German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "wenig" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce wenig in German?

wenig is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈveː.nɪç/. It means “little / few.” VAY-nikh. The w is a v, the e is long, and the -ig ending is pronounced like ich.

VAY-nikh. The w is a v, the e is long, and the -ig ending is pronounced like ich.

wenig /ˈveː.nɪç/

WE- is where the volume goes, and the -ig suffix takes none of it. Vowel length is the thing to watch here rather than placement: German spelling puts a single consonant after a long vowel and a doubled one after a short vowel, and this word shows the long pattern clearly.

Listen: wenig

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Sound it out

w A v sound, made by buzzing air between the top teeth and the lower lip.

e A long 'ay'. The single consonant after it in the open syllable we- is what makes it long.

n A simple voiced n, unremarkable to an English ear.

ig The unstressed ending, pronounced as the soft ich-laut.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich habe wenig Zeit.

I have little time.

Listen: Ich habe wenig Zeit.

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Ich habe wenig Zeit uses the word with no ending because Zeit is uncountable in this context — German says 'little time' with no article at all. Zeit opens on the ts of z and carries the 'eye' diphthong, so it comes out 'tsite'.

Where English speakers slip

Learners shorten the e on the model of English when, giving 'WEN-ig' with a hard g at the end — two errors at once. The e is long and the ending hisses. It also helps to keep this word distinct from weniger, its comparative, where the ending changes to a vocalised -er and the hiss disappears entirely.