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German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "der Fluss" in German?
dair FLOOSS. A short rounded 'oo' — the doubled ss is the spelling's signal that the vowel is short.
The ss is telling you the vowel is short, which is the whole point of the spelling. Set it against Fuß, which has ß and a long vowel: the two words differ in vowel length, and German signals that difference purely through the choice of ss or ß. The plural Flüsse fronts the vowel to a short ü.
Listen: der Fluss
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Hear it in a sentence
Der Fluss ist sehr breit.
The river is very wide.
Listen: Der Fluss ist sehr breit.
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Der Fluss ist sehr breit closes on breit with the 'eye' diphthong and a throaty r. So the sentence has a short clipped vowel in the noun and a long diphthong in the adjective, which is a useful contrast to hear in a single short statement.
Where English speakers slip
The ss-versus-ß distinction is the thing to take away, because it governs vowel length across the whole language: Fluss is short, Fuß is long, and the spelling tells you which before you hear the word. Learners also unround the u toward the vowel of English fluss-like words — keep the lips genuinely rounded.