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German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "der Fuß" in German?
dair FOOSS. A long, firmly rounded 'oo' and the ß as a plain hissing s.
The ß is doing double duty here: it is a consonant and a length signal at the same time, telling you that the single vowel in the word is long. The plural Füße fronts that vowel to a long ü and keeps the ß, so the length survives while the colour changes.
Listen: der Fuß
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Hear it in a sentence
Mein linker Fuß tut weh.
My left foot hurts.
Listen: Mein linker Fuß tut weh.
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Mein linker Fuß tut weh gives linker the masculine nominative -er, since mein carries no ending of its own. The idiom wehtun splits, with weh sitting before the verb's remains, and its long 'ay' balances the long 'oo' of the noun.
Where English speakers slip
The ß reads as a capital B to newcomers, and the English word fuss suggests a short vowel. German wants both fixed: an s sound, and a genuinely long 'oo'. Because Fuß and Fluss differ precisely in vowel length and in the ß-versus-ss spelling, this pair is a good illustration of why the character matters.