German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "wichtig" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce wichtig in German?

wichtig is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈvɪç.tɪç/. It means “important.” VIKH-tikh. Two soft ich-lauts in one short word, one in the middle and one at the very end.

VIKH-tikh. Two soft ich-lauts in one short word, one in the middle and one at the very end.

wichtig /ˈvɪç.tɪç/

The first syllable takes the beat and the -ig ending takes none, which means the two identical hisses in the word sit at very different prominence levels — the first one is inside the stressed syllable and comes out clearly, while the second trails away. Hearing that difference is part of sounding natural rather than robotic.

Listen: wichtig

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Sound it out

w English v — top teeth on the bottom lip. German w never sounds like an English w.

i A short i with the tongue held slightly lower than for 'ee'.

ch The soft ich-laut, chosen by the front vowel before it.

t A crisp t at the head of the second syllable, lightly aspirated.

ig The adjective ending, pronounced as another soft ich-laut.

Hear it in a sentence

Das ist sehr wichtig.

That's very important.

Listen: Das ist sehr wichtig.

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Das ist sehr wichtig is short but ends on the hardest part of the word, so there is nowhere to hide. Sehr supplies a long 'ay' with a vocalised r just before it, which means you go straight from an open vowel into a narrow palatal hiss — a transition worth rehearsing slowly.

Where English speakers slip

The default English reading is 'VICK-tick', converting both hisses into stops. Neither is a k. Practise the word by whispering the start of English huge twice, once in the middle and once at the end, with a t between them. And keep the lips spread — rounding them turns the hiss into sh, which is the other common near-miss.