Your Favorite Unpronounceable German Words

Just how good is your German pronunciation? After we shared our favorite impossible-to-pronounce German vocabulary, DW readers chimed in via Facebook, Twitter and email with theirs.



We shared our 10 favorite German words that are bound to give away a non-native speaker. Congratulations to all of our readers who wrote in that they have already mastered all of them! Others of you shared your own picks, which have been twisting our tongues here in the DW editorial office.



Here is a selection of your submissions of challenging German words, spoken by German native Dagmar Breitenbach. Click on the word to listen to the correct pronunciation.



To sharpen your German pronunciation, be sure to check out DW's online German courses as well!



Doppelkupplungsgetriebe



Germany is not only famous for its tricky language, but also for its cars, of course. While the vast majority of cars on German roads have a manual transmission, the word Doppelkupplungsgetriebe - a double-clutch transmission - is a must for serious car freaks. The Germany-based Volkswagen Group is said to produce the fastest double-clutch transmission in the world, which can be found, for example in VWs and Audis, as well as many other brands in the group. DCTs, however, are common in cars from all over the world.







Hähnchen



If you don't want to go hungry while visiting Germany, the first words you must pronounce properly are food items. Hähnchen - chicken - is a tough one because of the ä sound, followed up by the inevitable ch. If you're having a hard time, however, you can just order a Steak. That word sounds more or less the same in German and English.



Zwetschge



A Zwetschge is a type of plum that is native to Germany and can often be found in cakes when the fruit is in season. A number of DW readers agree that it's a real tongue-twister - particularly when your mouth is full of Zwetschgenkuchen, or plum cake. Fortunately, however, there is another more general word for plum: Pflaume. When in doubt, just have a piece of Pflaumenkuchen instead.







Ulm and Bacharach



Although the German capital, Berlin, is fairly easy to pronounce in any language, the country is scattered with cities and towns that don't roll quite as easily over the tongue. It may be just three letters long, but reader Katrin Knauer wrote that she's observed many foreigners struggling with Ulm. The city is located in southwestern Germany and - by the way - boasts the tallest cathedral in the world, measuring in at 161.5 meters (530 feet).



Facebook reader Thomas W. Schmid offered the town of Bacharach, a picturesque wine village on the Rhine River. Experience shows that the achs flow a bit better after a local Riesling tasting.



Quietscheentchen



Isn't it frustrating as a language learning when you hear small children perfectly pronouncing the most complicated collections of letters - and then being understood by grown-ups they're not even related to? That's certainly the case with rubber duck, or Quietschentchen (literally, squeaky little duck). Nicole Mulders wrote on Facebook that the word was her daughter's favorite.



Schnürsenkel



Without this tricky word, you won't get far in life without tripping up or slipping right out of your shoes. It's German for shoelace and, according to the Tweet, apparently not only tricky for native English speakers.







Fünfhundertfünfundfünzig



We were impressed that so many readers feel so confident in their ability to say the number zwanzig and still be taken for a native speaker. Karlheinz Wunner suggested yet another digit that is bound to stump the most skilled language learners: 555. Good luck with that one!



Pizza



We suggested that it's quite difficult to insert an Anglicism (like happy) into a German sentence without giving away that English, rather than German, is your stronger language. On Facebook, Mary Myers shared a prime example for this phenomenon: Pizza. The word looks simple, and it's one we all know, but you'll out yourself as an English native as soon as you use a long E sound - peeza.



Fingerspitzengefühl



Learning not only a language but another culture always requires a strong sense of Fingerspitzengefühl, or tact. But simply making an effort to learn someone else's language - regardless of your pronunciation abilities - is sure to make a great first impression.