TonePerfect for German
Check how you say any German word or sentence
Type the German you need to get right — a long compound, a sentence for work, your street name — and say it. The checker scores every word and every sound and names the weakest one.
- Any German text up to 120 characters
- Every word and every sound scored 0–100
- Free in your browser, no account needed
Free German pronunciation test →·Free German accent test →
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How it works
- 1
Type your German
A word, a phrase or a full sentence, up to 120 characters.
- 2
Say it once
Tap the mic and read it aloud at your normal pace.
- 3
Find the weak sound
Each word and sound comes back scored, with the weakest sound named. Fix it and check again.
How the scores work: every sound in the word is scored out of 100, and you see all of them. The numbers are built for comparison — which of your sounds score lowest, and whether one climbs when you re-record it. They are built for comparison, so read a 72 as “weaker than your 91” rather than as a certified accuracy figure.
What the checker listens for in German
The umlauts come up first. For ü in 'über', hold the tongue where it says 'ie' and round the lips; for ö in 'schön', start from 'e'. Most learners move the tongue back as they round, turning ü into u and ö into o. Next are the two ch sounds: the soft hiss of 'nicht' and the back-of-mouth scrape of 'Buch'.
The German r is the third: a gentle rasp at the back of the mouth in 'rot', and a short dark vowel at the end of 'Vater'. The checker also catches word endings, since German says 'und' with a final t and 'Tag' with a final k.
Checker or test: which to use
Use the checker for your own text: the sentence for tomorrow's meeting, a word you always stumble on. Use the German pronunciation test for an overview: five guided words in about a minute, sounds ranked weakest first.
Scores from 0 to 100 rank your sounds against each other; they are not an exam grade or a certificate. Work on the weakest sound, then check the same text again and watch that score.
The sounds that decide your accent
The long ü (über)
Say the long 'ie' of 'Liebe' and, keeping the tongue exactly there, round the lips into a tight circle as for whistling: über, früh, Bücher.
The short ü (fünf)
Say the short 'i' of 'bitte' and round the lips while the tongue stays forward: fünf, müssen, Glück. Shorter and looser than the ü in 'über'.
The long ö (schön)
Say the long 'e' of 'gehen' and keep the tongue there while rounding the lips forward. Hold it long and steady: schön, hören.
The short ö (möchte)
Say the short 'e' of 'Bett' and, without moving the tongue, round the lips into a small circle. The lip rounding is what makes it ö.
The soft ch (nicht)
Say a long 'y' as in English 'yes' but push more air and switch the voice off: the middle of the tongue rises high near the front and the air hisses gently over it. Comes after e, i, ä, ö, ü and in the -ig ending.
The hard ch (Buch)
The back of the tongue rises toward the roof of the mouth — the 'k' place — but instead of blocking the air it lets it scrape through. Comes only after a, o, u, au.
Scores rank your own sounds against each other so you know what to drill first. They are not an accuracy certificate and not an exam grade.
Questions
Is the German pronunciation checker free?+
Yes. A few checks a day are free without an account. The app adds daily practice with thousands of real German words, ordered by your weakest sounds.
What can I type in?+
Any German text up to 120 characters, from a single word to a full sentence.
Does it judge my accent or only sounds?+
It scores each sound. Your accent is the sum of those sounds, so the lowest scores show which habits from your first language stand out.
How is this different from the German test?+
The test has five set words and takes about a minute. The checker scores any text you type, so you can check exactly what you need to say.
Practice German every day
The app drills the sounds this test flags, with thousands of words and instant feedback on every take.