LingoDrop
German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "langsam" in German?
LANG-zahm. The ng is a single nasal, the s buzzes like a z, and the second a is long.
The first element carries the beat, as it does in every German compound and suffixed word of this shape. The -sam suffix is unstressed but keeps a full long vowel, which is characteristically German — the syllable is quiet without being reduced to a mumble.
Listen: langsam
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Hear it in a sentence
Der Zug ist heute langsam.
The train is slow today.
Listen: Der Zug ist heute langsam.
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Der Zug ist heute langsam gives Zug three separate rules in one syllable: the z is 'ts', the u is long, and the final g devoices to k, so it sounds like 'tsook'. Heute contributes the oy diphthong and a schwa ending before the adjective arrives bare after ist.
Where English speakers slip
The s in the middle looks like it should hiss, and English readers duly hiss it — but it opens a syllable in front of a vowel, so German voices it. The other habit is releasing a hard g after ng on the model of English longer, which German never does. Keep the nasal clean and let the s buzz.