The rule
Three letters that do not say what an English speaker expects. Get these and your German stops sounding translated.
Letter → sound
| w | English V — Wasser, Wochenende, schwimmen |
|---|---|
| v | English F — Verein, viel, Vater |
| z | TS — tanzen, Zeit, zusammen |
| s (before a vowel) | English Z — singen, sehen, Sonntag |
„Verein" starts with an F sound and „Wochenende" with a V. Swap them and a German listener hears a word they do not know.