The German Consonant 'p'
The German consonant 'p' is pronounced in a similar manner to its English equivalent, regardless of whether it appears at the beginning, middle or end of a word. In both languages, the sound is a bilabial plosive, i.e. in order to make the 'p' sound, both lips must be placed together. The airstream is then stopped as it passes through the vocal tract, causing a minor explosion when it is released. The vocal cords do not vibrate when this sound is made, which means that it is a 'voiceless' consonant.
Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear a native speaker say six German words beginning with the letter 'p'. The words themselves are given in the box below along with an English translation:
Sounds 1: 'p' in initial position |
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Park
(park) |
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Pause
(pause) |
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Pullover
(pullover) |
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Post
(post office) |
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Person
(person) |
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Punkt
(point) |
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Now click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear a native speaker pronounce six German words in which the letter 'p' appears in medial position. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with an English translation:
Sounds 2: 'p' in medial position |
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Papier
(paper) |
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Puppe
(doll) |
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Lippe
(lip) |
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Gruppe
(group) |
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Papagei
(parrot) |
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kaputt
(broken) |
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Now click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear a native speaker recite four German words in which the letter 'p' appears at the end of a word. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with an English translation. Note how the letters 'p' and 'b' are both pronounced in the same way, i.e. as the phoneme /p/, when they appear at the end of a word.
Sounds 3: 'p' in final position |
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Tipp
(tip) |
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Galopp
(gallop) |
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Mopp
(mop) |
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stopp!
(stop!) |
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How to pronounce German 'p' with other consonants
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