German Alphabet

German pronounces each letter clearly, and the alphabet forms the foundation for accurate speech and spelling. This guide goes through every letter along with the special characters that shape German sound and meaning.

Letters

Each of the 26 letters in the German alphabet is named distinctly, and learning them aloud helps with spelling out words and understanding pronunciation.

Letter	German Name	Letter	German Name
A	ɑː	N	ɛn
B	beː	O	oː
C	tseː	P	peː
D	deː	Q	kuː
E	eː	R	ɛʁ
F	ɛf	S	ɛs
G	ɡeː	T	teː
H	haː	U	uː
I	iː	V	faʊ
J	jot	W	veː
K	kaː	X	ɪks
L	ɛl	Y	ys
M	ɛm	Z	tsɛt

German Example	English Translation
🐰 Das Alphabet beginnt mit A und endet mit Z.	The alphabet starts with A and ends with Z.
🐦 B wie Banane und C wie Clown.	B like banana and C like clown.
🐸 F wie Frosch und G wie Gartenzwerg.	F like frog and G like garden gnome.
🐝 S wie Sonne und T wie Taube.	S like sun and T like dove.
🦆 U wie Uhu und V wie Vogel.	U like owl and V like bird.
🐍 X wie Xylophon und Z wie Zebra.	X like xylophone and Z like zebra.

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Umlauts

Umlauts modify vowel sounds and can change a word's meaning, so it's important to recognize and pronounce them correctly. They appear as two dots above a letter and affect pronunciation and sometimes grammar.

German Word	English Word	German Word	English Word
das Glas	the glass	der Gast	the guest
das Mädchen	the girl	der Wagen	the car
der Apfel	the apple	der Affe	the monkey
die Stadt	the city	die Stube	the room
das Buch	the book	der Buckel	the hump

German Example	English Translation
🍊 Die Orange ist rund und saftig.	The orange is round and juicy.
🧃 Der Saft der Orange schmeckt süß.	The juice of the orange tastes sweet.
🌳 Die Bäume im Garten sind sehr hoch.	The trees in the garden are very tall.
🐦 Der Vogel singt ein schönes Lied.	The bird sings a beautiful song.
🐇 Der Hase springt über das bunte Blumenbeet.	The rabbit jumps over the colorful flower bed.
🌼 Die Blüten leuchten in vielen Farben.	The blossoms shine in many colors.

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ß (Eszett)

The ß, called Eszett or scharfes S, represents a double "s" sound after long vowels or diphthongs and never appears at the start of a word. It helps distinguish words in writing and affects pronunciation subtly.

German Word	English Word	German Word	English Word
groß	big	gross	gross (amount)
Spaß	fun	Spass	fun (Swiss spelling)
Straße	street	Strasse	street (Swiss spelling)
heißen	to be called	heissen	to be called (Swiss spelling)
fließen	to flow	fliessen	to flow (Swiss spelling)

German Example	English Translation
🍞 Das frische Brot duftet verführerisch.	The fresh bread smells tempting.
🥖 Die Baguettes liegen neben dem Korb.	The baguettes lie next to the basket.
🚶 Er geht jeden Morgen eine lange Strecke.	He walks a long distance every morning.
🏃 Sie läuft schnell über die Wiese.	She runs quickly across the meadow.
🌞 Heute scheint die Sonne den ganzen Tag.	Today the sun shines all day long.
🌙 Morgen wird der Mond am Himmel sichtbar sein.	Tomorrow the moon will be visible in the sky.

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Summary

German's 26 letters match the Latin alphabet, but umlauts and ß add important distinctions in sound and meaning. Practicing the alphabet aloud with these special characters lays the groundwork for clear pronunciation and accurate spelling.

Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025