German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "welche" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce welche in German?

welche is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈvɛl.çə/. It means “which.” VEL-khuh. The w is a v, and the ch is the SOFT ich-laut because it follows a consonant.

VEL-khuh. The w is a v, and the ch is the SOFT ich-laut because it follows a consonant.

welche /ˈvɛl.çə/

WEL- takes the punch and -che takes none, and the beat stays there through every form — welcher, welches, welchem all add an unstressed syllable without moving anything. Like dieser, this word copies the endings of der, so its rhythm is entirely predictable once you know one form.

Listen: welche

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Sound it out

w A buzzing v. Whatever the spelling suggests, German w is never the glide English gives it.

e Open and short, with the tongue low and the lips relaxed.

l Bright and forward, with the tongue tip up and the back of the tongue down.

ch The soft ich-laut. After a consonant such as l, r or n, German always uses the front variant rather than the throaty one.

e An unstressed schwa — the 'uh' at the end of sofa, quiet but always pronounced.

Hear it in a sentence

Welche Farbe magst du?

Which color do you like?

Listen: Welche Farbe magst du?

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Welche Farbe magst du? matches welche to the feminine Farbe. Magst is the du form of mögen and shows final devoicing inside the conjugation — the g hardens to k before the ending, so it sounds like 'mahkst' rather than 'mahgst'.

Where English speakers slip

The ch after l catches almost everyone, because learners look for a vowel to tell them which variant to use and find a consonant instead. The rule covers it: after l, r or n the ch is always soft. Substituting a k here — 'VEL-ke' — is the commonest outcome, and it changes the word's whole texture.