German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "wahr" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce wahr in German?

wahr is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /vaːɐ̯/. It means “true.” VAHR, or more precisely 'VAH-uh'. The w is a v, the h is silent, and the r melts into a vowel.

VAHR, or more precisely 'VAH-uh'. The w is a v, the h is silent, and the r melts into a vowel.

wahr /vaːɐ̯/

One long syllable, which gives the word noticeable duration for its size. The related noun Wahrheit keeps the same long vowel under the stress and simply adds an unstressed suffix, so the root's rhythm survives intact into the derived word.

Listen: wahr

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Sound it out

w Say a v. German w is a v in every word and every position, with no exceptions.

ah A long open a. The h is a silent length marker, exactly as in Bahn and Jahr.

r Vocalised at the end of the syllable into a dark 'uh', so the word finishes on a vowel.

Hear it in a sentence

Das ist nicht wahr.

That's not true.

Listen: Das ist nicht wahr.

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Das ist nicht wahr places nicht directly before the adjective it negates, which is the pattern when you are denying one specific thing rather than the whole statement. Nicht ends in the soft ich-laut and wahr begins with a v, so the two words meet on a sharp consonant boundary that should not be smoothed over.

Where English speakers slip

The silent h invites a breath in the middle, giving 'va-har'. It is purely a length sign. Then the ending: American speakers produce a full curled r, which is the single most conspicuous English feature in German. Let the r dissolve — non-rhotic English speakers already do exactly this in the word bar, and that is the sound to aim for.