Welcome to your first German lesson! In this lesson, you will learn the German alphabet and how to pronounce each letter. Learning the German letters and their sounds is the first step to reading, speaking, and writing German with confidence.
The German Alphabet (Das deutsche Alphabet)
The German alphabet has 26 standard letters, plus the special characters Ä, Ö, Ü, and ß.
| Letter | Pronunciation | Example Word |
|---|---|---|
| A | ah | Apfel (apple) |
| B | beh | Buch (book) |
| C | tseh | Cafe (cafe) |
| D | deh | Dorf (village) |
| E | eh | Elefant (elephant) |
| F | eff | Fisch (fish) |
| G | geh | Garten (garden) |
| H | hah | Haus (house) |
| I | ee | Insel (island) |
| J | yot | Jahr (year) |
| K | kah | Kaffee (coffee) |
| L | ell | Lampe (lamp) |
| M | emm | Mutter (mother) |
| N | enn | Nacht (night) |
| O | oh | Obst (fruit) |
| P | peh | Pferd (horse) |
| Q | koo | Quelle (source) |
| R | err | Regen (rain) |
| S | ess | Sonne (sun) |
| T | teh | Tisch (table) |
| U | oo | Uhr (clock) |
| V | fau | Vogel (bird) |
| W | veh | Wasser (water) |
| X | iks | Xylofon (xylophone) |
| Y | üpsilon | Yoga (yoga) |
| Z | tsett | Zeit (time) |
| Ä | ae | Äpfel (apples) |
| Ö | oe | Öl (oil) |
| Ü | ue | Über (over) |
| ß | ess-tsett (sharp s) | Straße (street) |
Tip: Some German letters are pronounced differently from English. Here are the most important ones to remember:
- W is pronounced like English V (e.g., Wasser sounds like “Vasser”).
- V is often pronounced like English F (e.g., Vater sounds like “Fah-ter”).
- J is pronounced like English Y (e.g., Jahr sounds like “Yahr”).
- Z is pronounced like ts in “cats” (e.g., Zebra sounds like “Tsebra”).
- Ä, Ö, Ü are special vowels with unique sounds; practice them often to master German pronunciation.
- ß (Eszett) is pronounced like a sharp “S” (e.g., Straße sounds like “Shtrasse”).
Lesson Summary: The German Alphabet
Congratulations! You’ve learned the German alphabet. This will help you read, write, and pronounce German words correctly. In the next lesson, we will learn basic greetings and how to introduce yourself.