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German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "das Problem" in German?
dass pro-BLAYM. The stress is on the second syllable and the vowel in it is a long 'ay'.
The beat sits at the back, as it does in most Greek and Latin borrowings that German has not fully naturalised. The plural Probleme adds a schwa behind the stressed syllable and leaves the weight where it is, so all forms of the word share the same back-loaded rhythm.
Listen: das Problem
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Wir haben ein Problem.
We have a problem.
Listen: Wir haben ein Problem.
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Wir haben ein Problem keeps ein endingless because Problem is neuter and the neuter accusative matches the nominative. The r in Problem is a genuine scraped consonant, since a vowel follows it, which makes the word a compact place to practise the sound.
Where English speakers slip
English problem is front-stressed with a short second vowel, and both features get carried over. German puts the beat on the second syllable and makes its vowel a long 'ay'. Say 'pro' quickly and lean hard on 'BLAYM', and the word immediately stops sounding like its English relative.