The German sound 'k' in consonant clusters
Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which the letter 'k' appears as the first letter in a consonant cluster at the beginning of a word. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with an English translation:
Sounds 1: 'k' + consonant in initial position |
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klein
(small) |
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klasse!
(great!) |
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krank
(ill) |
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Krieg
(war) |
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When 'k' appears as the second element in an initial consonant cluster, it retains its /k/ phoneme. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which the letter 'k' appears after 's'.
Sounds 2: The 'sk' sound in initial position |
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Skandal
(scandal) |
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Sklave
(slave) |
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Skelett
(skeleton) |
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Skulptur
(sculpture) |
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But be careful of the pronunciation of the German word Ski! It is pronounced as "Schi", an alternate version of the word, and often catches out learners of German. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear how the word should be spoken.
Sounds 3: How to pronounce 'Ski' |
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Ski fahren
(to ski) |
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ich fahre Ski
(I am skiing) |
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The consonant cluster 'nk'
In the consonant cluster written as "-nk", the sound produced is a combination of the velar nasal "ng" heard at the end of English words such as 'thing' and bring', followed by the phoneme /k/. This is less complicated than it sounds, equating to how we pronounce English words such as 'thin-king. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which this sound combination appears in medial position. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with an English translation:
Sounds 4: The 'nk' consonant cluster in initial position |
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sinken
(to sink) |
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trinken
(to drink) |
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Enkel
(grandchild) |
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Onkel
(uncle) |
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Now click here to listen to a similar set of '-nk' words spoken by a different native German speaker. In each case, the sound produced is the same as in the table above:
Sounds 5: The 'nk' consonant cluster in initial position |
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trinken
(to drink) |
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danken
(to thank) |
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denken
(to think) |
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Frankreich
(France) |
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This consonant cluster is also heard when 'nk' appears as the end of a word, either on its own or followed by a further consonant. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words in which the letters 'nk' appear in final position in German lexical items.
Sounds 6: The sound 'nk' in final position |
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Punkt
(point) |
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winkt
(waves) |
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sinkt
(sinks) |
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trinkt
(drinks) |
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To distinguish between the German 'nk' and 'ng' sounds, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear three pairs of words in which the different sounds occur:
Sounds 7: Distinguishing between 'ng' and 'nk' sounds |
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singen
(to sing) |
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sinken
(to sink) |
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Engel
(angel) |
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Enkel
(grandchild) |
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Finger
(finger) |
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Finken
(finches) |
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How to pronounce German 'l'
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