German Diphthongs: ei, ie, eu, äu and au
Say ei, eu and au like a native, read ei and ie correctly every time, and keep Wein and Wien apart.
German has three diphthongs, gliding vowels that sound close to the English 'eye', 'oy' and 'ow'. The only real trap is spelling: ei and ie look alike but sound completely different.
Use this rule: say the English name of the second letter. In ei it's 'i' (eye); in ie it's 'e' (ee).
Tap any word to hear it.
ei and ai: the 'eye' sound
Both spellings give [aɪ̯], close to English 'eye' or 'my'. Start from an open 'ah' and glide up.
ei[aɪ̯]
close to English 'eye'
ai[aɪ̯]
same sound, rarer spelling
ey, ay (names)[aɪ̯]
same sound in names
ie: the 'ee' sound, not a diphthong
ie is simply a long [iː], as in 'see'. It never sounds like 'eye', which is the classic trap for English speakers.
ie[iː]
long 'ee' as in 'see', never 'eye'
ei = eye, ie = ee
second letter gives the sound
same letters, swapped order
same letters, swapped order
Wir trinken Wein in Wien.
We drink wine in Vienna.
Die Biene sitzt auf meinem Bein.
The bee is sitting on my leg.
eu and äu: the 'oy' sound
Both spellings give [ɔʏ̯], close to 'oy' in 'boy'. You write äu when the word is related to one with au (Haus → Häuser).
eu[ɔʏ̯]
close to 'oy' in 'boy'
äu[ɔʏ̯]
same sound; spelled äu when related to au
Heute treffe ich neue Freunde.
Today I'm meeting new friends.
Die Häuser in Deutschland sind teuer.
Houses in Germany are expensive.
au: the 'ow' sound
au is [aʊ̯], close to 'ow' in 'how'. Start with an open 'ah' and round your lips at the end.
au[aʊ̯]
close to 'ow' in 'how'
au becomes äu in the plural
'ow' turns into 'oy'
same family, äu spelling
Common mistakes
✗ “wine”, reading ie like ei
✓ [viːn] — 'veen'
ie is always 'ee'; Wein is the drink.
✗ “dye”
✓ [diː] — 'dee'
ie means 'ee' every time, even in short words.
✗ “you-roh”, as in English
✓ [ˈɔʏ̯ʁo] — 'oy-roh'
Euro and Europa both start with 'oy' in German.
✗ “Dutch”
✓ [dɔʏ̯tʃ] — 'doytch'
Dutch is Niederländisch; eu must sound like 'oy'.
How to practise
- Say 'Wein in Wien' five times, switching cleanly between 'eye' and 'ee'.
- Before each ei or ie word, name the second letter in English.
- Make plurals aloud: Haus – Häuser, Maus – Mäuse, Baum – Bäume.
- Say 'Heute kaufe ich drei neue Bäume' slowly, then fast.
Questions learners ask
How do you remember the difference between ei and ie?
Say the English name of the second letter: in ei it's 'i' (eye), in ie it's 'e' (ee). So Wein sounds like 'vine' and Wien like 'veen'.
Is there a difference between eu and äu?
No, both are [ɔʏ̯], close to 'oy'. You write äu when the word is related to one with au, like Haus – Häuser.
How do you pronounce ai in German?
Exactly like ei: Mai, Kaiser. Names spelled with ey or ay, like Meyer or Bayern, sound the same.