Stille Nacht
The carol was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas Church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, sung by Joseph Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber, with Mohr accompanying on guitar. The first verse below introduces several key pronunciation features.
Line-by-line IPA
Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!
[ˈʃtɪ.lə naxt | ˈhaɪ̯.lɪ.ɡə naxt]
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
[ˈa.ləs ˈʃlɛːft | ˈaɪ̯n.zam vaxt]
Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar.
[nuːɐ̯ das ˈtɾaʊ̯.tə | ˌhɔx.ˈhaɪ̯.lɪ.ɡə paːɐ̯]
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
[ˈhɔl.dɐ ˈknaː.bə ɪm ˈlɔ.kɪ.ɡən haːɐ̯]
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh’!
[ʃlaːf ɪn ˈhɪm.lɪ.ʃɐ ʁuː]
English translation
Silent night! Holy night! All is still; alone keeps watch only the devoted, most holy pair. Blessed child with curly hair, sleep in heavenly peace!
Diction notes
- Stille – /ˈʃtɪ.lə/. Initial st is /ʃt/, not /st/. The final -e is a distinct schwa /ə/ — two clear syllables.
- Nacht – /naxt/. The ch after the back vowel /a/ is the ach-Laut /x/. This is not /k/ and not /ʃ/.
- heilige / hochheilige – /ˈhaɪ̯.lɪ.ɡə/. The ei is the diphthong /aɪ̯/. The g here is followed by a vowel, so it stays voiced /g/ — final devoicing does not apply. Hoch in hochheilig has secondary stress and an ach-Laut after /ɔ/.
- schläft – /ʃlɛːft/. From schlafen (long /aː/); the umlaut form carries the same long vowel quality as the root: /ɛː/, not short /ɛ/.
- einsam – /ˈaɪ̯n.zam/. The s is voiced /z/ at the start of a syllable before a vowel.
- himmlischer – /ˈhɪm.lɪ.ʃɐ/. The suffix -isch is /ɪʃ/ (note: sch spelling, not the ch of ich). The -er ending vocalises to /ɐ/.