LingoDrop
German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "dass" in German?
DASS, with a short open a and a hissing s. It sounds exactly like the article das — only the spelling separates them.
The conjunction leans entirely on the clause behind it and takes no beat of its own. Its real job is structural rather than rhythmic: dass sends the conjugated verb to the very end of its clause, so the sentence's rhythmic peak usually falls on the last word, not on anything near dass itself.
Listen: dass
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Ich weiß, dass du kommst.
I know that you're coming.
Listen: Ich weiß, dass du kommst.
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Ich weiß, dass du kommst has a comma that German requires — subordinate clauses are always fenced off in writing — and the verb kommst duly appears at the end rather than after du. Weiß here is the verb form meaning 'know', pronounced exactly like the colour white, and the sentence closes on a crisp st cluster.
Where English speakers slip
The double s tempts learners to lengthen the vowel by analogy with English pass or class, giving 'dahss'. German does the reverse: doubled consonants mark short vowels, so the a is clipped. Learners also import the buzz from English was, but German s in this position is a clean hiss, and buzzing it moves the word toward a completely different sound shape.