An anomynous reader asked me to give her tips how to explain the <ch> sound to a friend.

CLICK - I’ve already posted an audio file in which I’m trying to explain the sound of <ch> better.

1.) After the vowels a, o and u the “ch” is pronunced in the back of your throat (guttural). It’s the more difficult of the two I’d say and it’s kinda difficult to describe. But the Scottish use it when saying “Loch Ness”.

German examples: der Bach (brook); das Loch (hole); das Buch (book)

2.) After the vowels i, e and the Umlauts ä, ö, ü it’s pronunced “softer” by placing the tongue to your palate (as if you wanted to say “sh” without engaging your teeth). There’s still enough space for the air to be pressed through which then will make the “ch” sound.

German examples: das Licht (light); der Becher (mug); Bäche (brooks); Löcher (holes); Bücher (books)

“ä” is the first of one of three German Umlauts, which might look strange to you. Here’s all you need to know about the “ä”.

Some facts about “ä”:

• “ä” can sometimes be written as “ae”

Pronunciation rules:

• “ä” is either pronounced /ɛ/ or /ɛ:/   e.g. <hätte>; <wählen>

How to type it:

• on Microsoft Alt+132; Alt+142
• on Mac Option-u a

I really like this letter a lot, I think it’s so pretty looking :) . Be careful not to confuse it with a “B” though - I know they look very similar.

Some facts about “ß”:

• “ß” doesn’t have a capital letter form
• “ß” is pronounced [s]
• “ß” represents the double consonant “ss”

Orthographic rules:

• “ß” is used after long vowels (e.g. süß, Fuß etc.)
• “ß” is used after diphthongs (e.g. fließen, beißen etc.)

How to type it:

• on Microsoft Alt+225; Alt+0223
• on Mac Option+s