# How do you pronounce "Fur Elise" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 4, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483 "2005-11-04T15:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChuckForbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@ChuckForbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChuckForbin)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/1 "2005-11-04T15:11:32Z")
You know, the Beethoven ditty. I got conflicting or inadequate answers from Google, more discussion of the “Fur” but not much about the “Elise”. I’m looking for the pronunciation one might use at an American cocktail party as opposed to the direct German one, unless the German one makes me sound smarter. Is it “Fur” like on a bear, or more like “Fyur” ? A-LEES or A-LEESSA or E\_LISSA etc etc ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/2 "2005-11-04T15:23:22Z")
With three years of high school German, so I’d pronounce it: **Fyoor e-LEE-sa** The “u” in the first word actually has an umlaut above it (the two dots), which changes the pronunciation of the vowel. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/3 "2005-11-04T15:23:46Z")
Found with Google search and using the Cached page Search = Fur Elise Pronunciation [The Cache Page I found](http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:kmkkshpuldUJ:www.eslcafe.com/help/index.cgi%3Fread%3D107119+Fur+Elise+Pronunciation&hl=en) Because the /u/ in “Fur” is umlauted, the German pronunciation is closer to the English /fir/. “Elise,” in English, is pronounced with a silent final “e,” but the final “e” is pronounced in German. If you want to anglicize the pronunciation, you might pronounce “Fur” as you suggest and drop the sound of the final “e.” ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/4 "2005-11-04T15:26:40Z")
> [@ChuckForbin](#): > > You know, the Beethoven ditty. I got conflicting or inadequate answers from Google, more discussion of the “Fur” but not much about the “Elise”. > > I’m looking for the pronunciation one might use at an American cocktail party as opposed to the direct German one, unless the German one makes me sound smarter. > > Is it “Fur” like on a bear, or more like “Fyur” ? > > A-LEES or A-LEESSA or E\_LISSA etc etc It’s “Für Elise”. Fyr E-LI-SE. The “I” is like the “I” in Bill. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/5 "2005-11-04T15:35:48Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Found with Google search and using the Cached page > Search = Fur Elise Pronunciation > [The Cache Page I found](http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:kmkkshpuldUJ:www.eslcafe.com/help/index.cgi%3Fread%3D107119+Fur+Elise+Pronunciation&hl=en) > > Because the /u/ in “Fur” is umlauted, the German pronunciation > is closer to the English /fir/. “Elise,” in English, is > pronounced with a silent final “e,” but the final > “e” is pronounced in German. If you want to anglicize the > pronunciation, you might pronounce “Fur” as you suggest and > drop the sound of the final “e.” I normally hear it as “Fyoor eh-LEASE” in American English, and that’s how I say it unless I’m speaking to someone who knows better, and then perhaps I will umlaut the “u” and add the final schwa on the name. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/6 "2005-11-04T18:28:37Z")
> [@ChuckForbin](#): > > You know, the Beethoven ditty. I got conflicting or inadequate answers from Google, more discussion of the “Fur” but not much about the “Elise”. > > I’m looking for the pronunciation one might use at an American cocktail party as opposed to the direct German one, unless the German one makes me sound smarter. > > Is it “Fur” like on a bear, or more like “Fyur” ? > > A-LEES or A-LEESSA or E\_LISSA etc etc The first word is Für, F - u umlaut - r, which can also be spelled Feur. That gives a hint to its pronunciation. In German, the f is harder than in American English. The u umlaut is pronounced like an e or u as in English “uh” or “euh” **combined with** pursing the lips. Start with a very neutral e as in eh (but without the h), then pull your lips together like you’re gonna whistle. The best way to learn how to say u umlaut is to hear a German say it! The r is, like all German r, a “roll”, said more in the throat and with the tongue clamped between the teeth. Very similar to a French r. Elise is “Eh-l-ee-sss-eh”. No silent letters in German, especially no silent final letters. Some letters combine into one sound; for instance, sch is “sh”, but all three need to be there. So it’s approximately “f-e-u-uh-r Eh-lee-sss-eh”. Weird. I was thinking about the piece this morning. Of course, I happened to be listening to Brahms’ piano concertos… ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/7 "2005-11-04T18:35:20Z")
> [@633squadron](#): > > The first word is Für, F - u umlaut - r, which can also be spelled Feur. That gives a hint to its pronunciation. That’s incorrect. It would be spelled “fuer”, not “feur”. Feur would be pronounced similar to the English “foyer”. When you pronounce a vowel with an umlaut you shape your mouth much differently than our English pronunciation. More like narrowing your mouth and squeezing out the sound. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/8 "2005-11-04T18:46:28Z")
Closest: Fir aylEEzuh. The u umlaut is tough to translate into english, but fir is close The r is more at the back of the throat, but your better off just omitting it then pronouncing it like an american r. The first e in elise is pronounced like a long a as in they the i is pronounced like ee the s is pronounced like a z the last e is a schwa. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/9 "2005-11-04T19:06:54Z")
One has to account for regional variances. I’ve heard it pronounced “that song, you know, that goes deedle deedle deedle deedle dum,” or “hey, Tiffany, there’s a piano store, play that one song you know.” The would-be player’s friends called it “let me try…how does it go? I always forget how many deedle deedles it has. And which black notes do I start at again, there’s so many!” I always pronounced it “get out of my piano store and never play that stupid song here again.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/10 "2005-11-04T19:21:23Z")
Well, I can tell you it’s _not_ pronounced “For Eloise”. (which I what I say every dang time despite knowing better.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/11 "2005-11-04T19:51:29Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > That’s incorrect. It would be spelled “fuer”, not “feur”. Feur would be pronounced similar to the English “foyer”. > > When you pronounce a vowel with an umlaut you shape your mouth much differently than our English pronunciation. More like narrowing your mouth and squeezing out the sound. General rule for umlauted vowels. For an umlaut-u, shape your lips as for an “oo” (as in “moo”), but pronounce an “ee” (as in “bee”). For an umlaut-o, same thing except pronounce more of a short i (as in “bit”). Plus, a German “r” (in most dialects, at least) is not a rolled “r”. In Europe, Rolled "r"s are generally encountered in the Slavic languages and many Romance languages (French excepted.) They also show up in Scottish variants of English, and are more formally known as “avelolar trills.” The German and French "r"s are voiced uvular fricatives, aka a “uvular r”. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/12 "2005-11-05T01:20:10Z")
I’ve just been saying “Furry Lisa” Wouldn’t that make a great name for a female werewolf? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/13 "2005-11-05T08:19:03Z")
“Für” is pronounced almost like “fear.” THe “ü” sound is pronunced with your lips shaped to say “oo,” but the inside of your mouth arranged as if to say “ee.” In other words, say “ee” with your lips pursed into an “oo” shape, and you’ll get the right sound. ---
**Author:** ![Nilor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a4c791/32.png) [@Nilor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nilor)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/14 "2005-11-05T08:52:25Z")
[Examples of the u-umlaut](http://www.wm.edu/modlang/gasmit/pronunciation/ue/index.html)(audio files) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/15 "2005-11-05T16:57:45Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > I’ve just been saying “Furry Lisa” > Wouldn’t that make a great name for a female werewolf? I’d thought of the same thing, Dr! Note to all lady lurkers thinking of registering: There 's a name waiting for you! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/16 "2005-11-05T17:11:42Z")
**uglybeech** is so far the only one who caught the voiced pronunciation of the invervocalic \ in German. It sounds like /z/, not /s/. Elise = @-LEEZ-@ (where @=schwa). ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/17 "2005-11-07T02:27:36Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > **uglybeech** is so far the only one who caught the voiced pronunciation of the invervocalic \ in German. It sounds like /z/, not /s/. Elise = @-LEEZ-@ (where @=schwa). :smack: I can’t believe I missed that! ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2005, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/18 "2005-11-07T08:25:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > General rule for umlauted vowels. For an umlaut-u, shape your lips as for an “oo” (as in “moo”), but pronounce an “ee” (as in “bee”). For an umlaut-o, same thing except pronounce more of a short i (as in “bit”). Right. Saved me the trouble. It’s a /y/ in phonetic transcription - a rounded /i/. “Rounded” means the lips are rounded (as if you were saying “ooh!”), but the tongue and mouth are otherwise in position to say “ee”. Same as in the French “tu”. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2005, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/19 "2005-11-07T08:58:29Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Right. Saved me the trouble. It’s a /y/ in phonetic transcription - a rounded /i/. “Rounded” means the lips are rounded (as if you were saying “ooh!”), but the tongue and mouth are otherwise in position to say “ee”. Same as in the French “tu”. There are four rounded front vowels in German. Each of the two graphemes \<ö\> and \<ü\> stands for two different vowel sounds, tense/long and lax/short. Tense/long ö like in _Höhe_ is comparable in length and narrow tongue position to the long e in _Ehe_, while lax/short ö as in _Hölle_ is like the e in _hell_ with regard to relaxed tongue position, except with lips rounded. Compare how German _schöne_ corresponds to Yiddish _Shayna_. Tense/long ü as in _fühle_ has length and narrow tongue position similar to the tense/long vowel i as in _viel_. Short/lax ü as in _fünf_ is like the short/lax i in _Fink_. Compare the Yiddish word for five, _finf_. Yiddish loses all the front vowel rounding and merges the “umlauted” vowels with the four sounds of e and i. Actually, “umlaut” in the original sense referred to phonotactic vowel shift from back to front within a word, under the influence of a front vowel in a suffix. Ex. _Frau_ (back vowel), _Fräulein_ (vowel fronting via umlaut triggered by the suffix). Umlaut properly does not refer to vowels that were fronted and rounded to begin with, like in the word _Öl_. Back to the OP: The vowel in _für_ is a short, lax, high, rounded front vowel. It’s like a rounded version of the vowel /i/ as heard in English _fin_. In English, this vowel does not occur before r, instead it shifts to a neutral vowel due to r-coloring, so I can’t think of any exact examples. English _fear_ is maybe the nearest approximation, if you substituted a lax short front vowel for the long tense vowel. And then rounded it. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2005, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483/20 "2005-11-07T09:04:39Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Umlaut properly does not refer to vowels that were fronted and rounded to begin with, like in the word _Öl_. On second thought, maybe _Öl_ isn’t the best example of non-umlaut, since if you delve into its etymology, it was an umlaut process that resulted in that vowel ö. It came from Latin _oleus_, and although the e in that word disappeared in German, it left behind its influence in the fronted vowel ö. I’m not sure if I can come up with a good example of non-umlaut rounded front vowels in native German words. I’m flipping through a German dictionary, but all the examples I’m finding can be explained by umlaut. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-fur-elise/329483.md?page=2)