Chapter 5: Consonant Sounds
The German chs
You’ve learned that in German, every letter is typically pronounced, even consonants in clusters. But the combination chs poses an exception. It was once spoken as separate sounds, but by the 16th century, it had merged into one.
German chs sounds like English x.
This shift to a smoother pronunciation is common in language evolution. To help remember it, note that German words with chs often match English words spelled with x. Examples include Fuchs (fox), Ochse (ox), and Wachs (wax).
The German pf
The consonant cluster pf appears in many German words, like Pferd (horse), Pflanze (plant), and Pfütze (puddle). Although written as two letters, pf is pronounced as a single sound. It resembles the German f sound but with an added explosive quality. This sound does not exist in English on its own, but there's a simple trick to create it.
German pf sounds like English Campfire.
Say the English word campfire and isolate the pf portion. When spoken without a pause, this closely matches the correct pronunciation in German. Some German words contain both pf and f, making them the ideal training grounds for practicing both sounds. Examples include the words Pfeffer (pepper), Pfeife (whistle), and pfiffig (canny).