The German Consonant: P
The German consonant 'p' is pronounced in a similar manner to its English equivalent, regardless of its position within a word. However, the 'p' letter rarely occurs at the end of German words.
Click on the examples in the table below to hear how words containing the letter ' p ' are pronounced in the German language.| Examples with Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Letter 'p' in initial position | ||
| Polizei - police | Prüfung - exam | Pilot - pilot |
| Problem - problem | Passage - passage | Puder - powder |
| Letter 'p' in medial position | ||
| adaptieren - to adapt | Papier - paper | Coupon - coupon |
| Kneipe - pub/bar | hopsen - to hop | Kapital - capital |
| Letter 'p' in final position | ||
| Mikroskop - microscope | Sirup - syrup | Trupp - troop |
'Ph' Combination
The 'ph' combination was discussed earlier, but is repeated here for the sake of completeness. All German words containing a 'ph' combination are taken from English; and thus are pronounced as a 'f' as well. Although most of these words have already been Germanified such that they are now spelled with a 'f' letter.
| Examples with Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Words containing 'ph' combination | ||
| Alphabet - alphabet | Phantasie - fantasy | Biographie - biography |
| Phrase - phrase | Delphin - dolphin | Mikrophon - microphone |
'Pf' Combination
The letter combination 'pf' might sound a bit strange to English speakers, but in German, both the 'p' and 'f' are pronounced, but articulated as one single sound.
| Examples with Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Words containing 'pf' combination | ||
| Apfel - apple | Knopf - button | Pfeffer - pepper |
To summarize, the letter 'p' is pronounced exactly as in English, even when if forms a 'ph' combination, it's prounced as an 'f'. The only difference is the German 'pf' combination, in which both letters are pronounced.