LingoDrop
German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "der Schuh" in German?
dair SHOO. sch is sh, and the h at the end is a silent length marker.
A silent letter closes the spelling but not the sound. The plural Schuhe adds a schwa behind that silent h, so the h still contributes nothing audible while the word gains a second syllable — an odd-looking spelling with a completely regular pronunciation.
Listen: der Schuh
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Dieser Schuh ist zu klein.
This shoe is too small.
Listen: Dieser Schuh ist zu klein.
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Dieser Schuh ist zu klein uses zu in its degree sense, meaning too. Dieser takes the masculine nominative ending, and klein carries the 'eye' diphthong — so the sentence ends on a diphthong after opening on a long monophthong.
Where English speakers slip
Pronouncing the h at the end adds a breath German does not have; it is purely a length sign. English shoe is otherwise a very good model for the vowel. Watch the spelling too, since German writes this sound sch — Shuh is not a possible spelling and the three-letter version has to become automatic.