English Consonants
All 24 consonant sounds of British English, with business examples and typical difficulties for German speakers
Alle 24 Konsonanten des britischen Englisch – mit Beispielen aus dem Berufsalltag und typischen Schwierigkeiten für Deutschsprachige
1 How Consonants Work
So funktionieren Konsonanten
A consonant is made by blocking or narrowing the airflow somewhere in the mouth or throat. Three questions describe every English consonant:
Voicing
Do the vocal folds vibrate? Compare fan /f/ and van /v/ with two fingers on your throat.
Stimmhaft oder stimmlos?
Place
Where is the air blocked? Lips, teeth, the ridge behind the teeth, the hard or soft palate, or the throat.
Wo wird der Luftstrom gebildet?
Manner
How is the air blocked? Completely stopped, squeezed through a narrow gap, sent through the nose, or only slightly narrowed.
Wie wird der Luftstrom behindert?
Sound, not spelling
English has 24 consonant sounds but only 21 consonant letters. phone starts with /f/, and sh in share is one sound, /ʃ/.
Laute, nicht Buchstaben zählen.
2 Plosives
Verschlusslaute
The airflow is completely stopped and then released. Voiceless /p t k/ are aspirated (released with a small puff of air) at the start of a stressed syllable.
| Sound | Voicing | Examples | Business sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| /p/ | voiceless | pay, report, step | Please pay the invoice today. |
| /b/ | voiced | budget, label, job | The budget is on the table. |
| /t/ | voiceless | team, return, net | The team met the target. |
| /d/ | voiced | deal, order, trade | We closed the deal on Monday. |
| /k/ | voiceless | cost, market, check | Can you check the costs? |
| /g/ | voiced | goal, agree, plug | Our goal is growth. |
3 Fricatives
Reibelaute
The air is forced through a narrow gap, creating friction. Fricatives come in voiceless–voiced pairs, plus /h/.
| Sound | Voicing | Examples | Business sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| /f/ | voiceless | file, profit, staff | The file shows a profit. |
| /v/ | voiced | value, invoice, save | We save time and add value. |
| /θ/ | voiceless | think, method, growth | I think the growth is healthy. |
| /ð/ | voiced | the, other, with | The other offer is better. |
| /s/ | voiceless | sales, cost, price | Sales rose this season. |
| /z/ | voiced | zero, business, uses | Zero errors in this business case. |
| /ʃ/ | voiceless | share, session, cash | We should share the cash flow plan. |
| /ʒ/ | voiced | measure, decision, usual | As usual, we measure the results. |
| /h/ | voiceless | hire, behind, perhaps | Perhaps we should hire help. |
Zungenspitze leicht zwischen oder direkt hinter die oberen Schneidezähne legen.
4 Affricates and Nasals
Affrikaten und Nasale
Affricates
A stop followed directly by friction, as one sound.
/tʃ/ check future research
/dʒ/ job project manager
The project manager will check the schedule.
Nasals
The mouth is closed and the air passes through the nose.
/m/ meet team
/n/ new plan
/ŋ/ meeting long think
The meeting is in the morning.
Am Ende von „-ing“ kein k anhängen.
5 Approximants
Gleitlaute (Approximanten)
The tongue or lips come close together, but not close enough to create friction.
| Sound | Examples | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| /w/ | work, week, software | Round the lips like a short u. The teeth do not touch the lip. |
| /j/ | yes, year, review | Like German j in ja. |
| /r/ | rate, result, agree | The tongue tip curls back slightly and never touches the roof of the mouth. No rolled or throat r. |
| /l/ | loan, client, sell | At the end of a word (sell, deal), the back of the tongue rises: a “dark” l. |
6 Typical Difficulties for German Speakers
Typische Schwierigkeiten für Deutschsprachige
Final voiced consonants
German devoices consonants at the end of a word (Auslautverhärtung). English keeps them voiced, and the vowel before them is longer.
bag ≠ back prize ≠ price leave ≠ leaf
/w/ and /v/
German w is pronounced /v/. English /w/ uses rounded lips with no teeth contact.
wine ≠ vine west ≠ vest wet ≠ vet
TH sounds
/θ/ and /ð/ do not exist in German and are often replaced by /s/, /z/, /f/ or /d/.
think ≠ sink three ≠ free then ≠ den
/s/ at the start of a word
German s before a vowel is voiced (Sonne). English initial s is voiceless /s/.
sales service sue ≠ zoo
/dʒ/ and /tʃ/
German has /tʃ/ (Matsch) but rarely /dʒ/. Keep /dʒ/ voiced.
joke ≠ choke ridge ≠ rich jeep ≠ cheap
R and L
Avoid the German throat r, and do not pronounce r before a consonant. Use a dark l at the end of words.
market first sell deal
7 Minimal Pairs at Work
Minimalpaare im Berufsalltag
Each pair differs by one consonant sound. Read both sentences aloud, then open the box to check the meaning.
Lesen Sie beide Sätze laut und klappen Sie dann die Übersetzung auf.
Final voicing: /k/ – /g/
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Leg die Akten nach hinten. / Leg die Akten in die Tasche.
Final voicing: /s/ – /z/
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Wie hoch ist der Preis? (Kosten) / Was ist der Preis? (Gewinn)
/θ/ – /f/
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Wir bieten drei Muster an. / Wir bieten kostenlose Muster an.
/θ/ – /s/
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Ich denke, es passt. / Ich sinke – es passt. (Ein klassisches Missverständnis!)
/w/ – /v/
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Ist dieser Wein aus Frankreich? / Ist diese Weinrebe aus Frankreich?
/tʃ/ – /dʒ/
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Das ist eine günstige Option. / Das ist eine Jeep-Option.
8 Practice Sentences
Übungssätze
Read each sentence slowly, then at normal speed. Focus on the highlighted sounds.
- /w/ /v/ We've won very valuable work this week.
Show German 🇩🇪
Wir haben diese Woche sehr wertvolle Aufträge gewonnen.
- /θ/ /ð/ The third thing they mentioned was growth.
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Das Dritte, was sie erwähnten, war Wachstum.
- final voicing We need to save and move the old files.
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Wir müssen die alten Dateien speichern und verschieben.
- /s/ /z/ Sales seem to rise as the business grows.
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Der Umsatz scheint zu steigen, während das Unternehmen wächst.
- /ʃ/ /ʒ/ The decision should be shared at the session.
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Die Entscheidung sollte in der Sitzung mitgeteilt werden.
- /tʃ/ /dʒ/ Check the change in the project schedule.
Show German 🇩🇪
Prüfen Sie die Änderung im Projektplan.
- /r/ /l/ Our largest client will review the results.
Show German 🇩🇪
Unser größter Kunde wird die Ergebnisse prüfen.
Nehmen Sie sich auf und achten Sie jeweils nur auf einen Laut.
Feel where the sound is made, check whether it is voiced, and practise it in real sentences.
Ein Laut nach dem anderen – im echten Satz geübt.
Take the free pronunciation test →