The German Alphabet: Pronunciation Practice
You can learn the German alphabet quickly if you say each letter out loud along with the teacher. This lesson is about pronunciation practice: you repeat all 26 letters, the four special characters and some example words, and at the end you get tips for the more difficult letters.
How to Use This Lesson
The video is about practice, not theory. For the first five minutes, follow the teacher and repeat every letter and every example word. Then the video shows you how to pronounce the letters that most learners find difficult. Say each letter out loud. Reading it silently is not enough.
The 26 Letters
The table shows the German name of each letter, written in a simple way so you can hear it in English, and one example word. Many of the example words are the ones used in the video.
| Letter | Name (like) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A | ah | Apfel |
| B | beh | Ball |
| C | tseh | Café |
| D | deh | Deutsch |
| E | eh | Elefant |
| F | eff | Frage |
| G | geh | Garten |
| H | hah | Hotel |
| I | ee | Internet |
| J | yot | Jacke |
| K | kah | Kaffee |
| L | ell | Lampe |
| M | emm | Mann |
| N | enn | Name |
| O | oh | Opa |
| P | peh | Pullover |
| Q | koo | Quarantäne |
| R | err | Regen |
| S | ess | Sonne |
| T | teh | Telefon |
| U | oo | Uhr |
| V | fow | Vogel |
| W | veh | Wein |
| X | iks | Xylofon |
| Y | ÜP-si-lon | Ypsilon |
| Z | tset | Zug |
Note that Deutsch here means the language, not the country. The country is Deutschland.
The Special Characters
German has four letters that English does not have.
| Character | Name | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ß | Eszett or scharfes S (sharp S) | Fußball |
| Ä | A-Umlaut | Äpfel |
| Ö | O-Umlaut | Österreich |
| Ü | U-Umlaut | Überraschung |
The ß can look like a capital B, but it is a special kind of S. It sounds like a sharp ss. The three Umlaute are vowels with two dots on top. The video gives you a trick for remembering them: just say the name of the letter followed by Umlaut, for example "A-Umlaut".
Tips for the Difficult Letters
E and Ä
Many students cannot hear or say the difference between E and Ä. The video suggests a trick that looks silly but works: for E, stretch your mouth a little as if you were smiling, and it becomes easier to make the sound. The Ä is more open, a bit like the vowel in the English word "air".
The German R
The R is probably the most difficult letter for many students. There are different ways to say it. You can say it very softly, almost like the end of "air". Or you can make it a bit stronger. Either way, the sound is made in the back of the throat, not with the tongue.
V and W
These two are often mixed up, but they are not difficult. V is pronounced like an English F (fow), and W is pronounced like an English V (veh). To remember them, think of the German car brand VW: in German you say Fow-Weh.
How to Ask Someone to Spell a Word
Now you know the letters, so you can ask people to spell for you. There are two questions:
- Wie schreibt man das? (How do you write that?), the easier version.
- Wie buchstabiert man das? (How do you spell that?), the more formal version.
What to Learn Next
Once you can say the letters, practise the sounds of whole words. Then build your first sentences with Der Die Das? German Genders Explained and The German Present Tense Explained for Beginners.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many letters are in the German alphabet?
There are 26 letters, the same as in English, plus four special characters: ä, ö, ü and ß.
What is the ß?
The ß (Eszett or scharfes S) is a special letter that stands for a sharp ss sound, as in Fußball. It is not a capital B.
What are Umlaute?
Umlaute are the vowels ä, ö and ü, written with two dots on top. You can say them by naming the letter and adding the word Umlaut, for example A-Umlaut.
How do I pronounce the German V and W?
V is pronounced like an English F (as in Vogel), and W is pronounced like an English V (as in Wein). Think of VW, which you say Fow-Weh.
How do I ask someone to spell a word in German?
Ask Wie schreibt man das? or, more formally, Wie buchstabiert man das?
Just starting to learn German? Our A1 German course guides you from your very first words to simple conversations.
