How to Pronounce German -ig and -er Endings
Say -ig with a soft ch, bring the g back before a vowel, and end -er words with a relaxed 'uh' instead of an r.
Two endings give English speakers away fast: -ig and -er. Both are spelled one way and said another.
Final -ig sounds like ich, and unstressed -er is a short open 'uh' with no r at all. Get these right and dozens of everyday words fall into place.
Tap any word to hear it.
Final -ig sounds like ich
At the end of a word, -ig is said [ɪç], the soft hiss of ich. In southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland you'll hear [ɪk] instead, and both are correct.
- Standard German: richtig = [ˈʁɪçtɪç], soft ch at both ends.
- Southern German, Austrian, Swiss: [ˈʁɪçtɪk] is normal and understood everywhere.
- Never a hard English g: not 'rik-tig'.
- Exception: before -lich you say [ɪk], as in königlich [ˈkøːnɪklɪç].
-ig at the end of a word[ɪç]
like ich: tongue high, soft hiss
-ig + consonant (-igt, -igs, -igst)[ɪç]
still the soft hiss, then the consonant
-ig in the south (Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland)[ɪk]
a clean k, also correct
Das ist richtig billig.
That's really cheap.
Ich bin gleich fertig.
I'll be ready in a moment.
Es ist zwanzig nach acht.
It's twenty past eight.
-ig + vowel: the g comes back
When an ending with a vowel follows, the g moves to the next syllable and is a real [ɡ]. Richtig has ch, richtige has g.
-ig + e, -er, -en, -ung[ɪɡ]
g starts the next syllable: rich-ti-ge
ch at the end, g before e
the ending brings back g
-er after -ig: g returns
Das ist die richtige Antwort.
That's the right answer.
Entschuldigung, ist das billiger?
Excuse me, is that cheaper?
Final -er is a relaxed 'uh'
Unstressed -er is [ɐ], a short open 'uh' with no r consonant. It's close to the end of British 'butter'; Americans, keep your tongue flat and don't curl it.
- Mouth a little more open than for schwa [ə].
- No tongue curl, no throat r, just a vowel.
- Same in -ern, -ers, -ert: Eltern = [ˈɛltɐn].
-er at the end of a word[ɐ]
short open 'uh', no r
-ern, -ers, -ert[ɐn, ɐs, ɐt]
'uh', then the consonant
er after a long e (der, wer, mehr)[eːɐ̯]
long 'ay' gliding into 'uh'
schwa [ə] vs open [ɐ]
-e vs -er ending
a little more open for -er
Mein Vater ist Lehrer.
My father is a teacher.
Der Lehrer trinkt immer Wasser.
The teacher always drinks water.
Meine Eltern wandern gern.
My parents like hiking.
Prefixes er-, ver-, zer-, her-
In the unstressed prefixes er-, ver- and zer- the r is vocalic too: a short clear e that fades into 'uh'. Her- keeps a real r only when a vowel follows.
- ver- is [fɛɐ̯], never English 'fur'.
- Stress jumps to the stem: verˈstehen, erˈklären.
- herein, heraus: the r starts the next syllable, so you hear [ʁ].
er-, ver-, zer- (unstressed)[ɛɐ̯, fɛɐ̯, tsɛɐ̯]
short clear e fading to 'uh'
her- + vowel[hɛʁ]
r returns: he-rein, he-raus
her- as a stressed separable prefix[heːɐ̯]
long e, r fades
Ich verstehe das nicht.
I don't understand that.
Kannst du das erklären?
Can you explain that?
Komm herein!
Come in!
Common mistakes
✗ “rick-tig” with a hard g
✓ [ˈʁɪçtɪç] — soft ch at both ends
Final -ig is [ɪç] in standard German.
✗ “fah-terr” with a curled American r
✓ [ˈfaːtɐ] — ends in an open 'uh'
Unstressed -er has no consonant r.
✗ “kö-ni-che” with a ch
✓ [ˈkøːnɪɡə] — real g before the e
The ch only appears when -ig ends the syllable.
✗ “fur-shtay-en”
✓ [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən] — short clear e, fading r
ver- has a crisp e, not the English 'ur' vowel.
How to practise
- Say ich, then richtig: the same soft hiss at both ends.
- Alternate König – Könige five times and feel the g return.
- Say Vater, Mutter, Lehrer, ending each on a relaxed 'uh'.
- Read bitte – bitter, diese – dieser and hear [ə] versus [ɐ].
Questions learners ask
Is -ig pronounced 'ich' or 'ik' in German?
Standard German says [ɪç], as in richtig [ˈʁɪçtɪç]. [ɪk] is normal in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is perfectly correct there.
How do you pronounce -er at the end of German words?
As a short, open 'uh' [ɐ] with no r consonant. Think of a British 'butter' with the mouth slightly more open.
Why does König have a ch sound but Könige a g?
The ch rule only applies when -ig ends the syllable. In Könige the g starts the next syllable (Kö-ni-ge), so it stays a real g.