German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "jung" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce jung in German?

jung is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /jʊŋ/. It means “young.” YOONG. The j is a y, the u is a short rounded 'oo', and ng is a single nasal with no g after it.

YOONG. The j is a y, the u is a short rounded 'oo', and ng is a single nasal with no g after it.

jung /jʊŋ/

A single closed syllable. The comparative jünger fronts the vowel to ü and adds an unstressed ending, and — usefully — the ng stays a single nasal even then, so there is no hard g anywhere in the family. English speakers expect one in younger, which is why this is worth checking.

Listen: jung

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Sound it out

j The consonant y of yes. German j never has the dʒ sound of English judge.

u Short 'oo' as in put, properly rounded — not the flat central vowel of English young.

ng One velar nasal, as in singer. No separate g is released at the end.

Hear it in a sentence

Er ist noch jung.

He's still young.

Listen: Er ist noch jung.

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Er ist noch jung pairs two back sounds nicely: noch ends in the throaty ach-laut, chosen by the o in front of it, and jung ends in the velar nasal made in almost the same place. Saying the two words in sequence is a good drill for keeping the back of the tongue active.

Where English speakers slip

The English word young is an unhelpful neighbour on both counts. Its j-sound is a dʒ, where German wants a plain y, and its vowel is unrounded and central, where German wants a rounded back 'oo'. Fix the consonant first, since it is the more conspicuous error, then round the lips for the vowel.