 'sheet of paper'. Gib is the du-imperative of geben with its shortened stem vowel, and mir is dative as the recipient.

Where English speakers slip

English paper is front-stressed with a diphthong; German is back-stressed with a long 'ee'. Learners produce 'PA-per' almost automatically. Move the beat to the second syllable, hold the 'ee' long, and let the r dissolve into a vowel rather than curling for it.