German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "der Sommer" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce der Sommer in German?

der Sommer is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /deːɐ̯ ˈzɔ.mɐ/. It means “summer.” dair ZOM-uh. The s buzzes like a z, the o is short and rounded, and -er softens into 'uh'.

dair ZOM-uh. The s buzzes like a z, the o is short and rounded, and -er softens into 'uh'.

der Sommer /deːɐ̯ ˈzɔ.mɐ/

The first syllable owns the word and the second is a soft trailing vowel. Seasons in German are all masculine and all take im for 'in the season' — im Sommer, im Winter — and in that phrase the noun keeps its stress while im passes through almost unheard.

Listen: der Sommer

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Sound it out

S Buzzed like a z — the standard value of s before a vowel.

o Short and rounded, kept short by the doubled m.

mm A single sound. Doubled consonants in German never lengthen the consonant itself.

er The r dissolves entirely and the ending becomes a low, neutral vowel.

Hear it in a sentence

Der Sommer ist sehr heiß.

The summer is very hot.

Listen: Der Sommer ist sehr heiß.

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Der Sommer ist sehr heiß closes on heiß, whose ei is the 'eye' diphthong and whose ß is a plain hissing s. Sehr contributes a long 'ay' with a vocalised r, so the sentence has two vocalised r sounds and not a single consonantal one.

Where English speakers slip

The English word summer supplies an unrounded central vowel and a real r, and the German word gets both wrong from most learners as a result. Buzz the s, round the o, and let the ending be a plain dark vowel. The spelling similarity is a trap rather than a help here.