Long vowel or short vowel in German

1. 1
   Staat/ʃtaːt/

   statenoun

   A country with its own government, laws and borders.
2. 2
   Stadt/ʃtat/

   citynoun

   A large place with many houses, streets and shops.
3. 3
   Miete/ˈmiːtə/

   rentnoun

   The money you pay each month to be allowed to live somewhere.
4. 4
   Mitte/ˈmɪtə/

   middlenoun

   The point that's roughly the same distance from every side.
5. 5
   Ofen/ˈoːfən/

   ovennoun

   An appliance that heats a room or that food is cooked in.
6. 6
   offen/ˈɔfən/

   openadjective

   Not closed, so you can see or walk through.
7. 7
   fühlen/ˈfyːlən/

   to feelverb

   To sense something physically or inwardly, such as warmth or fear.
8. 8
   füllen/ˈfʏlən/

   to fillverb

   To put something into a container until it's full.
9. 9
   beten/ˈbeːtən/

   to prayverb

   To turn to God in words or in thought.
10. 10
    betten/ˈbɛtən/

    to lay downverb

    To lay someone down carefully so they lie soft and comfortable.

The sentences

1. Jeder Staat hat eigene Gesetze und eigene Grenzen.

   Every state has its own laws and its own borders.

2. Die neue Wohnung liegt ganz am Rand der Stadt.

   The new apartment is right on the edge of the city.

3. Die Miete für die kleine Wohnung ist wirklich sehr günstig.

   The rent for the small apartment is really very cheap.

4. Die neue Wohnung liegt genau in der Mitte der Stadt.

   The new apartment is right in the middle of the city.

5. Der alte Ofen in der Küche macht das Zimmer warm.

   The old oven in the kitchen warms up the room.

6. Das Fenster im Bad war leider die ganze Nacht offen.

   The bathroom window was open all night, unfortunately.

7. In der neuen Wohnung fühlen wir uns schon zu Hause.

   We already feel at home in the new apartment.

8. Kannst du die letzten Kisten bitte noch mit Büchern füllen?

   Can you fill the last boxes with books, please?

9. Die alte Nachbarin geht jeden Morgen in die Kirche beten.

   The old neighbor goes to church every morning to pray.

10. Abends betten wir das Kind vorsichtig auf das neue Sofa.

    In the evening we carefully lay the child down on the new couch.

Pronunciation

• Staat/ʃtaːt/

  It starts with the sound "scht", the a is long, and a hard t sounds at the end.

• Stadt/ʃtat/

  The st at the start sounds like "scht", and the a stays short.

• Mitte/ˈmɪtə/

  A short, open /ɪ/ — noticeably shorter than in Miete.

• Ofen/ˈoːfən/

  The o is long even though only one consonant follows.

• offen/ˈɔfən/

  A short, open /ɔ/ — the vowel is cut off short.

• fühlen/ˈfyːlən/

  A long ü: lips rounded as for u, tongue forward as for i.

• füllen/ˈfʏlən/

  A short ü, a bit more open and noticeably shorter than in fühlen.

• beten/ˈbeːtən/

  A long, closed e in the first syllable.

• betten/ˈbɛtən/

  A short, open /ɛ/ as in Bett.

Questions

How do you say "state" and "city" in German?

"Staat" (long a) means a country with its own government, and "Stadt" (short a) means a city.

What's the difference between Miete and Mitte?

"Miete" is the rent you pay each month, and "Mitte" is the middle of a place.

What do "füllen" and "fühlen" mean?

"Füllen" means to fill something up, and "fühlen" means to feel something.