LingoDrop
German · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "neun" in German?
NOYN, rhyming with English coin. The letters eu always say 'oy' in German.
One stressed syllable, made comparatively long by its diphthong. Keep an ear on the near-twin nein: the two words differ only in that diphthong, and Germans hold them apart even at speed, so nine and no never blur into each other.
Listen: neun
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
Sie ist neun Jahre alt.
She is nine years old.
Listen: Sie ist neun Jahre alt.
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Sie ist neun Jahre alt gives the age with Jahre in the plural and alt right at the end. Jahre opens on a y sound, since German j is always y, and its h is a silent length marker for the a. The word order is worth noting: German closes on the adjective, where English keeps 'years old' together.
Where English speakers slip
English speakers read eu as 'yoo', trained by Europe and neutral, and produce something like 'nyoon'. German has exactly one value for eu and it is 'oy'. The near-identical äu is pronounced the same way, which is why Häuser and Freude share their diphthong — worth knowing early, since umlaut plurals throw äu at you constantly.