German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "einfach" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce einfach in German?

einfach is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈaɪ̯n.fax/. It means “easy / simple.” INE-fakh. The ei is 'eye', and the ch at the end is the throaty one because it follows an a.

INE-fakh. The ei is 'eye', and the ch at the end is the throaty one because it follows an a.

einfach /ˈaɪ̯n.fax/

Hit the first element, ein-, as it is in almost every German compound. This word also doubles as an adverb meaning simply or just, and in that use it is often unstressed inside the sentence while keeping its internal heavy-light shape.

Listen: einfach

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Sound it out

ein The 'eye' diphthong plus n, carrying the stress. It is the same ein as the article, here functioning as the first half of a compound.

f A plain f, top teeth against the lower lip.

a A short, open 'ah', cut off quickly.

ch The ach-laut, selected by the back vowel a in front of it. Friction far back against the soft palate.

Hear it in a sentence

Die Übung ist einfach.

The exercise is easy.

Listen: Die Übung ist einfach.

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Die Übung ist einfach opens with a noun that begins on a long front-rounded ü preceded by a glottal stop — Übung is genuinely hard to start cleanly. Its -ung ending carries the velar nasal, so the sentence moves from a rounded front vowel to a back nasal to a back scrape in only a few syllables.

Where English speakers slip

Two errors compete. Reading ei as 'ee' gives 'EEN-fach', the recurring vowel slip. And learners who have got comfortable with the soft ich-laut apply it at the end, when the a in front demands the throaty version. The rule is entirely about the preceding sound, so look left of the ch before deciding which one to use.