German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "verstehen" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce verstehen in German?

verstehen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /fɛɐ̯ˈʃteː.ən/. It means “to understand.” fer-SHTAY-un. The v is an f, the prefix takes no stress, and st at the start of the stem becomes 'sht'.

fer-SHTAY-un. The v is an f, the prefix takes no stress, and st at the start of the stem becomes 'sht'.

verstehen /fɛɐ̯ˈʃteː.ən/

The main beat is on the second syllable, STEH, because ver- is an inseparable prefix and inseparable prefixes are never stressed. That single fact tells you a great deal about the verb: it will not split apart in a sentence, and its past participle takes no ge-, giving verstanden rather than geverstanden.

Listen: verstehen

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Sound it out

ver An unstressed prefix. The v is pronounced f and the er reduces to a dark 'uh', so it comes out roughly 'fuh'.

st Pronounced 'sht'. The rule applies at the start of a word or stem, and here the stem begins after the prefix — which is why it is 'sht' in the middle of the written word.

eh Long 'ay' with a silent h marking the length.

en The unstressed -en ending, its vowel reduced to a neutral 'uh'.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich verstehe das Wort nicht.

I don't understand the word.

Listen: Ich verstehe das Wort nicht.

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Ich verstehe das Wort nicht keeps the whole verb together in second position, since ver- does not separate. Wort ends in a t after the vocalised r, and nicht arrives last to negate the sentence as a whole. The negator's position after the object is standard and worth copying wholesale.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers stress the prefix, producing 'FER-stehen', because English tends to front-load its words. German inseparable prefixes take no stress at all. The second slip is pronouncing st as written: the 'sht' rule looks like it should only apply at the very start of a word, but it applies at the start of the stem too, which is exactly what happens here.