The German Alphabet: Pronunciation Guide
The German alphabet looks almost identical to the English one — but nearly every letter sounds different. In this lesson, we go through the German alphabet letter by letter, with the pronunciation of each one and an example word, then cover the letters and letter combinations that trip up English speakers the most.
The German Alphabet, Letter by Letter
German uses the same 26 letters as English, but the sounds behind them are often completely different. A few quick anchors: E sounds like the English "ay" (as in Reh), I sounds like "ee" (as in Berlin), J sounds like an English "Y" (as in Ja), W sounds like an English "V" (as in Wasser), and Z sounds like "ts" (as in Zahl). The letter V is usually pronounced like an English "F" (Vater), except in words borrowed from other languages.
The Letters English Doesn't Have: ä, ö, ü, ß
German adds four extra letters that don't exist in English. The three umlauts — ä, ö, and ü — change the sound of a, o, and u respectively (Mädchen, schön, müde), and they can completely change a word's meaning, so they're never optional. ß ("Eszett" or "scharfes S") is simply a sharp "s" sound, used after long vowels and diphthongs (Straße, groß) — in Switzerland it's usually replaced with a double "ss" instead.
German Diphthongs: ei, ie, eu, äu
A few letter combinations have one fixed sound that's easy to learn once and reuse everywhere. ei sounds like the English "eye" (Wein, mein). ie sounds like a long "ee" (Bier, Familie) — the opposite of what English speakers usually expect. eu and äu both sound like "oy" (Deutsch, Häuser). Once these four patterns feel automatic, a huge number of German words become easy to read out loud correctly on the first try.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the German alphabet have extra letters?
Yes — German adds the three umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and the letter ß (Eszett/scharfes S) on top of the standard 26 letters shared with English.
How is the German "ei" pronounced?
"ei" is pronounced like the English word "eye" — for example in Wein (wine) or mein (my).
Why does German "ie" sound different from English?
In German, "ie" always makes a long "ee" sound, as in Bier or Familie — the reverse of the usual English pattern, where "ie" often sounds like a short "i" or "ee" depending on the word.
How do you pronounce the letter ß?
ß (Eszett) is pronounced like a sharp English "s", and appears after long vowels and diphthongs, as in Straße or groß.
Is the German W pronounced like the English W?
No — the German W is pronounced like an English "V", so Wasser sounds roughly like "VAH-ser".
Ready to build your pronunciation from the very first letter? Start with our A1 German course.
