German diphthong: 'ei', 'ey', 'ai' and 'ay'
The German 'ei' diphthong - which can be written 'ei', 'ey', 'ai' or 'ay' - starts off with an /a/ phoneme and then glides into an 'i' sound. Its closest equivalent in English is the vowel sound in the English word 'light'. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear eight German words containing this diphthong. Note in particular the different ways in which this sound can be spelled.
Sounds 1: 'ei', 'ey', 'ai' and 'ay' |
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Main
(River Main) |
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Saite
(string) |
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Bayern
(Bavaria) |
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Karl May
(German author) |
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Teil
(part) |
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breit
(wide) |
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Meyer
(German surname) |
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Speyer
(German town) |
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Note that, unlike in English, the pronunciation of the German letters 'ei' remains consistent - it is always pronounced as the diphthong outlined above. Click either here or on the sound icon on the left to hear eight German words containing the letters 'ei'.
Sounds 2: The consistency of the German letters 'ei' |
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frei
(free) |
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Rhein
(Rhine) |
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heil
(unhurt) |
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dreist
(sly) |
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Kreis
(circle) |
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weit
(far) |
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The pronunciation of the letters 'ie' also remains consistent in German. To practise the distinction between these two sounds, click either here or on the sound icon on the left to listen to four pairs of German words. The first word in each pair contains an 'ei' sound, whereas the second contains 'ie'.
Sounds 3: Distinguishing between 'ei' and 'ie' |
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Wein
(wine) |
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Wien
(Vienna) |
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Fleiß
(hard work) |
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fließt
(flows) |
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leider
(unfortunately) |
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Lieder
(songs) |
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steil
(steep) |
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Stiel
(stick) |
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Long and short German 'i' vowels
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