Words from German

Spelling Tips

1. 1 Don't shy away from consonant clusters! German words often have combinations of three or more consonants that don't occur in thoroughly English words. Examples include gst in angst, sch in schadenfreude, schn in schnauzer, and nschl in anschluss.
2. 2 A \k\ sound in a word from German is usually spelled with k at the beginning of a word or syllable (as in kitsch, kuchen, and einkorn) and often with ck at the end of a word or syllable (as in rucksack and glockenspiel).
3. 3 A long i sound (\ī\) usually has the spelling ei in words from German, as in Meistersinger, fräulein, and several other words in the list.
4. 4 The \f\ sound, especially at the beginning of a word, is sometimes spelled with v in German words as in vorlage. Other examples include the non–study-list words volkslied and herrenvolk.
5. 5 The letter z is far more common in German than in English. Note that its pronunciation is not usually the same as English \z\. When it follows a t, which is common, the pronunciation is \s\ as in spritz, pretzel, and seltzer.
6. 6 The \sh\ sound in words of German origin is usually spelled sch as in schadenfreude, whether at the beginning or end of a word or syllable. In schottische, you get it in both places!
7. 7 A long e sound (\ē\) usually has the spelling ie in words from German, as in blitzkrieg.
8. 8 The letter w is properly pronounced as \v\ in German, as you hear in one pronunciation of edelweiss and wedel. Many German words, however, have become so anglicized that this pronunciation has vanished. Most Americans, for example, say "bratwurst," not "bratvurst."