German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "die Eltern" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce die Eltern in German?

die Eltern is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /diː ˈɛl.tɐn/. It means “parents (plural only).” dee EL-tuhn. A glottal catch, a short open e, a bright l, and an -ern ending that softens to 'un'.

dee EL-tuhn. A glottal catch, a short open e, a bright l, and an -ern ending that softens to 'un'.

die Eltern /diː ˈɛl.tɐn/

EL- takes the beat and the ending trails off softly. This noun exists only in the plural, so there is no singular rhythm to compare it with — German expresses one parent as ein Elternteil, a compound, rather than by de-pluralising this word.

Listen: die Eltern

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Sound it out

E Short and open, as in bed, preceded by a light glottal stop.

l Bright and forward. English hollows out l before a consonant, which would drag the vowel back.

t A crisp t, lightly aspirated and clearly released.

ern The r vocalises into a dark 'uh' before the closing n, so the ending sounds like 'un'.

Hear it in a sentence

Meine Eltern wohnen in Hamburg.

My parents live in Hamburg.

Listen: Meine Eltern wohnen in Hamburg.

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Meine Eltern wohnen in Hamburg gives meine its plural ending and wohnen its plural verb form. Hamburg ends in a devoiced g, coming out 'HAM-boork', and wohnen has the usual silent h — so the sentence quietly demonstrates two separate consonant rules.

Where English speakers slip

The l darkens for most English speakers, which muddies the e in front of it — keep the tongue tip forward. The ending is the other issue, where an American r turns 'EL-tuhn' into 'EL-tern'. And remember there is no singular: saying ein Eltern is not a small error but a non-word.