The umlaut "Ü" in German In Standard German
"Ü" is a vowel in the German alphabet. It is an umlaut form of "u" and is important for distinguishing meaning and grammatical forms in German.
Uppercase Form | Ü |
|---|---|
Lowercase Form | ü |
Name | U-Umlaut |
Common Sounds | /yː/, /ʏ/ |
Pronouncing "Ü"
The pronunciation of "ü" depends on syllable structure and word formation. It is usually realized as a long vowel /yː/ or a short vowel /ʏ/.
"Ü" as /yː/
You pronounce "ü" long when it comes before only one consonant or when another form of the same word shows that the vowel is stretched.
Grün → /ɡryːn/
green
Brüder → /ˈbryːdɐ/
brothers
"Ü" as /ʏ/
You pronounce "ü" short when it appears before two consonants or a double consonant.
Hütte → /ˈhʏtə/
hut
dürfen → /ˈdʏʁfən/
to be allowed
"Ü" in Letter Combinations
Certain combinations with "ü" have fixed pronunciations and should be learned as patterns.
"üh"
"üh" is pronounced as a long vowel /yː/ in native German words.
kühl → /kyːl/
cool
früh → /fryː/
early
"üe"
"üe" appears mainly in Swiss German and loan-related forms and is typically pronounced /yə̯/.
Grüezi → /ˈɡryə̯t͡sɪ/
hello (Swiss German)
"U" and "Ü"
It is important to distinguish between "u" and "ü", because the umlaut changes both sound and meaning.
Mutter → /ˈmʊtɐ/
mother
Mütter → /ˈmʏtɐ/
Mütter
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