| Consonants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 DEU |
 AUT |
 CH
|
Examples | English approximation |
| b | bei;[1] ab (AT, CH)[2] | ball | ||
| ç | ich, durch;[3] China, Leipzig (DE) | hue | ||
| d | dann; Kleid (AT, CH)[2] | done | ||
| f | für, von, Phänomen | fuss | ||
| ɡ | gut; Tag, Leipzig (AT, CH)[2] | guest | ||
| h | hat | hut | ||
| j | Jahr, Yak | yard | ||
| k | kann, cremen, sechs, bequem; Tag (DE);[2] China (AT, CH) | cold | ||
| l | Leben | last | ||
| l̩ | Mantel | bottle | ||
| m | Mann | must | ||
| m̩ | großem | rhythm | ||
| n | Name | not | ||
| n̩ | beiden | sudden | ||
| ŋ | lang | long | ||
| p | Person, ab (DE)[2] | puck | ||
| pf | Pfeffer | cupful | ||
| ʁ | r | reden[4] | DE: French rouge AT, CH: Scottish red | |
| s | lassen, groß, fließen, Fest | fast | ||
| ʃ | schon, Stadt, spitz, Champagner, Ski | shall | ||
| t | Tag, Stadt; Kleid (DE)[2] | tall | ||
| ts | Zeit, Platz, Potsdam, Celle | cats | ||
| tʃ | Matsch, Cello | match | ||
| v | was, Quelle, Vase[1] | vanish | ||
| x | nach[3] | Scottish loch | ||
| z | s | z | Sie, diese[1] | DE, CH: zebra AT: soup |
| ʔ | beamtet [bəˈʔamtət][5] | uh-oh! | ||
| Non-native consonants | ||||
| ð | Motherboard[6] | this | ||
| dʒ | Dschungel, Pidgin[1][7] | jungle | ||
| θ | Thatcherismus[6] | think | ||
| ɹ | Spray[8] | rice | ||
| w | Web, Whiskey, Squash[9] | web | ||
| ʒ | Genie, Entourage[1][7] | pleasure | ||
| Stress | ||||
| ˈ | Bahnhofstraße [ˈbaːnhoːfˌʃtʁaːsə] |
battleship | ||
| ˌ | ||||
| Syllable break | ||||
| . | Ephraim [ˈeːfra.ɪm] |
flower (contrasting with flour ) | ||
| Vowels | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEU |
AUT |
CH
|
Examples | English approximation |
| Monophthongs | ||||
| a | alles, Kalender | pasta | ||
| aː | aber, sah, Staat | father | ||
| ɛ | Ende, hätte | bet | ||
| ɛː | spät, wählen[10] | RP hair | ||
| eː | eben, gehen, See | Scottish mate | ||
| ɪ | ist | sit | ||
| iː | Liebe, Berlin, ihm | seed | ||
| oː | oder, hohe, Boot | story | ||
| ɔ | kommen | off | ||
| øː | Österreich, Möhre, adieu | somewhat like heard | ||
| œ | öffnen | somewhat like hurt; RP ugh | ||
| ʊ | und | pull | ||
| uː | Hut, Kuh | tool | ||
| ʏ | müssen, Ypsilon | somewhat like cute | ||
| yː | über, Mühe, psychisch | somewhat like few | ||
| Diphthongs | ||||
| aɪ | ein, Kaiser, Haydn, Verleih, Speyer | high | ||
| aʊ | auf | vow | ||
| ɔʏ | Euro, Häuser | choice | ||
| Reduced vowels | ||||
| ɐ | ər | immer[4] | DE, AT: frustration CH: Scottish letter[11] | |
| ə | ɛ | Name | DE: balance (but not sofa)[11] AT, CH: bet[12] | |
| Semivowels | ||||
| ɐ̯ | r | Uhr[4] | DE, AT: sofa CH: Scottish far | |
| i̯ | Studie, Italien | yard | ||
| o̯ | Pointe[13] | quite | ||
| u̯ | Linguist, Gouache[13] | would | ||
| y̑ | Etui[13] | somewhat like evaluation | ||
| Shortened vowels | ||||
| e | Element[14] | roughly like dress | ||
| i | Italien[14] | seat | ||
| o | originell[14] | story, but short | ||
| ø | Ökonomie[14] | roughly like hurt | ||
| u | Universität, Souvenir[14] | cesspool | ||
| y | Psychologie[14] | like meet, but with the lips rounded | ||
| Non-native vowels | ||||
| ãː | Gourmand, Engagement, Restaurant, Chance[15] | French Provence | ||
| ɛ̃ː | Pointe[15] | French quinze | ||
| ɛɪ | Mail[16] | face | ||
| õː | Garçon[15] | French Le Monde | ||
| ɔː | stalken, Motherboard[17] | dog | ||
| ɔʊ | Code[16] | goal | ||
| œ̃ː | Parfum[15] | French emprunte | ||
| œːɐ̯ | øːr | surfen, Flirt[18] | roughly like RP bird | |
| Shortened vowels (Non-native vowels) | ||||
| ã | engagieren[15] | French chanson | ||
| ɛ̃ | impair[15] | French vingt-et-un | ||
| õ | foncé[15] | French Mont Blanc | ||
| œ̃ | Lundist[15] | French vingt-et-un | ||