The German Alphabet: Letters, Pronunciation and Spelling
Knowing the alphabet is a foundation of learning German. The German alphabet has 26 basic letters, like the English alphabet, as well as special letters and sounds that are useful to learn separately.
You will use the alphabet not only when reading, but also when spelling your name, address or email address on the phone, writing down unfamiliar words and explaining foreign words. The German alphabet therefore has an important practical role in everyday life.
The German alphabet
Here are the 26 basic letters, their German names, approximate pronunciation and example words.
- A — a; similar sound: a, á; der Apfel (apple)
- B — beː; similar sound: b; das Buch (book)
- C — tseː; similar sound: c (ts, k); der Computer
- D — deː; similar sound: d; der Dom (cathedral)
- E — eː; similar sound: e, é; die Erde (earth)
- F — ɛf; similar sound: f; der Fisch (fish)
- G — geː; similar sound: g; der Garten (garden)
- H — haː; similar sound: h; das Haus (house)
- I — iː; similar sound: i; die Insel (island)
- J — jɔt; similar sound: j; der Junge (boy)
- K — kaː; similar sound: k; die Katze (cat)
- L — ɛl; similar sound: l; die Lampe (lamp)
- M — ɛm; similar sound: m; die Milch (milk)
- N — ɛn; similar sound: n; die Nase (nose)
- O — oː; similar sound: o, ó; das Ohr (ear)
- P — peː; similar sound: p; die Post (post office)
- Q — kuː; similar sound: kv (k+v); die Quelle (source)
- R — ɛr; similar sound: r (throat sound); die Rose (rose)
- S — ɛs; similar sound: s or z; die Sonne (sun)
- T — teː; similar sound: t; der Tisch (table)
- U — uː; similar sound: u, ú; die Uhr (clock)
- V — faʊ; similar sound: f or v; der Vater (father), der Vogel (bird)
- W — veː; similar sound: v; das Wasser (water)
- X — ɪks; similar sound: x (ks); das Xylophon
- Y — yːpsilɔn; similar sound: ü or i; die Physik (physics)
- Z — tsɛt; similar sound: c (a sharp ts sound); die Zeitung (newspaper)
Special German letters
- Ä ä: Its pronunciation is between e and é. Examples: der Käse (cheese), spät (late).
- Ö ö: There is no exact equivalent in English. It is similar to the ö/ő sound. Examples: schön (beautiful), der König (king).
- Ü ü: It is similar to the ü/ű sound. Examples: die Tür (door), müde (tired).
- ß: This special letter is called Eszett or scharfes S. It represents a long s sound. It is used only as a lowercase letter; in uppercase, it is written as SS. Examples: die Straße (street), heiß (hot).
Spelling in German: Buchstabieren
In German, you may often need to spell names, addresses and words on the phone or during official procedures. For this reason, it is important to know the German pronunciation of every letter.
Examples:
- Müller = M – Ü – L – L – E – R
- Straße = S – T – R – A – ß – E
On the phone or in an office, people often use the Buchstabiertafel, or spelling table. Each letter is paired with an example word, similar to “A for Apple, B for Boy” in English.
Examples from the German Buchstabiertafel
- A — Anton
- B — Berta
- C — Cäsar
- D — Dora
- E — E
Practical steps
- Practise saying the 26 basic letters aloud in order.
- Learn the pronunciation of Ä, Ö, Ü and ß separately.
- Spell your name, address and email address in German.
- Use a Buchstabiertafel when a word is difficult to understand over the phone.
- Practise with everyday words such as Müller and Straße.