Y
Y
In the odd case that the letter “Y” shows up in a German word you are trying to pronounce, it will likely be pronounced the same as the “Ü”, which I explain in more detail later. Your mouth should start in the position that you need for the long “U” described above, but then you bring your tongue to the top of your mouth so it touches your side teeth along the inside edge. The result is very similar to the short “I” sound, but with a “U” aftertaste.
In the Middle of a Word:
typisch [ˈtyːpɪʃ] - typical
das Gymnasium [ɡʏmˈnaːzi̯ʊm] - secondary school
der Typ [tyːp] - type, guy
Front or End of a Word:
If it is at the beginning or end of a word, it will be pronounced like the English sounding “Y”.
das Baby [ˈbeːbi] - baby
der Yak [jak] - yak
die Party [ˈpaːɐ̯ti] - party
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