Beginner German Language Essentials
German Alphabet
The German Alphabet
Good news: if you know the English alphabet, you're already 99% of the way to knowing the German one. It uses the same 26 letters. The main difference lies in how some of them are pronounced.
Mastery of the alphabet is the foundation for reading, writing, and pronunciation.
Let's go through the letters and how they sound. Pay close attention to the vowels and a few tricky consonants like J, V, W, and Z.
| Letter | Name in German | Sounds Like (in English) |
|---|---|---|
| A a | Ah | 'a' in father |
| B b | Beh | 'b' in bed |
| C c | Tseh | 'ts' in cats or 'k' in car |
| D d | Deh | 'd' in dog |
| E e | Eh | 'e' in they (short) or bed (long) |
| F f | Eff | 'f' in fun |
| G g | Geh | 'g' in go |
| H h | Hah | 'h' in hat |
| I i | Ee | 'ee' in see |
| J j | Yot | 'y' in yes |
| K k | Kah | 'k' in kite |
| L l | Ell | 'l' in love |
| M m | Emm | 'm' in mom |
| N n | Enn | 'n' in no |
| O o | Oh | 'o' in open |
| P p | Peh | 'p' in pen |
| Q q | Koo | 'kv' sound, like qu in queen |
| R r | Err | Often a rolled or gargled sound in the throat |
| S s | Ess | 's' in sun or 'z' in zoo |
| T t | Teh | 't' in top |
| U u | Oo | 'oo' in moon |
| V v | Fow | 'f' in fan |
| W w | Veh | 'v' in van |
| X x | Iks | 'x' in fox |
| Y y | Upsilon | 'ü' sound (see below) |
| Z z | Tsett | 'ts' in cats |
The Special Characters
Beyond the standard 26 letters, German has four special characters that represent unique sounds. Three of these are called Umlaute (umlauts), which are vowels with two dots on top. The fourth is a special kind of 's'.
Here’s how to pronounce them:
Ä
other
This is the 'a' umlaut. To make this sound, start by saying the 'e' in 'bed' and then open your mouth a bit wider.
Ö
other
The 'o' umlaut. Start to say the 'e' in 'her', but round your lips as if you were about to whistle. It's a sound that doesn't really exist in English.
Ü
other
The 'u' umlaut. Try saying 'ee' as in 'see', but tightly round your lips like you're drinking from a straw.
And finally, the sharp S.
The letter ß is called an Eszett or scharfes S (sharp S). It's simply a strong, hissing 'ss' sound, like at the end of the word 'kiss'. You'll never see it at the beginning of a word.
For example, the word for 'street' is Straße.
Ready to check your understanding?
True or False: The standard German alphabet uses the same 26 letters as the English alphabet.
What is the collective name for the three German vowels with two dots above them (ä, ö, ü)?
Getting comfortable with these sounds is the first major step to speaking and reading German. Practice them out loud!