German · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "wütend" in German?

Q: How do you pronounce wütend in German?

wütend is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈvyː.tənt/. It means “angry.” VUE-tent. The w is a v, the ü is long, and the final d hardens into a t.

VUE-tent. The w is a v, the ü is long, and the final d hardens into a t.

wütend /ˈvyː.tənt/

The long ü carries everything and the -end suffix takes none of it. That suffix is the present-participle ending, and it behaves identically across the language — laufend, dringend, während — always unstressed and always finishing on a hardened t.

Listen: wütend

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Sound it out

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

ü Long and front-rounded. Hold a long 'ee', keep the tongue there, and round the lips.

t A firm t starting the second syllable.

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

Hear it in a sentence

Er ist sehr wütend.

He is very angry.

Listen: Er ist sehr wütend.

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Er ist sehr wütend keeps the adjective bare after ist, so the devoiced ending is fully exposed at the close of the sentence. Sehr contributes a long 'ay' with a vocalised r, which means the last three syllables all end on vowels or soft consonants until that final t arrives.

Where English speakers slip

Three changes are needed and learners rarely make all three: v for the w, a genuine front-rounded long ü rather than 'oo', and a hard t for the final d. The ü is the hardest, and substituting the vowel of English wooed loses the fronting that gives the word its character.