German Christmas carols: say Stille Nacht and O Tannenbaum right
Silent Night was written in German. Before you sing it at the carol service, say it: each line below has the original lyrics, a line-by-line translation and audio. Record yourself and the AI scores every word against a native German reference.
- Original lyrics with an English translation, line by line
- The German sounds that trip English speakers in each carol
- Say each line and get a score for every word
Stille Nacht
Lyrics: Words by Joseph Mohr (1816), melody by Franz Xaver Gruber (1818). First sung in Oberndorf near Salzburg on Christmas Eve 1818. Public domain. Verse 1.
The lyrics, line by line
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! Alles schläft, einsam wacht
Silent night, holy night! All is asleep; alone, keeping watch,
nur das traute, hochheilige Paar.
only the dear, most holy couple.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Lovely boy with curly hair,
schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
sleep in heavenly peace!
Sounds to watch
- Nacht, wacht, hochheilige: ch after a, o or u is a rasp at the back of the mouth, as in Scottish loch. Never k.
- Stille, schläft: st- and sp- at the start of a word are said “sht”, “shp”. Stille sounds like “shtil-le”, with a short final e.
- heilige, einsam: ei is always the “eye” of English eye. ie would be “ee”, but there is none here.
- wacht: German w is English v. Knabe: say the k, then the n.
- Ruh: the h after a vowel is silent and only makes the u long.
Say it, line by line
Speak the line at a calm pace, do not sing it.
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht! Alles schläft, einsam wacht
Silent night, holy night! All is asleep; alone, keeping watch,
Tap to record
O Tannenbaum
Lyrics: Christmas words by Ernst Anschütz (1824), on an older folk song. Public domain. Verse 1.
The lyrics, line by line
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O fir tree, o fir tree, how faithful are your leaves!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
You are green not only in summertime,
nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
no, also in winter, when it snows.
Sounds to watch
- grünst: ü is “ee” said with rounded lips. Hold the lips round and say “ee”.
- treu: eu sounds like “oy” in boy. deine, nein, schneit: ei is “eye”.
- nicht: ch after i, e, ä, ü or a consonant is a soft hiss, like a whispered “h” in huge. Not the loch sound, not k.
- zur, Sommerzeit: z is “ts”. S before a vowel is a buzzing z: Sommer is “zommer”.
- Blätter, Winter: the -er at the end is a short open “uh”, with no r.
Say it, line by line
Speak the line at a calm pace, do not sing it.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O fir tree, o fir tree, how faithful are your leaves!
Tap to record
Why say a carol before you sing it
Singing hides pronunciation: vowels are held for beats and consonants blur into the melody. Speaking the line first shows you exactly which word you are saying wrong, and the score tells you when it is fixed.
These two carols cover most of what is hard in German: the two ch sounds (Nacht and nicht), st- said as “sht”, ü, the diphthongs ei and eu, and the final -er that has no r.
More German practice
- German pronunciation — the sounds of German explained, with a recorder on every one.
- German pronunciation test — five words, scored, with your weakest sound named.
- Learn German with Dark — everyday German phrases to say aloud, scored.
FAQ
Can I sing into the recorder?+
Say the line instead. The AI scores spoken pronunciation word by word; singing stretches vowels and moves the pitch, which it does not measure. Once the words feel easy, singing them is the easy part.
How do you say “Silent Night” in German?+
Stille Nacht, said “SHTIL-uh nahkht”: st- at the start of the word is “sht”, and ch after a is the rasp of Scottish loch, not k. Holy night is heilige Nacht, “HY-lig-uh nahkht”.
Are these lyrics free to use?+
Yes. Every carol on this page is in the public domain: the authors died more than a century ago or the text is traditional. The line-by-line translations were written for this page.
Keep your German going after Christmas
The TonePerfect app listens to you speak German and builds short daily drills around the sounds you miss.