O

The German short “O” is similar to the English short “O” sound. It can be heard in words like cost, boss, and odd. The long “O” sound is exactly like in English, but when we say “O” in English, we generally close our mouths a bit to make it sound like it is followed by a “W” or a “Y”, but in German the mouth stays in the same position from the beginning to the end of the letter. 

Short “O” Examples

Preceding Multiple Consonants:

die Post [pɔst] - mail 

die Wolle [ˈvɔlə] - wool 

der Gott [ɡɔt] - God 

Long “O” Examples

Preceding a Single Consonant:

die Oper [ˈoːpɐ] - opera 

die Rose [ˈʀoːzə] - rose 

rot [ʀoːt] - red 

Double O:

das Boot [boːt] - boat 

der Zoo [ʦoː] - zoo 

Preceding the Letter “H”:

das Stroh [ʃtʀoː] - straw 

froh [fʀoː] - happy 

die Sohle [ˈzoːlə] - sole