Long or Short Vowel?

German vowels can be long or short, and the length alone can change the word. The spelling tells you which one you hear:

• Long: a vowel before a silent h (ihn, fühlen, Höhle), a doubled vowel (Beet, Staat) and ie (bieten, Miete).
• Short: a vowel before a double consonant (denn, wenn, Bett, Mitte, Kamm, Hütte, füllen) and usually before two consonants (Stadt).
• A vowel before a single consonant is often long: den, wen, kam, Hüte (in is an exception).

Learn the meanings in pairs: den (the) and denn (because), wen (whom) and wenn (if, when), in (in) and ihn (him), Miete (rent) and Mitte (middle), Staat (state) and Stadt (city). Hold long vowels a little longer and keep short ones quick.