Pronouncing "Berlin"

It's hard to break old habits of speech when you are learning to pronounce words in German that you already knew before, such as many place names. It can take a while to change the pronunciation that you learned a long time ago in your native language. Such may be the case with the capital city of Germany, Berlin.

In English, "Berlin" is pronounced bur-LIN. The first part sounds like "brr," when you are cold, and it's certainly a cold enough place in winter. The second part rhymes with "win" and is the stressed syllable. You probably pronounce it this way already, though if you happen to come from Berlin, Connecticut or Berlin, New Hampshire, you might naturally put slightly more emphasis on the first syllable. Don't do that if you are talking about bur-LIN, Germany!

Ironically, a number of Germans I know, when they are speaking English, mispronounce the English pronunciation of Berlin as BURR-lin. Maybe they're trying to sound more American with the heavy emphasis on the R, but I usually don't have the heart to correct them. In the following video, a male American student says "Berlin" with the American pronunciation, followed by his female native German teacher saying "Berlin" with a proper German pronunciation:

„Wenn ich Urlaub habe, gehe ich nach Berlin... -nach Berlin." Gut.

"When I am on vacation I go to Berlin... -to Berlin." Good.

„Nach Berlin." -„Gehe ich nach Berlin", ja.

"To Berlin." -"I go to Berlin," yes.

Captions 64-65, Deutschkurs in Tübingen - Nebensätze als Satzanfang

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In German, of course, "Berlin" is pronounced very differently. The first syllable sounds like "bear" and the second syllable like "lean": bear-LEAN. Of course, the bear (der Bär) is the symbol of Berlin! The German teacher above is in Southern Germany, but in Northern Germany and especially in Berlin, people tend to emphasize the "i," sounding more like bur-LEEEN :

Aber seit ich in Berlin lebe,

But since I've lived in Berlin,

arbeite ich als Kellnerin und Barista in Cafés.

I've worked as a waitress and barista in cafés.

Caption 16, Berlin - Judith und die „Brezel Bar“

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Das ist tatsächlich ein Hotel in Berlin mit einem ganz verrückten Konzept.

This is, in fact, a hotel in Berlin with a completely crazy concept.

Caption 2, Berlin - Indoor-Camping im „Hüttenpalast“

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Kommst du auch aus Hamburg?

Do you also come from Hamburg?

Nee, aus Berlin.

No, from Berlin.

Captions 33-34, Großstadtrevier - Nicht mit mir - Part 4

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Du kommst gar nicht aus Berlin.

You're not from Berlin at all.

Caption 24, Großstadtrevier - Nicht mit mir - Part 5

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla German and search for videos about Berlin. You can also watch the music video of the song "Berlin" by the 1980s German punk band Ideal. The chorus repeats Ich steh auf Berlin, which means "I like Berlin." It shows a lot of street scenes and demonstrations from the early 1980s West Berlin, when the city was much rougher than it is today!