German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "die Jacke" in German?

dee YAK-uh. The j is a y, ck is a single k, and the final e is a schwa.

die Jacke /diː ˈja.kə/

JA- is the stressed half and -cke the unstressed one. The plural Jacken swaps the schwa for a syllabic n, so the rhythm never changes — and the diminutive Jäckchen would front the vowel and add an unstressed suffix without moving the stress either.

Listen: die Jacke

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Sound it out

J The glide in you. Reading it as an English j is the standard first error.

a Short and open, kept short by the ck behind it.

ck A single k. Like doubled consonants elsewhere, the two letters mark the vowel rather than lengthening the sound.

e An unstressed final e, pronounced as a plain 'uh'.

Hear it in a sentence

Zieh deine Jacke an!

Put on your jacket!

Listen: Zieh deine Jacke an!

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Zieh deine Jacke an! splits anziehen, sending the prefix an to the very end of the command. Zieh is the bare du-imperative and opens with 'ts' from its z, followed by a long 'ee' — so the sentence starts and finishes on the two halves of one verb.

Where English speakers slip

The initial j draws an English j out of readers, giving 'JACK-uh'. It is a y. The final schwa is the second habit: English silences a final e, and dropping it here leaves a word that does not exist. Say 'YAK' then 'uh' as two clear beats.