German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "sein" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce sein in German?

sein is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /zaɪ̯n/. It means “to be.” ZINE. A voiced z at the front and ei as 'eye', so it sounds like the English word zine.

ZINE. A voiced z at the front and ei as 'eye', so it sounds like the English word zine.

sein /zaɪ̯n/

The infinitive is a single syllable, which is unusual for German verbs and comes from the word being worn down over centuries of constant use. In a sentence with a modal it lands at the very end, and that final position gives it a natural prominence even though the word itself is grammatically empty.

Listen: sein

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Sound it out

s Voiced at the front of a word before a vowel, giving the buzz of English zoo.

ei Say 'eye'. German ei has one value and this is it.

n A clean n closing the word, held slightly longer than an English one.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich will glücklich sein.

I want to be happy.

Listen: Ich will glücklich sein.

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Ich will glücklich sein sends the infinitive to the end because the modal will occupies the verb slot. Glücklich packs a short front-rounded ü, a ck, and then the soft ich-laut in its ending — it is a compact tour of German consonants, and getting it right is more work than the sein that follows it.

Where English speakers slip

Hissing the initial s gives 'sine', and German voices it here without exception. Worth noting alongside the sound: this same word doubles as the possessive meaning his, so sein Bruder and glücklich sein are pronounced identically and separated only by context. The diphthong needs to be a full 'eye' in both, since 'seen' would land on nothing at all.