Pronouncing "München"

The German name of the city of Munich is "München," which is a difficult word to pronounce correctly. The problem for many native English speakers is that "München" contains a difficult vowel and consonant combination (ü and ch) — sounds that don't really exist in the English language. And when you add a third consonant ("n") into the mix, you wind up with a potential tongue-twister. So let's focus today on learning to pronounce "München" correctly and not having it sound like something between "Munchkin" and "moonshine!"

Let's start with the umlaut vowel "ü." It's best if you click directly on the Deutsch mit Eylin video link below and listen to the "ü" sound several times before trying to imitate it. Notice that you may have to make a different shape with your mouth to get the sound right. Much like playing a musical instrument, learning to pronounce new sounds in a foreign language requires muscle memory: training your mouth to make different shapes than it is used to!

Das „Ü“ findest du ganz leicht,

You can easily make the "Ü"

wenn du ein übertriebenes „I“ sprichst.

when you say an exaggerated "I."

Caption 26, Deutsch mit Eylin - Umlaute

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Iiiüüü. Iiiüüü. Super!

Iiiüüü. Iiiüüü. Excellent!

So hört sich das „Ü“ im Deutschen an.

This is what the "Ü" sounds like in German.

Captions 29-32, Deutsch mit Eylin - Umlaute

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Next, let's look at the consonant combination "ch" in German. This consonant combination is often used in diminutive forms such as ein bisschen, or das Mädchen. The most commonly spoken word with this "ch" combination is probably when you're talking about yourself: ich. It's pretty normal for beginners to pronounce it too hard like "ick," or too soft like "ish." It's actually closer to the harder "ick" sound, but instead of clicking the "k" sound on the back of the roof of your mouth, you let it more or less extend as a kind of hissing sound from the front of the roof of your mouth.

Listen to captions 49-51 repeatedly in the following video and then practice pronouncing them yourself. The three highlighted words all have the same soft "ch" sounds: weich, durchgekocht, and riecht. Be careful that you don't mispronounce the "ch" as a hard "k" or a soft "sh"!

Ja, die Birnen sind jetzt weich

Yes, the pears are now soft,

und die Bohnen sind durchgekocht

and the beans are cooked through,

und es riecht sehr, sehr lecker.

and it smells really, really delicious.

Captions 49-51, Bundesländer und ihre Rezepte - Hamburg

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Now that you have practiced saying the vowel "ü" and the consonant "ch," it's time for the challenge of pronouncing both of them together with the consonant "n" in between: München, here we come!

Ich komme dich in München besuchen.

I'm coming to visit you in Munich.

Caption 20, Deutsch mit Eylin - Das Futur bilden

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Meine älteste Schwester Anne

My eldest sister Anne

eröffnete in München den ersten Bioladen der Stadt!

opened in Munich the city's first organic food store!

Captions 39-40, Deutsch mit Eylin - Ernährungsformen

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for videos about München. Now that you have learned to pronounce it correctly, you can learn a bit more about the culture of the city. In a coming lesson, we'll be addressing the pronunciation of "Berlin," a city name that Germans themselves often mispronounce when trying to speak its standard English pronunciation!