Table of Contents
Overview
The German alphabet is very close to the English alphabet. It uses the same 26 basic Latin letters, plus four special characters: three umlauts (Ä, Ö, Ü) and one special consonant (ß). To learn German, you must be able to say the alphabet, recognize the letter names when you hear them, and spell simple words.
In this chapter you will learn how the German alphabet is structured, how to name the letters, and how German speakers spell and pronounce them in isolation. You will not yet learn all sound rules in words, because that belongs to later pronunciation chapters.
The 26 Basic Letters
German uses the same 26 letters as English from A to Z. However, the letter names are different, and some letters are pronounced differently inside words. Here we focus on how to say the letters themselves, as in spelling your name.
The table shows the capital letter, a typical phonetic approximation in English spelling, and an example German word. Read the letter name aloud, not the example word.
| Letter | Name (approximate) | Example word | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | ah | Auto | car | |
| B | beh | Bahn | train, railway | |
| C | tseh | City | city (loanword) | |
| D | deh | Dorf | village | |
| E | eh | Essen | food, eating | |
| F | eff | Fisch | fish | |
| G | geh | Garten | garden | |
| H | hah | Haus | house | |
| I | ee | Insel | island | |
| J | yott | Jahr | year | |
| K | kah | Kind | child | |
| L | ell | Lampe | lamp | |
| M | emm | Mutter | mother | |
| N | enn | Name | name | |
| O | oh | Oma | grandma | |
| P | peh | Platz | square, place | |
| Q | kuh | Quelle | source, spring | |
| R | err | Radio | radio | |
| S | ess | Sonne | sun | |
| T | teh | Tisch | table | |
| U | oo (like in “zoo”) | Uhr | clock, watch | |
| V | fau | Vogel | bird | |
| W | veh | Wasser | water | |
| X | ix | Xylophon | xylophone | |
| Y | ypsilon | Yoga | yoga | |
| Z | tsett | Zug | train |
Important: The names of the letters are not the same as in English. Practice saying the German letter names exactly, especially J (yott), V (fau), W (veh), and Z (tsett).
The Extra German Letters
German has three umlaut letters and one special consonant:
| Letter | Name | Approx. sound in isolation |
|---|---|---|
| Ä | Ä, “ä” (äh) | like E “eh”, but more open |
| Ö | Ö, “ö” (öh) | no exact English sound, rounded “e” |
| Ü | Ü, “ü” (üh) | like French “u” in “du” |
| ß | Eszett / scharfes S | long “s” sound |
You will learn the detailed sounds of umlauts and ß later. For now, you should recognize these letters as part of the alphabet and know their names.
Important: Ä, Ö, and Ü are separate letters in German, not just decorations. ß is also a separate letter, not the same as “B” or “ss”.
Alphabet Order
In dictionaries and word lists, German generally follows the same order as English A to Z. The extra letters fit like this:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Ä, Ö, Ü
The letter ß is treated as an “s” sound and is usually sorted together with “ss” or “s”. For basic A1 level, it is enough if you can say the alphabetical sequence and recognize that Ä, Ö, Ü come after A, O, U in many lists.
Spelling Names and Words
A very common real situation is spelling your name, your city, or your email address on the phone or at an office. To do this, you must know the letter names clearly and be able to distinguish similar sounds.
Example short spelling dialogue:
German:
Person A: Wie heißen Sie?
Person B: Ich heiße Meyer, M E Y E R.
English:
A: What is your name? (formal)
B: My name is Meyer, M E Y E R.
Note how Germans usually spell letter by letter using the German letter names: “M” (emm), “E” (eh), “Y” (ypsilon), “E” (eh), “R” (err).
Important structure for spelling:
“Ich heiße …, das schreibt man …”
Example: “Ich heiße Schulz, das schreibt man S C H U L Z.”
You do not need full sentence patterns yet, but you should be aware that spelling is a key use of the alphabet in everyday life.
Vowels and Consonants
For a first overview, it helps to separate vowels and consonants.
German vowels (basic): A, E, I, O, U
German vowels with umlaut: Ä, Ö, Ü
German consonants: all other letters including ß.
This classification is important for pronunciation rules later. At this stage, simply remember which letters are vowels and that Ä, Ö, Ü are vowel letters as well.
Similar and Confusing Letters
Some letters are especially easy to confuse for English speakers, because the German names are very different from English:
- V, W, J, Y, Z
V is “fau” and often sounds like English “f” in words.
W is “veh” and often sounds like English “v” in words.
J is “yott” and often sounds like English “y” in words.
Y is “ypsilon” and appears mostly in foreign words.
Z is “tsett” and usually pronounced like “ts” in words.
- Long and short vowels
The letter names A, E, I, O, U sound long, but inside words the vowel can be long or short. You will learn this later, so here only focus on the names of the letters.
Important: Do not use English letter names when you spell in German. Say “veh” for W, “fau” for V, “tsett” for Z, and “yott” for J.
Capital and Small Letters
In German, every noun starts with a capital letter. This is an important spelling rule that you will learn in more detail later. Here, you only need to know that every letter exists in a capital and a small form:
A / a, B / b, C / c, …, Z / z, Ä / ä, Ö / ö, Ü / ü, ß (no capital version in everyday writing)
When you spell, you can mention if a letter is capital:
German:
“B wie Berlin, großes B.”
English:
“B as in Berlin, capital B.”
At A1 level, it is often enough simply to write nouns with a capital initial letter and recognize the difference visually.
Pronunciation Practice of Letter Names
Here are some helpful pairs and groups to practice, focusing only on the letter names:
- V and W
V fau
W veh - J and Y
J yott
Y ypsilon - S and Z
S ess
Z tsett
Read each pair aloud and try to hear the difference between the names. This will help you with spelling your name and understanding others when they spell to you.
New Vocabulary List
Below is a list of important new words and letter names from this chapter. The meanings are given in English.
| German | Meaning |
|---|---|
| das Alphabet | alphabet |
| der Buchstabe | letter (of the alphabet) |
| buchstabieren | to spell |
| der Vokal | vowel |
| der Konsonant | consonant |
| der Umlaut | umlaut |
| das Ä / ä | umlaut A |
| das Ö / ö | umlaut O |
| das Ü / ü | umlaut U |
| das Eszett / die scharfe S, ß | special letter ß |
| der Großbuchstabe | capital letter |
| der Kleinbuchstabe | small letter, lowercase letter |
| Wie heißt du? | What is your name? (informal) |
| Wie heißen Sie? | What is your name? (formal) |
| Ich heiße … | My name is … |
| Das schreibt man … | You spell that … |
Letter names (as vocabulary items):
| German | Pronunciation hint in English |
|---|---|
| A | ah |
| B | beh |
| C | tseh |
| D | deh |
| E | eh |
| F | eff |
| G | geh |
| H | hah |
| I | ee |
| J | yott |
| K | kah |
| L | ell |
| M | emm |
| N | enn |
| O | oh |
| P | peh |
| Q | kuh |
| R | err |
| S | ess |
| T | teh |
| U | oo (as in “zoo”) |
| V | fau |
| W | veh |
| X | ix |
| Y | ypsilon |
| Z | tsett |
| Ä | äh |
| Ö | öh |
| Ü | üh |