The German Consonant 'z' 
The German consonant 'z' is pronounced in the same manner as the English 'ts' sound that is found at the end of words such as 'cats', 'lots' or 'sits'. The temptation to pronounce the sound like an English letter 'z' must be resisted - the German 'z' is only ever pronounced as an English letter 'z' in a few imported words such as 'das Quiz'.
A further difficulty for English speakers is that a large number of German words begin with the letter 'z' and thus require an initial /ts/ sound. We are unused to starting words with such a sound in English, as the only word that begins in such a way is the 'tsetse fly'.
 Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear a native speaker say eight German words which all contain the German letter 'z'. Note how the sounds are all pronounced in the same manner as the English letters 'ts', regardless of where the letter 'z' appears in the word.
 Sounds 1: The German letter 'z' |
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zwei
(two) |
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zwölf
(twelve) |
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Zug
(train) |
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Zimmer
(room) |
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Ziel
(destination) |
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Zelt
(tent) |
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Herz
(heart) |
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Salz
(salt) |
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The German consonant cluster '-tz' is also pronounced in the same way as English 'ts'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four German words which contain the letters '-tz' in medial and final position.
| Sounds 2: Words containing the letters 'tz' |
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Dutzend
(dozen) |
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Netz
(net) |
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hetzen
(to rush) |
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plötzlich
(suddenly) |
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Learners of German often have difficulties in distinguishing between the letter 'z' and 's', particularly when they occur at the start of a word. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear four pairs of German words which display the distinction between the two German sounds. The words themselves are supplied in the box below along with their English translation:
| Sounds 3: The German letters 'z' and 's' in initial position |
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Seile
(ropes) |
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Zeile
(line) |
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sang
(sang) |
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Zange
(pliers) |
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Sumpf
(morass) |
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zum
(to the) |
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sinken
(to sink) |
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Zink
(zinc) |
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