Let's listen carefully: Vowels & Umlaute: "u" or "ü"?

ein Kuchen

zwei Kϋchen

And don't worry if you don't know the meaning of most of the words. The aim of this exercise is to practice the difference between "u" and "ü". Of course, you can look up the words you don't know in one of the online dictionaries below if you wish to do so.

The German vowel "u" and its corresponding Umlaut "ü" are pronounced differently.

Think of the German airline Lufthansa if you want to say "u".

Think of the German soccer player Thomas Müller or the "Rue de Rivoli" in Paris if you want to say "ü". Alternatively, keep your tongue in the same position as for the "ee" in English "meet", but round your lips as for the "oo" in English "boot".

Click on ► to hear the examples.

Mull <-> Müll
Spulen <-> spülen
Mutter <-> Mütter
wusste <-> wüsste
Mucken <-> Mücken
Fugen <-> fügen
rucken <-> Rücken
musste <-> müsste
Kuchen <-> Küchen
dunkel <-> Dünkel
Bruder <-> Brüder
durfte <-> dürfte

Now it's your turn.

Click on ► and listen carefully to the words which are read out to you. In each case, write the word you hear twice in the gap provided. Then click on [Check] to see if you were correct.

Spulen <-> spülen
Mutter <-> Mütter
wusste <-> wüsste
Mucken <-> Mücken
Fugen <-> fügen
rucken <-> Rücken
musste <-> müsste
Kuchen <-> Küchen
dunkel <-> Dünkel
Bruder <-> Brüder
Mull <-> Müll
durfte <-> dürfte

Umlaute & Eszett:

Wörterbuch (LEO)

Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS)

Wörterbuch (Linguee)

Wörterbuch (dict.cc)

Wörterbuch (PONS)

Terminologie A - Z

Tip: If you don't belong to the lucky few who possess a photographic memory, write down what you learnt while doing this exercise.

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