The German Alphabet: Pronunciation Guide
The German alphabet has 26 letters you already know, plus four special ones, and the good news is that German spells words very much the way it says them. In this lesson Luzi goes through the whole alphabet letter by letter, gives you an example word for every letter, and finishes with the special sounds that beginners find hardest: the umlauts, the sharp S, the German R and the vowel pairs.
The German Alphabet With Example Words
Say each letter out loud, then say the example word. The video does exactly this: first the letters, then a quick review, then one German word for each letter.
| Letter | Name of the letter | Example word |
|---|---|---|
| A | ah | Affe (monkey) |
| B | bay | Boot (boat) |
| C | tsay | Celsius and Chor (choir). In Chor the C sounds like a K. |
| D | day | Dame (lady) |
| E | ay | Elefant (elephant) |
| F | eff | Fenster (window) |
| G | gay | Geige (violin) |
| H | hah | Hund (dog) |
| I | ee | Insel (island) |
| J | yot | Jacke (jacket) |
| K | kah | Koch (cook) |
| L | ell | Lampe (lamp) |
| M | emm | Maus (mouse) |
| N | enn | Nase (nose) |
| O | oh | Opa (grandpa) |
| P | pay | Pulver (powder) |
| Q | koo | Qualle (jellyfish) |
| R | err | Mutter (mother) and Regen (rain), see the R section below |
| S | ess | Sonne (sun) |
| T | tay | Tisch (table) |
| U | oo | Uhr (watch, clock) |
| V | fow (like “now”) | Vater (father). The V in Vater sounds like an F. |
| W | vay | Wasser (water) |
| X | iks | Xylophon (xylophone) |
| Y | UP-si-lon | Yoga |
| Z | tset | Zug (train), or the Z in Luzi |
The Z is a strong “ts” sound. You cannot say it too hard, as in Luzi's own name (“Lootsi”).
The Special Letters: Ä, Ö, Ü and ß
German has three umlaut letters and one letter that does not exist in English.
- Ä (A-umlaut): the A with two dots on top. The two dots are called the Umlaut. Example: Ägypten (Egypt).
- Ö (O-umlaut): the O with two dots. Example: Öl (oil).
- Ü (U-umlaut): the U with two dots.
- ß (Eszett, the “sharp S”): a very strong S. It is nothing else than a double S and it never stands at the beginning of a word. Example: Fuß (foot). If you do not have this character on your keyboard, just write “ss” instead. That is fine as well.
How to Pronounce the German R
The R is probably the hardest letter in the German alphabet, and most learners struggle with it. The name of the letter, err, is easy because it is close to English. The trouble starts with the R inside words.
- R inside or at the end of a word, as in Mutter: this is the “err” sound of the letter name, which is quite close to English.
- R at the beginning of a word, as in Regen: it is not a rolled R. You do not roll it at the front of your mouth. Try to make it at the back, in the throat, where it sounds softer.
Do not worry if it does not work right away. The more German you listen to and the more words you learn, the more natural the R becomes.
Vowel Pairs: au, eu, äu, ei and ie
When two vowels stand next to each other, they often make a new sound. In the video Luzi shows these sounds with examples.
| Letters | Sound | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| au | like “ow” in “now” | Maus (mouse), auch (also, too: Ich auch means “me too”), laut (loud) |
| eu and äu | like “oy”, the two spellings sound almost the same | neu (new), Deutsch (German), Feuer (fire), Mäuse (mice), Häuser (houses) |
| ei (and ai) | like “eye”, the two spellings sound almost the same | Zeit (time), klein (small), Ei (egg), Mai (May), Taifun (typhoon), Mais (corn) |
| ie | just a long “ee” | Liebe (love), Wien (Vienna, the capital of Austria), Lieder (songs) |
Careful with ei and ie: they look like mirror images, but they sound completely different. Wein and Wien are two different words.
How to Practise
- Repeat the alphabet after the video, letter by letter, until you do not need to look at the table.
- Say one example word for every letter, as in the table above.
- Practise the umlauts, the ß and the vowel pairs separately, because they are the sounds English does not have.
- Write down which letter is hardest for you. In the video the question of the day is exactly that: which letter do you struggle with most?
What to Learn Next
To keep training your ears, watch German pronunciation for beginners and the German alphabet pronunciation practice. Once you can spell, you can introduce yourself with how to introduce yourself in German, count with German numbers 1 to 20, and build your first vocabulary with the top 20 German words you need to know.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many letters does the German alphabet have?
The German alphabet has 26 letters, the same as English. On top of that there are three umlaut letters (Ä, Ö, Ü) and the letter ß (Eszett, the “sharp S”).
What is the ß in German?
The ß is called Eszett or “sharp S”. It is a very strong S, nothing else than a double S, and it never stands at the beginning of a word, as in Fuß (foot). If your keyboard does not have it, you can write “ss”.
What are umlauts?
Umlauts are the two dots above the letters A, O and U. They change the sound of the vowel, so Ä, Ö and Ü are separate sounds with their own pronunciation.
How do you pronounce the German R?
In words like Mutter it sounds like the letter name “err”, close to English. At the beginning of a word, as in Regen, it is not a rolled R: make it at the back, where it sounds softer. It gets easier the more German you hear.
What is the difference between ei and ie in German?
Ei sounds like the English word “eye” (Zeit, klein), while ie is a long “ee” sound (Liebe, Wien). They look similar but sound completely different.
Ready to go from the alphabet to real German sentences? Start with our A1 German online course, where you learn step by step with short videos, worksheets and a textbook and can ask us questions in every exercise.
