German Pronunciation: “Riese” and “Reise” – for learners of German, the sounds for “ie” and “ei” are often confused, thus often altering the meaning of the words they are saying. For example:

“Riese” – This word means “giant” and the “ie” is pronounced like the English “cheese” or “me”.
“Reise” – This word means “trip” or “voyage” and the “ei” is pronounced like the English “I” or “eye”.

“ie” and “ei” in German words are nearly always pronounced as described above.

Try to say “Riesenreise” (essentially a “giant / huge trip”) to practice.