German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "genug" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce genug in German?

genug is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɡəˈnuːk/. It means “enough.” guh-NOOK. The ge- prefix is an unstressed schwa and the final g hardens into a k.

guh-NOOK. The ge- prefix is an unstressed schwa and the final g hardens into a k.

genug /ɡəˈnuːk/

Put the punch at the back, on -NUG, which is unusual enough among common German words to be worth remembering — the ge- at the front looks like the participle prefix and behaves like it rhythmically, taking none of the weight for itself.

Listen: genug

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Sound it out

ge An unstressed opening syllable — a hard g and a colourless schwa.

n A simple n, made with the tongue tip just behind the teeth.

u A long, firmly rounded 'oo', carrying the stress.

g Devoiced to k, because it sits at the end of the word. Same rule as in Tag and Zug.

Hear it in a sentence

Wir haben genug Brot.

We have enough bread.

Listen: Wir haben genug Brot.

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Wir haben genug Brot puts the word directly before the noun with no ending, which is how it always behaves in this position. Brot ends in a t and holds a long o, so the sentence finishes on a long vowel followed by a crisply released consonant.

Where English speakers slip

Two errors typically arrive together: the stress goes on the first syllable, and the final g stays voiced, producing 'GE-noog'. German puts the weight on the second syllable and hardens the g to k. The devoicing is easy to forget here because the word is not obviously a noun or a verb — but the rule applies to every word-final g regardless.