German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "der Wind" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce der Wind in German?

der Wind is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /deːɐ̯ vɪnt/. It means “wind (pl. Winde).” dair VINT. The w is a v, the i is short, and the final d hardens into a t.

dair VINT. The w is a v, the i is short, and the final d hardens into a t.

der Wind /deːɐ̯ vɪnt/

One clipped vowel and nothing else. The plural Winde adds a schwa, which puts the d in front of a vowel and restores its voicing — so the singular finishes hard and the plural softens, the same alternation you get in Kind and Kinder or Land and Länder.

Listen: der Wind

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Sound it out

W English v, not English w. This is the most reliable false friend in the German alphabet.

i A short i with the tongue held slightly lower than for 'ee'.

n An ordinary n — English speakers get this one for free.

d Comes out as t. Add an ending and the d springs back to life.

Hear it in a sentence

Heute weht ein starker Wind.

There's a strong wind today.

Listen: Heute weht ein starker Wind.

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Heute weht ein starker Wind fronts the time word, which forces weht ahead of its subject. Weht has a long 'ay' with a silent h, and starker opens with 'sht' and takes the masculine nominative -er, so the sentence packs several separate rules into six words.

Where English speakers slip

The English word wind is spelled identically, which makes both errors feel natural: a w at the front and a voiced d at the back. German changes both. It is 'vint'. The short lax i is fine as it stands, since the English noun has the same vowel — it is only the consonants that need moving.