The German alphabet uses the same 26 letters as English, but many of them have different sounds. The good news is that German is a largely phonetic language, which means words are usually pronounced exactly as they are spelled. Once you know the sound for each letter, you can confidently pronounce most words you see.

German also has four special characters that don't exist in English. Three of these are vowels with an umlaut, which looks like two dots above the letter. The umlaut changes the sound of the vowel.

The Eszett (ß) is also known as the "sharp S." It simply represents a double-s sound. You'll never see it at the beginning of a word.

Some German consonants look familiar but sound quite different. Mastering these is key to being understood.

Finally, let's look at two common letter combinations. The 'sch' sound is straightforward, but the 'ch' sound can be tricky. It has two distinct pronunciations.

Don't worry about perfecting every sound right away. The goal is to get familiar with how the German alphabet works. Consistent practice is the best way to improve.

Ready to test your knowledge? Let's see how well you remember these new sounds.

Great work. With these building blocks, you're ready to start forming your first German words.