German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "während" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce während in German?

während is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈvɛː.ʁənt/. It means “during.” VAY-runt. The w is a v, the ä is long, and the final d hardens into a t.

VAY-runt. The w is a v, the ä is long, and the final d hardens into a t.

während /ˈvɛː.ʁənt/

The long ä at the front takes the whole beat, with the -end ending unstressed. That ending is the present-participle suffix, and its rhythm is always the same across the language — laufend, dringend, während all put the weight before it and let the -end fade.

Listen: während

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Sound it out

w English v, not English w. This is the most reliable false friend in the German alphabet.

äh A long open ä, with the h acting as a silent length marker. The vowel sits between the 'ay' of day and the 'e' of bed.

r A full uvular consonant here, since a vowel follows it.

end An unstressed schwa and n, with the written d devoicing to t at the end of the word.

Hear it in a sentence

Ich lese während der Pause.

I read during the break.

Listen: Ich lese während der Pause.

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Ich lese während der Pause uses the genitive case, which während governs — hence der Pause rather than die Pause. The genitive is retreating from everyday speech, but with this preposition it is still standard, and hearing it in a simple sentence like this one is the easiest way to meet it.

Where English speakers slip

The final d gets pronounced as written by nearly every learner; German hardens it to a t. Combine that with the initial w, which must be a v, and half the word's consonants need adjusting. The ä is the third piece: it is a genuine front vowel, not an a with a decoration, and shortening it distorts the rhythm.