1.1.4 Stress and intonation

Word Stress in German

German has a clear and regular system of stress. This is very helpful for beginners, because if you know a few rules, you can often guess where the stress is.

In German, one syllable in a word is usually stronger. It is louder and a little longer. This is the stressed syllable. The other syllables are weaker.

For example:
„Mut-ter“ (mother) → MU-tter
„be-kommen“ (to receive) → be-KOM-men

You can hear that one part of the word is the “peak” of the word.

At first, it is a good idea to imitate native speakers and mark the stressed syllable in your notes, for example with a capital letter:
„BE-kom-men“, „SCHU-le“, „ver-STEH-en“.

Try to listen and copy, not to think too much. Stress will become more natural with practice.

General Rules for Stress

German stress rules are not perfect, but they help a lot. Below you see some common patterns. There are many exceptions, so always listen to real examples.

Most German words: stress on the first syllable

Very often the first syllable is stressed, especially in:

1. Many simple nouns
   „MUtter“ (mother)
   „VATER“ (father)
   „TISCH“ (table)
   „FENster“ (window)
2. Many simple adjectives
   „GROß“ (big)
   „KLEIN“ (small)
   „SCHÖN“ (beautiful)
   „BILlig“ (cheap)
3. Many simple verbs
   „MAchen“ (to do, to make)
   „LEsen“ (to read)
   „ARbeiten“ (to work)
   „KOchen“ (to cook)

So if you are not sure, try to stress the first syllable.

Verbs with prefixes

German has many verbs with prefixes, for example „anrufen“ (to call), „aufstehen“ (to get up), „verstehen“ (to understand). Stress behaves differently with different kinds of prefixes.

Separable prefixes

Some prefixes are separable in a sentence: they move to the end of the clause. These prefixes are stressed.

Common separable prefixes: ab, an, auf, aus, ein, mit, nach, vor, weg, zu, zurück.

Examples:
„ANrufen“ (to call)
„AUFstehen“ (to get up)
„EINkaufen“ (to shop)
„MITkommen“ (to come along)

When you speak, make the prefix strong. The rest of the verb is weaker: ANrufen, AUFstehen.

Inseparable prefixes

Some prefixes never separate. These prefixes are normally not stressed. The stress is on the next syllable.

Common inseparable prefixes: be, ent, er, ge, ver, zer.

Examples:
„beKOMmen“ (to receive)
„verSTEHen“ (to understand)
„erZÄHlen“ (to tell)
„geBRAUchen“ (to use)

Here the prefix is very light and short, the next syllable is strong: beKOMmen, verSTEHen.

This difference is important later for grammar, but you can already start to hear and copy it now.

Loanwords and international words

German has many international words from English, French, or Latin. Often they keep their original stress, which is sometimes not on the first syllable.

Examples:
„HoTEL“
„ReSTAUrant“
„InforMAtion“
„PoLIzei“ (police)
„UniVERsität“ (university)

You learn the stress with the word. Listen carefully and repeat.

Stress and Meaning

Some German words change their meaning when the stress changes. For A1, it is enough to notice that this can happen.

Example with „umfahren“:

1. „UMfahren“ → to run over something or someone (stress on first syllable, separable)
2. „umFAHren“ → to drive around something (stress on second syllable, inseparable)

Later you will see more of this type. At the beginning, focus on hearing where native speakers put the stress.

Sentence Stress

Word stress is about stress inside one word. Sentence stress is about which words in a sentence are strong.

In a simple German sentence, usually the important information is stressed. Grammar words are weak.

Compare:

„Ich gehe HEUTE ins Kino.“
Here „heute“ is important, so it is stressed.

„ICH gehe heute ins Kino.“
Here „ich“ is important, maybe in contrast to someone else.

Small words like „ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie“ and „der, die, das, ein, eine“ are often weak, but they can be stressed if they are important.

For a natural German rhythm, try to make content words stronger and small grammar words weaker.

Content words and function words

You can think of two groups of words.

Content words (usually stressed):
Nouns: „der Tisch, die Frau, das Auto“
Main verbs: „gehen, kommen, arbeiten“
Adjectives: „schön, groß, klein“
Adverbs: „heute, morgen, hier, dort“

Function words (usually not stressed):
Articles: „der, die, das, ein, eine“
Pronouns: „ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie“
Prepositions: „in, auf, mit, von, zu“
Conjunctions: „und, oder, aber, weil“
Auxiliary verbs: „sein, haben, werden“ when used as helpers

In the sentence: „Ich gehe heute in die Stadt.“
The strong syllables are in „GEHe“, „HEUte“, „STADT“. The rest is light.

Intonation in German

Intonation is the melody of the sentence. German melodies are different from English or other languages. This can change how it feels when you speak.

The basic patterns you need at A1 are: statement, yes/no question, and W-question.

Statements: falling intonation

In simple statements, the voice usually goes down at the end.

„Ich komme aus Spanien.“
The pitch is a little higher in the middle, then it falls on „Spa-nien“.

„Er wohnt in Berlin.“
The voice falls at the end on „lin“.

If you keep your intonation level at the end, it can sound like a question.

Yes / no questions: rising intonation

Yes/no questions are questions that you can answer with “yes” or “no”.

In these questions, the verb comes first. The intonation usually rises at the end.

„Kommst du aus Spanien?“
The voice goes up at „Spa-nien?“

„Wohnst du in Berlin?“
The voice goes up at „lin?“

Even if the word order already shows that it is a question, the rising intonation makes it very clear that you are asking.

W-questions: falling intonation

W-questions begin with words like „wer, wie, wo, was, wann, warum, woher, wohin“.

In these questions, the voice usually falls at the end, like in a statement, not like in a yes/no question.

„Wo wohnst du?“
The voice goes up a bit on „wohnst“, then falls on „du“.

„Wie heißt du?“
It falls on „du“.

This is different from English in many accents, where the voice often goes up in questions. In German most W-questions end with a fall.

Intonation and Focus

Intonation also helps to show which part of a sentence is important. You can move the main stress to different words.

Example: „Ich wohne in Berlin.“

„ICH wohne in Berlin.“
You, not someone else.

„Ich WOHNE in Berlin.“
You live there, you do not only work there.

„Ich wohne in BERlin.“
The place is important.

You do not need to control this perfectly at A1, but listen for it when people speak. It will help you understand what they want to stress.

Typical Stress and Intonation Mistakes

Many beginners bring the rhythm and melody from their own language into German. This is normal, but it can make understanding harder.

Some common problems:

1. Stress on the wrong syllable
   If you say „hoTEL“ instead of „HOtel“ or the opposite, people can still understand you, but it sounds foreign. For some words it can even change the meaning.
2. Stressing every word equally
   If you put the same stress on all words, German sounds “machine-like” and flat. Try to make some words stronger, some weaker.
3. English-like question intonation
   Some learners keep a rising intonation on long parts of the question, not only at the end. In German, most of the rise is at the very end.
4. Falling intonation in yes/no questions
   If you say „Kommst du aus Spanien.“ with falling intonation, it can sound like a statement, not a question.

To improve, listen to short audio, repeat, and try to match not only the words, but also the melody and rhythm.

Practice Ideas

You can practice stress and intonation even with very simple German.

1. Take short sentences:
   „Ich bin Anna.“
   „Ich komme aus Italien.“
   „Ich wohne in Berlin.“
   „Bist du Maria?“
   „Wo wohnst du?“

Say each sentence many times. First, say it very slowly and mark the stressed syllable in your mind. Then say it faster and more natural.

2. Listen to native speakers, for example in simple videos or audio exercises.
   Pause and repeat one sentence. Try to copy exactly how it sounds, like singing a song.
3. Record yourself.
   Say one sentence in German, record it, and listen. Compare with a native speaker example. Check: do I go up or down at the end? Where is my strongest syllable?

Little by little, your ear will learn the typical German patterns.

New Vocabulary in this Chapter

German words with stress (the stressed syllable is marked in capitals):

Can you correct this table for me

Can you correct this table for me