German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "der Weg" in German?

dair VAYK. The w is a v, the e is long, and the final g hardens into a k.

der Weg /deːɐ̯ veːk/

Vowel length matters more than usual here: the noun der Weg has a long e, while the unrelated adverb weg, meaning away, has a short one. Same three letters, different vowel duration, different word — so this is a case where getting the length wrong changes the meaning outright.

Listen: der Weg

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Sound it out

W A v. Rounding the lips for an English w is the giveaway to avoid.

e A long 'ay', held flat. The single consonant after it signals the length.

g Devoiced to k at the end of the word.

Hear it in a sentence

Kennst du den Weg?

Do you know the way?

Listen: Kennst du den Weg?

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Kennst du den Weg? uses kennen for familiarity with a route, and den marks Weg as masculine accusative. The verb comes first because it is a yes-no question, and kennst piles n, s and t together at the end with no vowel to help.

Where English speakers slip

The final g gets voiced by learners trusting the spelling, giving 'vayg'. German hardens it. Then there is the length trap: der Weg with a long vowel is a path, weg with a short one means away or gone. The plural Wege restores both a vowel and the g's voicing, so it sounds softer than the singular.