How to pronounce 'R' in German | Easy German 174

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► PRODUCED IN COOPERATION WITH:

Easy Languages is an international video project aiming at supporting people worldwide to learn languages through authentic street interviews and expose the street culture of participating partner countries abroad. Episodes are produced in local languages and contain subtitles in both the original language as well as in English.

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Camera: Janusz Hamerski
Edit: Janusz Hamerski / Carina Schmid
Translation: Ben Eve

[williamcoleman]

It's really interesting to hear native speakers pronounce the same word, each a bit differently.

[SmolBean]

I love this video because pronouncing the German ‘ R/r ‘ has been a big topic for learners including my self. This video gives a sense of relief because everyone in the video pronounces the ‘ R/r ‘ differently, and doesn’t make myself or anyone feel as pressured to pronounce it 100% perfectly as with so many dialects there doesn’t seem to be a 100% way to pronounce it!

[reptarhouse]

around 3:00 I'm like, wait now I understand German!! Then I realized they're speaking Italian...

[MS-chnm]

I am from Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. And here the 'R' is pronounced differently than in the video. We franconians (also Bavarians) pronounce it like the Italian or Spanish 'R'. I also get a lot from German people that come from outside Bavaria, that they hear that I am from the south of Germany the way I pronounce the 'R'. Even I can not pronounce the 'R' in the "proper" German way like in the video, so don't worry if you are having a hard time speaking it :)

[anglerfish]

What makes this video is the helpful old man with a hat. So sweet, he really takes his time explaining in detail.

[guyjunge]

Easy German, Easy Italian and Easy French in the same video! hahaha
That is what I call "polyglot lesson"

[edwardvictorau]

As an Asian, the is a nightmare for me. Ppl used to tease me for mixing up the L and R. The Italian and French r is a tongue twister for me.

[AZURNERUB]

There is a German gurgling R sound (uvular thrill) and there is German fricative R sound, as i've noticed most of the time most of the speakers use the second one. The throat thrill is often more used by older people and especially by news presenters. But when people are asked to read a word, they tend to use it more but then quickly switch back to fricative sound when using the same word in the sentence. Also in the south they often use regular thrilled R just like in Italian.

[patrickmorgan]

I’m a classically trained singer, and when we sing German Lieder (songs by Schubert, Brahms etc.) we always pronounce the “R” rolled in the Italian way, irrespective of where it appears in a word. A classical music convention!

[mwintersweet]

Italian R and German R both exist in Persian as two totally different words.
German R: ق / غ
Italian R: ر

[mayrose]

This is the hardest part of speaking German correctly. Thank you for this video

[pexma]

Today's participants are all nice and sweet. Really humble.

[gregory]

2:28 I've never attended to Italian classes in my life, but I was able to understand 100% of their dialogue. It's awesome to have a Romance language as my native language.

[felixcm]

Many people in Southern Germany speak the r like in Italy

[AngusMacHuge]

I always enjoy your videos, but this is legitimately the first time I've smiled ear to ear while watching one of them. This video was a perfect combination of education and entertainment. As a native English speaker, I really struggle with "back of the throat" and rolled R pronunciation, and where to emphasize this and where it's much less pronounced. To see how much variation there is, both individual and regional, amongst native German speakers, was very interesting.

[nxone]

This is my absolute favourite Easy Languages episode. The infamous R and all the different ways people say it is fascinating. I also loved how there was an unexpected occurrence of Italian and french

[WhiteSpatula]

I grew up speaking American English, but also hearing a lot of German from Dad, and Spanish from Mom. Didn't learn like I should've; self-absorbed brat that I was. But still, there were a lot of words and phrases in German and Spanish spoken around our house. And my parents schooled us on pronunciations, some of which fortunately sank in. Many a night at the dinner table, you'ld've heard a barrage of R's in all three languages. And because Mom couldn't do German R's, and Pops couldn't do Spanish R's, we kids always one-upped them by the end of our meal with tongue-twisters like "(Rrr)rotkraut! Arroz! Raspberries!" Good times. ;-) -Phill, Las Vegas

[cogito]

I’m teaching myself German here in the US with the help of a book and some German friends. It’s frustrating how misleading the book is about the pronunciation at times, like it says that the German “r” is guttural like the French “r” but in my experience learning French they are totally totally different. The French “r” is more breathy from the space between the middle of your tongue and your mouth, while the German has a tone from the vibrations (I’m not a linguist so it’s hard to explain lol).

[felipeadao]

Francesco, tu parles beaucoup des langues, c'est très cool

[zdzislawmeglicki]

Not all Germans pronounce their "r" this way, i.e., by vibrating their uvula. I know some very German Germans myself, some from Bavaria, also some Austrians, who trill their "r" like Italians. Also, I recall that when you listen to Germans sing, e.g., Mozart or Schubert, they trill their "r" too. It is similar in France, where people from the south, e.g., Marseille, pronounce their "r" like Italians.