German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "mit" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce mit in German?

mit is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mɪt/. It means “with / by.” MIT, with the short vowel of English mitt and a fully released final t.

MIT, with the short vowel of English mitt and a fully released final t.

mit /mɪt/

This word leads a double life. As a preposition it is unstressed and passes by quickly. As a separable prefix it takes the main stress of the whole verb — MITkommen, MITbringen — and in a finished sentence it detaches and lands, still prominent, at the end. Same three letters, entirely different rhythmic weight.

Listen: mit

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Sound it out

m An m exactly as in English — one of the few German consonants needing no adjustment.

i The short lax vowel of sit.

t Crisp and clearly released, with a small puff of air. It never softens into the d-like flap American English uses between vowels.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich fahre mit dem Bus.

I go by bus.

Listen: Ich fahre mit dem Bus.

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Ich fahre mit dem Bus uses the dative dem, which mit always requires, and it also shows a difference in idiom: German goes 'with the bus' where English goes 'by bus'. Fahre implies travel by vehicle rather than on foot, which is why gehen would be wrong here even though English would happily say go.

Where English speakers slip

American speakers flap the t when a vowel follows in the next word, turning mit einem into something like 'mid einem'. German has no flapping — every t stays a t, released with a small breath. Learners also sometimes lengthen the vowel toward 'meet', which collides with a different word entirely, so keep it short and closed.