German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "lernen" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce lernen in German?

lernen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈlɛʁ.nən/. It means “to learn / study.” LER-nen. A short open e coloured by the throaty r behind it, then an unstressed ending.

LER-nen. A short open e coloured by the throaty r behind it, then an unstressed ending.

lernen /ˈlɛʁ.nən/

LER- takes the beat, and nothing shifts anywhere — this is a fully regular weak verb. The two n sounds in a row give the word a slightly muffled second half, but the stressed vowel stays clear and short at the front, which is where the ear should anchor.

Listen: lernen

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Sound it out

l Bright and light, with the tongue tip on the ridge behind the top teeth.

er A short open e with the uvular r behind it. Before a consonant the r darkens the vowel rather than sounding as a separate consonant.

n An ordinary n — English speakers get this one for free.

en A light final syllable — schwa and n, neither of them stressed.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich lerne Deutsch.

I'm learning German.

Listen: Ich lerne Deutsch.

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Ich lerne Deutsch capitalises the language, as German does with all language names used as nouns. Deutsch opens on the oy diphthong, has sch as sh in the middle, and closes on the ch of church — three different sounds hiding behind familiar-looking letters in a single short word.

Where English speakers slip

The English word learn has a central vowel with an r built into it, and importing that flattens the German syllable into a blur. German has a short open e first, and the r arrives afterwards as a back-of-throat colouring. Keep the two separable in your mind even though they blend in speech, and do not curl your tongue at any point.