Business English – Vowel Sounds (Interactive)

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Symbol	Example Sentence	German	1–4-Syllable Word Sets
/iː/ long “ee”	We need a clean report.	[Wir brauchen einen sauberen Bericht.]	1-syl: see, be, team 2-syl: meeting, reason, leader 3-syl: feedback, agreement, achievement 4-syl: immediately, efficiency, creativity
/ɪ/ short “i”	It isn’t in the list.	[Es steht nicht auf der Liste.]	1-syl: in, big, sit 2-syl: business, city, minute 3-syl: project, deliver, decision 4-syl: initiative, productivity, profitability
/e/ short “e”	Let’s check the schedule.	[Lass uns den Zeitplan prüfen.]	1-syl: get, pen, desk 2-syl: better, meeting, several 3-syl: presentation, energy, deadline 4-syl: development, competitor, excellence
/æ/ short “a”	The plan has gaps.	[Der Plan hat Lücken.]	1-syl: plan, map, staff 2-syl: manager, package, balance 3-syl: strategy, applicant, attitude 4-syl: management, adaptability, practicality
/ʌ/ short “u”	The budget must cover costs.	[Das Budget muss die Kosten decken.]	1-syl: cup, luck, fund 2-syl: customer, number, subject 3-syl: company, summary, discovery 4-syl: uncomfortable, underdeveloped, unpredictable
/ɑː/ long “ah”	Start the task tomorrow.	[Beginne die Aufgabe morgen.]	1-syl: car, part, staff 2-syl: market, partner, target 3-syl: department, startup, remark 4-syl: participation, harmonization, architectural
/ɒ/ short “o” (BrE)	Stop the loss early.	[Beende den Verlust frühzeitig.]	1-syl: not, cost, job 2-syl: office, profit, topic 3-syl: positive, shopping, project 4-syl: opportunity, cosmopolitan, methodology
/ɔː/ long “or”	Call before the board meeting.	[Ruf vor der Vorstandssitzung an.]	1-syl: more, floor, door 2-syl: morning, order, report 3-syl: important, supportive, recording 4-syl: extraordinary, exploratory, unfortunately
/ʊ/ short “oo”	Look at the full report.	[Schau dir den vollständigen Bericht an.]	1-syl: book, good, put 2-syl: bullet, cookie, looking 3-syl: footprint, bulletin, pudding 4-syl: understood, womanhood, unfulfilled
/uː/ long “oo”	We’ll improve soon.	[Wir werden uns bald verbessern.]	1-syl: do, move, true 2-syl: future, student, teamwork 3-syl: beautiful, suitable, unusual 4-syl: supervision, rejuvenation, unification
/ɜː/ long “er”	Learn the new terms.	[Lerne die neuen Begriffe.]	1-syl: word, turn, firm 2-syl: service, purpose, survey 3-syl: certainly, furniture, university 4-syl: commercially, personality, interpretation
/ə/ schwa	We deliver a report again.	[Wir liefern erneut einen Bericht.]	1-syl: a, the, of 2-syl: about, again, ago 3-syl: banana, America, sofa 4-syl: communication, evaluation, administration
/eɪ/ “ay”	They’ll pay today.	[Sie werden heute zahlen.]	1-syl: day, say, pay 2-syl: later, paper, data 3-syl: database, basic, vacation 4-syl: appreciation, dedication, regulation
/aɪ/ “eye”	I’ll write the file tonight.	[Ich schreibe die Datei heute Abend.]	1-syl: time, high, file 2-syl: pilot, client, finance 3-syl: exciting, inviting, identity 4-syl: identifiable, industrialise, idealistic
/ɔɪ/ “oy”	The choice is yours.	[Die Entscheidung liegt bei dir.]	1-syl: boy, toy, choice 2-syl: enjoy, loyal, invoice 3-syl: annoying, enjoyable, employer 4-syl: enjoyable, disappointing, exploitative
/aʊ/ “ow”	Count how much now.	[Zähle jetzt, wie viel.]	1-syl: how, now, down 2-syl: mountain, thousand, allowance 3-syl: powerful, accountant, housing 4-syl: accountability, announcement, unaccountable
/əʊ/ “oh” (BrE)	Don’t go so slow.	[Geh nicht so langsam vor.]	1-syl: go, no, show 2-syl: open, total, moment 3-syl: promotion, devotion, emotion 4-syl: motivation, cooperation, globalization
/ɪə/ “ear”	The idea is clear.	[Die Idee ist klar.]	1-syl: ear, near, here 2-syl: career, appear, idea 3-syl: area, interior, material 4-syl: criteria, cafeteria, deterioration
/eə/ “air”	Take care with that share.	[Sei vorsichtig mit diesem Anteil.]	1-syl: air, fair, care 2-syl: careful, barely, spare 3-syl: preparation, declaration, awareness 4-syl: humanitarian, preliminary, declaration
/ʊə/ “ure”	Be sure your work’s secure.	[Stelle sicher, dass deine Arbeit sicher ist.]	1-syl: sure, pure, tour 2-syl: curious, furious, tourist 3-syl: assurance, security, maturity 4-syl: insecurity, immaturity, obscurity