German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "offen" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce offen in German?

offen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈɔ.fn̩/. It means “open.” OFF-n. A glottal catch at the start, a short rounded o, and an ending that collapses onto the n.

OFF-n. A glottal catch at the start, a short rounded o, and an ending that collapses onto the n.

offen /ˈɔ.fn̩/

OF- takes the volume, and the second syllable disappears into the n. The related verb öffnen fronts the vowel to ö and rearranges the consonants, but keeps the stress in the same place — so the adjective and the verb share a rhythm even though their vowels differ.

Listen: offen

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Sound it out

o Short and rounded, preceded by a light glottal stop since the word begins on a vowel. The doubled f keeps it short.

ff Written double, pronounced once. The doubling is a signal about the vowel, not the consonant.

en Reduces to a syllabic n, so the f is released straight into a nasal.

Hear it in a sentence

Der Laden ist noch offen.

The shop is still open.

Listen: Der Laden ist noch offen.

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Der Laden ist noch offen puts a vowel-initial word right after a consonant-final one, and German inserts a small glottal catch between them: ist and offen do not run together into 'is-toffen'. Noch supplies the throaty ach-laut just before it, and Laden holds a long a.

Where English speakers slip

English glides straight from one word into the next, so learners produce a smooth 'is-toffen' where German wants a small hard break. That catch is one of the least visible but most audible markers of a German accent, and adding it makes a beginner sound markedly more native. The o also needs genuine rounding rather than the flat vowel of English of.