Practice pack · Klaro original draft Original pronunciation drill pack — 20 entries
Work for intelligibility, not accent removal. The listed examples include both minimal pairs and illustrative phrases; not every row is a minimal pair. Listen to a trusted model before repeating.
20 entries · 3 questions
| # | Target words / line | Meaning | What to practise |
| 1 | bieten / bitten | offer / ask | Contrast long /iː/ and short /ɪ/. |
| 2 | Beet / Bett | garden bed / bed | Contrast vowel length and quality. |
| 3 | Ofen / offen | oven / open | Contrast long and short o. |
| 4 | Staat / Stadt | state / city | Hold or shorten a; keep final consonants clear. |
| 5 | fühlen / füllen | feel / fill | Contrast long and short ü. |
| 6 | schon / schön | already / beautiful | Contrast o and ö. |
| 7 | wurde / würde | became / would | Contrast u and ü. |
| 8 | Mutter / Mütter | mother / mothers | Hear and produce the umlaut. |
| 9 | ich / nicht | I / not | Practise the ich sound after a front vowel. |
| 10 | Bach / Buch | stream / book | Practise the ach sound after back vowels. |
| 11 | Küche / Kuchen | kitchen / cake | Compare both the vowel and ch sound. |
| 12 | Zeit / zwei | time / two | Start z with /ts/. |
| 13 | Wasser / Vase | water / vase | German w is voiced /v/; listen to the model. |
| 14 | Rad / Räder | wheel / wheels | Final d is devoiced; compare the plural. |
| 15 | Tag / Tage | day / days | Compare final g with intervocalic g. |
| 16 | ab / aber | off / but | Compare final b with intervocalic b. |
| 17 | Reise / Lehrer | journey / teacher | Listen to r in different positions; more than one realisation is valid. |
| 18 | BAHNhof / beZAHLEN | station / pay | Mark the stressed syllable. |
| 19 | Ich nehme ZWEI. | I will take two. | Emphasise the quantity when correcting an order. |
| 20 | Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen? | Could you repeat that? | Group the request naturally and keep polite intonation. |
Short reading · Klaro original Listen, say, compare
Wähle ein Wortpaar. Höre dir ein gutes Aussprachebeispiel an und sprich beide Wörter langsam nach. Benutze jedes Wort in einem kurzen Satz. Nimm dich auf und vergleiche. Übe den Unterschied noch einmal, bevor du schneller sprichst.
English meaning
Choose one pair. Listen to a trusted model, then say both words slowly. Put each word in a short sentence. Record yourself and compare. If the contrast is still unclear, practise it again before increasing your speed.
Self-check Read once, hide the paragraph and answer. Then check the key. This is a practice activity, not a CEFR assessment.
What comes before speaking?
Show answer
Listening to a trusted model.
What follows the isolated words?
Show answer
Short sentences.
When should you increase speed?
Show answer
Once the contrast is clear.
Transfer task
Choose four drill rows. Listen, record both words in a sentence and compare with the source. Repeat only the unclear contrast.
Reference card Use Sie / Ihnen / Ihr with an adult stranger or in a formal service/work interaction unless you agree to use du. Du / dir / dein fits friends and informal contexts. Learn the noun with its article. Ich hätte gern… makes a useful polite request. These examples focus on Germany; everyday vocabulary and pronunciation also vary across Austria and Switzerland.
Keep the model voice consistent within one drill. Valid regional sound patterns are not errors. Use the partner-understands-the-word test before increasing speed.