German Alphabet
The letters in the German alphabet are the same as in English; however, there are four more letters which you will come across in the German language: Ä, Ö, Ü and ẞ. These extra four letters, however, are often not counted as part of the actual alphabet.
Once you are familiar with the pronunciation of the German language you will find German can be spoken quite smoothly without using too much spit and harsh, abrupt endings!
Resources for further reading:
How to pronounce the German Alphabet
Below is the German alphabet with a word giving the approximate pronunciation of the letter. Be aware that that the pronunciation of the letter by itself can differ from when it’s used in German words.
The German Alphabet
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The Extra German Letters
The dots above the extra letters ä, ö and ü create a sharper sound, made more in the front of your mouth. These are called “Umlaute”. You don’t have to decide whether to put dots on these vowels, these come standard with certain words. They can also be written as ae, oe, and ue, but this is less common.
This unusual looking letter ß, which looks like a B is called “esszett” and is another symbol for a double ss. The ß produces a sharp s- sound like the hissing of a snake as in “Ich heiße”, “I’m called”. There are no words that start with ß, so you will only ever come across it in lower case.
The extra German letters
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The German Alphabet broken down
Are you ready to get started? Here we go then...
Learning the letters of the alphabet is not the most exciting way of starting to learn a new language, but knowing the sounds will help you to pronounce unfamiliar words. Let's dive in:
Below is the German alphabet with a word giving the approximate pronunciation of the letter. Be aware that the pronunciation of the letter by itself can differ from when it is used in German words.
A - Sounds like "ah"
B - Sounds like "beh"
C - Sounds like "say"
D - Sounds like "day"
E - Sounds like "ay"
F - Sounds like "eff"
G - Sounds like "gay"
H - Sounds like "haa"
I - Sounds like "eeh"
J - Sounds like "yott"
K - Sounds like "kah"
L - Sounds like "ell"
M - Sounds like "em"
N - Sounds like "en"
O - Sounds like "oh"
P - Sounds like "pay"
Q - Sounds like "koo"
R - Sounds like "err"
S - Sounds like "ess"
T - Sounds like "tay"
U - Sounds like "oo"
V - Sounds like "fow"
W - Sounds like "vay"
X - Sounds like "eks"
Y - Sounds like "epseelohn"
Z - Sounds like "zett"
Bis bald!
Paul Weber: Rocket German
Action Replay
- The German alphabet is the same as the English one.
- Most German consonants are pronounced similarly to English ones.
- German has four extra letters that are often not considered to be part of the actual alphabet.