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The German language does not have the 'th' sound as used in English. German words that contain 'th' are usually loanwords from Greek, such as Thron (θρόνος), or English, such as Neanderthal. The 'th' sound in German is pronounced as 't', as in the English word thing. The use of 'th' in German orthography is considered to be an orthographic fluke, as the language lost its dental fricatives early on.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| German words with 'th' | Thron, Thron/Tron, Thon/Ton, Thal, Thier/Tier, Thun, Thür, Thran, Thal, Thema, Thron, Thunfisch, Thymian, Theke, These, Thermo, Thrombose, Theorie, Thür, Neanderthal |
| Reason for 'th' in German words | No phonetic or etymological reason; th was fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries, making words look more important |
| Pronunciation of 'th' in German | Th' is pronounced as 't', not as in English 'thing' |
| 'Th' in German words of Greek origin | Thron (θρόνος), Thunfisch (θύννος), Thymian (θύμον), Theke (θήκη), These (θέσις), Thermo (θερμός), Theorie (θεωρία), Thema (θέμα), Thrombose (θρομβώσις) |
| 'Th' in German words of non-Greek origin | Thür, Thran, Thal |
| 'Th' in German words due to English influence | Neanderthal |
| German loss of dental fricatives | German lost its dental fricatives early on, but not before it affected the orthography; the transition from /θð/ to /td/ is part of the High German Consonant Shift |
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What You'll Learn
- German does not have the 'th' sound, and 'th' spellings only occur in loanwords
- The German 'th' sound is pronounced as 't', which is always aspirated in German
- The use of 'th' in German was fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it had no etymological or phonetic reason
- The German 'th' sound turned into an 's' sound because 's' is an easier sound to make
- The 'th' sound in German is related to the Old High German consonant shift
German does not have the 'th' sound, and 'th' spellings only occur in loanwords
German does not have the "th" sound. The "th" spellings occur only in loanwords, proper names, and Greek-derived words. The Germanic fricatives disappeared early on, before the emergence of New High German, and the "th" spellings that occur in New High German are considered an orthographic fluke.
In the 7th and 8th centuries, Old High German used the digraph ⟨th⟩ to represent the sounds /θ/ and /ð/, which were later pronounced as /d/ due to the High German Consonant Shift. This shift occurred around the 10th century and affected all West Germanic languages except English. As a result, the "th" sound was lost in German, and there is no longer a distinction between /θ/ and /t/.
Some German words were historically written with "th," such as "Thron" or "Thron/Tron," but this spelling was not etymological or phonetic. Instead, it was fashionable during the 18th and 19th centuries and gave words a more important appearance. The orthography reform of 1901 removed this distinction, replacing "Thal" with "Tal" and "Thier" with "Tier." Today, "th" only survives in proper names, such as "Goethe," and Greek-derived loanwords, such as "Thron."
The absence of the "th" sound in German can be challenging for native English speakers, as it is a common sound in English. However, German speakers typically replace "th" with "s" or "z," which are easier sounds to produce.
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The German 'th' sound is pronounced as 't', which is always aspirated in German
The German language does not have the "th" sound as it is pronounced in English. Instead, "th" occurs only in loanwords of Greek origin, such as "Thron" (θρόνος), and is pronounced as "t", which is always aspirated in German.
The use of "th" in German dates back to the early Middle High German period, when it was used in words like "Thron" and "Thymian". However, there was no consistent rule for when to use "th" and when to use "t", and the choice between the two was often simply a matter of fashion or spelling conventions.
The "th" sound in German was likely chosen by analogy with Greek theta, which was transcribed as "th" in Latin and pronounced as an aspirated stop /tʰ/ in Classical and early Koine Greek. This practice was then borrowed into German, where it came to represent a voiced sound due to the allophonic relationship between the sounds [θ] and [ð] in Old English.
Over time, the distinction between /θ/ and /t/ was lost in German, and the use of "th" became less consistent. Eventually, in 1901, orthography reform replaced words with "th" like "Thal" and "Thier" with the "t" forms "Tal" and "Tier". Today, "th" survives only in proper names like "Goethe" and loanwords of Greek origin like "Thron".
It is worth noting that while German does not have the "th" sound as in English, it does have a dental fricative /ð/ sound, which is represented by the letter "d". This sound is often aspirated, which means that it is similar to the English "th" sound in words like "thing" or "bath". However, this sound is distinct from the aspirated "t" sound that "th" represents in German loanwords of Greek origin.
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The use of 'th' in German was fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries, but it had no etymological or phonetic reason
The use of "th" in German was fashionable during the 18th and 19th centuries, but it had no etymological or phonetic basis. This trend can be observed in words like "Thron," which is now spelled "Tron," and "Thon," which is now spelled "Ton." The inclusion of "th" in these words did not alter their pronunciation, which remained consistent with the sound of "t" in German.
The use of "th" in German can be traced back to the early history of the language. Old High German, which is the oldest stage of the language, utilized the digraph "th" to represent the sounds "/θ/ and /ð/, which later shifted to /t/ and /d/ during the High German Consonant Shift. This shift occurred around the 10th century and coincided with the emergence of written German.
The choice of "th" to represent the /θ/ sound was influenced by Greek. In Latin, the letter theta (θ) was transcribed as "th," and this convention was adopted in German. As a result, words like "think" in English became "thenken" in early German. However, the "/θ/ sound eventually disappeared from German, leading to ambiguity in the use of "th" and "t."
The distinction between "th" and "t" became blurred, resulting in variations in spelling for certain words. For example, the word "Thal," originally pronounced with a /d/ sound, was permanently spelled with "th," while "denken" was consistently written with "d." This inconsistency persisted until the orthography reform of 1901, which standardized the usage of "t" in words like "Tal" and "Tier."
Today, the use of "th" in German is primarily limited to proper names, such as "Goethe," and loanwords of Greek origin, such as "Thron." While the fashion of using "th" in German during the 18th and 19th centuries may have added a sense of importance to certain words, it ultimately lacked etymological or phonetic justification.
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The German 'th' sound turned into an 's' sound because 's' is an easier sound to make
The German language does not contain the 'th' sound as in English "thing". German did lose its dental fricatives early on, but not quite early enough to avoid affecting the orthography. The transition from /θ~ð/ to /t~d/ is usually considered part of the High German Consonant Shift.
The 'th' sound is challenging to pronounce in some places, even for a native English speaker. When the English language was introduced to German-speaking countries, their brains were faced with a challenge: to use this new, very basic sound in all kinds of words and places within words. The brain followed the path of least resistance and used a sound it knew from the beginning, which was very close to the /th/ sound. The 's' sound is also a fricative, which means that the way it is formed in the mouth is very similar to the 'th' sound. If you place your tongue halfway between the "s" and "th" positions between your teeth, you can produce a sound that sounds quite similar to both.
The 'th' spellings occur only in New High German. There is no trace of them in Middle High German. The Germanic fricatives disappeared long before the emergence of New High German. The 'th' spellings were purely an orthographic fluke.
In modern times, French, German and English all expanded the use of 'th' by analogy to words for which there is no etymological reason. However, for the most part, modern spelling systems have eliminated this. For example, the name of the River Thames comes from the Middle English 'Temese' and the name Anthony comes from the Latin 'Antonius'.
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The 'th' sound in German is related to the Old High German consonant shift
The "th" sound in German is related to the Old High German consonant shift. The "th" sound in German is often pronounced as "t" or "z". This is because German lost its dental fricatives early on, and the transition from /θ~ð/ to /t~d/ is considered part of the High German Consonant Shift.
The High German consonant shift occurred between the 3rd and 5th centuries and was complete before the first written examples in Old High German in the 8th century. The shift affected the High German dialects, particularly the Upper German dialects, and to a lesser extent, the Central German dialects. The degree of shift varies within High German, with Upper German dialects experiencing the most change and Central German dialects only a partial shift.
The shift of /þ/ (/θ/) to /d/ is sometimes seen as related to the High German consonant shift, although this change also encompasses other continental West Germanic languages. The shift of voiced to voiceless stops is only found in southern dialects, with the shift of /d/ to /t/ found in Upper German and some Central German dialects. The shift of /þ/ to /d/ is the only phase that affects a single consonant rather than a group of three in parallel.
The use of "th" in German words like "Thal" and "Thier" is due to the distinction between /θ/ and /t/ being lost, which made it unclear whether to write "th" or "t". This use of "th" was later removed in the 1901 orthography reform, and "th" now only survives in proper names and Greek-derived loanwords.
The "th" sound is challenging for native German speakers to pronounce, especially in certain positions within words. When German speakers come into contact with English pronunciation, their brains follow the path of least resistance and replace the new sound with a similar, easier sound they already know, such as /s/ or /z/.
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Frequently asked questions
No, German does not have the two 'th' sounds. The 'th' sound is challenging to pronounce in some places, even for a native English speaker. Instead, the Germans use ''s' and 'z' as they are easier sounds to make.
The use of 'th' in German is purely an orthographic fluke. It was fashionable to spell some German words with 'th' during the 18th and 19th centuries, such as "Thron". The use of 'th' in German is also due to the adoption of the Latin alphabet, which was originally introduced to transliterate Greek loanwords.
The 'th' in words of Greek origin is pronounced as 't' in German. For example, "Thron" (θρόνος) is pronounced as "Tron".
