German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "kurz" in German?

KOORTS. A short rounded 'oo' coloured by the r, then z as 'ts'.

kurz /kʊʁts/

One beat, ending on an affricate that gives the word a clipped finish suited to its meaning. The comparative kürzer fronts the vowel to ü, so the rounded back vowel becomes a rounded front one while the stress stays exactly where it is.

Listen: kurz

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Sound it out

k A k with light aspiration, much as in English.

u Short 'oo' as in put, genuinely rounded.

r Before a consonant the uvular r blends into the vowel, darkening it rather than sounding separately.

z 'ts', closing the word sharply.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich mache eine kurze Pause.

I'm taking a short break.

Listen: Ich mache eine kurze Pause.

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Ich mache eine kurze Pause adds -e to the adjective for the feminine Pause, which itself carries the 'ow' diphthong and a voiced s between vowels, giving 'POW-zuh'. Mache ends in a schwa after the throaty ach-laut, so the sentence moves between back and front sounds throughout.

Where English speakers slip

The English word curt supplies the wrong vowel — a central sound with an r built into it — and the z tempts a buzz. German wants a rounded back 'oo', the r kept as a back colouring, and a hard 'ts' at the end. Build it as three separate pieces and then run them together, since the sequence is unfamiliar to an English mouth.