Dictionary|Mobile App|Premium
EN
Leaderboard
Learn
Mobile AppPremiumDictionary
Login

qu In Standard German

qu

The letter combination "qu" is mainly found in loanwords, especially from French and Spanish. In German, it typically represents a /k/ sound, with relatively little variation compared to its spelling origin languages.

Letter Combination

qu

Name

qu (pronounced /kuː/)

Common Sound(s)

/k/

The Letter Combination "qu"

In many French and Spanish loanwords, "qu" is pronounced /k/, often even across syllable boundaries.

Example

Boutique → /buˈtiːk/

shop

Quiche → /kiːʃ/

Quiche

Don Quijote → /dɔn kiˈxoːtə/

Don Quixote

Note: Stability of /k/ realization

Across most loanwords, "qu" is consistently pronounced /k/ in German. Unlike in French or Spanish, where "qu" may represent different sounds depending on context, German phonology strongly standardizes it to /k/.

Comments

(0)
Loading Recaptcha...
Share on :
Learn German VocabularyStart learning categorized German vocabulary on Langeek.
Click to start

Recommended

add bookmark

ie

In this lesson, we explore the German letter combination "ie" and its main vowel pronunciation patterns.
add bookmark

ll

In this lesson, we explore the German letter combination "ll" and its main pronunciation patterns, especially in native words and loanwords.
add bookmark

oo

In this lesson, we learn the pronunciation of the German letter combination "oo" and its main vowel sounds.
add bookmark

zz

In this lesson, we learn the pronunciation of the German letter combination "zz" in loanwords.
LanGeek
Download LanGeek app