Learn the German Alphabet: From A to Z to ß - Busuu (2024)

What are the German alphabet letters?

Letter Name (Pronounciation) Example
A A (ah) Apfel (apple)
B Be (bay) Bein (leg)
C Ce (tsay) CD (CD)
D De (day) Donnerstag (Thursday)
E E (ay) Elefant (elephant)
F Ef (eff) Ferien (vacation)
G Ge (gay) gehen (to go)
H Ha (hah) Haus (house)
I I (eeh) Ich (I)
J Jott or Je (yot) Jahr (year)
K Ka (kah) Kinder (children)
L El (ell) lieben (to love)
M Em (em) Mittwoch (Wednesday)
N En (en) neu (new)
O O (oh) Ohr (ear)
P Pe (pay) Papier (paper)
Q Qu or Que (koo) qualität (quality)
R Er (err) rot (red)
S Es (es) Sonne (sun)
T Te (tay) Tag (day)
U U (ooh) Uhr (clock)
V Vau (fow) Vater (father)
W We (vay) Woche (week)
X Ix (iks) Xylofon (xylophone)
Y Ypsilon (oopsilohn) typisch (typical)
Z Zett (tset) Zeit (time)
Ä Ä (eh) Mädchen (girl)
Ü Ü (uuh) früh (early)
Ö Ö (ouh) möchten (to want)
Eszett (ess-set) Straẞe (street)

It’s good to know that when referring to a German letter, you use the article das in front of it. German has three article forms: der (masculine), die (feminine), and das (neuter), but when talking about letters we always stick with das. For example: Das A, das B, das C, das deutsche Alphabet.

What are the four extra letters in German?

Vowels with Umlauts: Ä, Ö, and Ü

Don’t let the extra vowels in German scare you away! These three letters are created by adding what’s called an umlaut – two dots – to the top of the vowels. The umlaut just means that the letter has its own sound, and is not pronounced the same as the normal vowel without the umlaut. While ä, ö, and ü are sounds we don’t typically use in the English language, your mouth can learn these sounds with just ein bisschen (a little) effort.

Ä is the umlaut vowel with the closest sound equivalent in English. Ä sounds like the short “eh” sound in the English word “head”. The sound can be elongated in some words, but make sure it does not slide into an “ay” sound.

The Ö and Ü vowels are more challenging because their sounds don’t exist in the English language. For Ö, start by forming the word “look” in your mouth, then purse your lips into an “O” shape. To create the Ü sound, start to make an “eww” sound as if something is disgusting, and then purse your lips like you are going to whistle. Don’t be afraid to look silly or exaggerate the sound!

If you don’t have a German keyboard, don’t panic – all umlaut vowels can be replaced with typing an E after the vowel instead. You can type schoen instead of schön (beautiful) and German-speakers will know exactly what you mean.

The Eszett: ß

Ever heard of a ligature? No, it’s not a medical term – a ligature is when two sounds or letters are put together to make a new letter. The German letter ß is a ligature and is also called a “scharfes s” (sharp s). But it’s simpler than it sounds–it actually just means “ss”.

The best thing about this letter? It sounds exactly like the “s” sound in English!

When you’re typing it’s also completely acceptable to replace the ß with “ss”, so that Straße becomes Strasse. In fact, Switzerland and Liechtenstein have completely done away with the ß and only use “ss”. If you’re up for a challenge, it’s also über cool to try writing the ß by hand!

German alphabet pronunciation: Challenging letters for English-speakers

Ready for some tips and tricks on German alphabet pronunciation?

R is one of the most difficult German letters for English-speakers to get right. The main thing to remember is that you need to soften your R sound in German, by moving it farther back in your throat.

If R is at the beginning of a word like Rad (wheel) then it has a stronger sound and can be rolled (some German dialects roll their R’s more, so you may hear various versions in different places!). If R is at the end of a word then it becomes even softer– almost inaudible– turning into an “uh” sound. Just like Mutter (mother) and Butter – R’s are soft!

Another example of a consonant taking a softer ending is when G comes at the end of a word. If you’re trying out the greeting Guten Tag, then the G at the end of Tag becomes like a soft “k” sound, sounding a bit like “tahk”.

J, V, and W easily fool English-speakers because they are pronounced like different letters in English. Here’s a cheat sheet for pronunciation:J = English Y sound – Jogging sounds like “yogging”V = English F sound – Vielen Dank (thanks so much) sounds like “Feel-en Dank”W = English V sound – Weg (way) sounds like “vegg”

While the alphabet pronunciation for C is tsay, most words that start with C are pronounced with a hard “k” sound. That’s because they are words from other languages like Cafeteria and Computer. When you notice C at the beginning of a word, you can trust your instincts on how to say it!

Did you know there’s a Greek letter in the German alphabet? Ypsilon (Y) originates from Greek but is actually rare to come across in German. It’s usually found in foreign words and is pronounced like the “ou” sound in “you”.

Now you know your A to ß

Now you’ve added four new letters to your alphabet toolbelt and navigated potential pronunciation stumbling blocks. You’re ready to get out and practice!

Viel Spaß! Have fun!

Learn the German Alphabet: From A to Z to ß - Busuu (2024)

FAQs

What is ß called in English? ›

The German letter ß is a ligature and is also called a “scharfes s” (sharp s). But it's simpler than it sounds–it actually just means “ss”. The best thing about this letter?

What is the 30 German alphabet? ›

Here's what the German alphabet looks like: 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,ß.

How do you write the German alphabet A to Z? ›

How do you spell letters in German?
  1. A = ah.
  2. B = bay.
  3. C = tsay.
  4. D = day.
  5. E = ay.
  6. F = eff.
  7. G = gay.
  8. H = hah.
Feb 15, 2024

Do Germans still use ß? ›

In the 20th century, the ß-character was replaced with ss in the spelling of Swiss Standard German (Switzerland and Liechtenstein), while remaining Standard German spelling in other varieties of the German language.

What is the least used letter in German? ›

In addition, there are the three umlauts Ä, Ö and Ü and also the Eszett (ß). The Eszett is a letter that only exists in written German. The five most frequently used letters in German are E, N, I, S and R. The five rarest letters are ß, J, X, Y and Q.

What alphabet did old German use? ›

The old German script (deutsche Schrift), also known as Kurrent, is a cursive script.

Do Germans say Z instead of th? ›

German has no "th" sound, so "zis" is what they start with before they practice. It's similarly grating to Germans to hear their language mispronounced by others. And yet, English has an "f" sound. German has an extremely consistent spelling and essentially all "v"s are pronounced as "f".

Do Germans pronounce S like Z? ›

The German consonant “s,” in front of a vowel, is pronounced like an English “z” (as in “zipper”). It is voiced and soft. Following a vowel, the “s” is pronounced like an English “s” (as in “snow”), unvoiced and hard. An example of a German word with a soft “s” is “sehr” [very].

What is your name in Germany? ›

“What's your name” in German is “Wie heißt du?” or “Wie heißen Sie” when you're talking to a stranger in a more formal way.

What is o with 2 dots on top? ›

O-umlaut. The letter o with umlaut (ö) appears in the German alphabet. It represents the umlauted form of o, resulting in [œ] or [ø]. The letter is often collated together with o in the German alphabet, but there are exceptions which collate it like oe or OE.

What is the funny b in German called? ›

The letter ß (also known as sharp S, German: Eszett or scharfes S) is a letter in the German alphabet. It is the only German letter that is not part of the basic Latin alphabet. The letter is pronounced [s] (like the "s" in "see") and is not used in any other language.

What is ä ß called? ›

German uses letter-diacritic combinations (Ä/ä, Ö/ö, Ü/ü) using the umlaut and one ligature (ẞ/ß (called eszett (sz) or scharfes S, sharp s)), but they do not constitute distinct letters in the alphabet.

What is the Ö in English? ›

The O umlaut is one of three German vowels that does not exist in the English alphabet. Ö does not have an equivalent sound in English. It's kind of like the sound you'd make when disgusted by something. Like all German vowels, the O umlaut has a long pronunciation and a short pronunciation.

What is the double ß in German called? ›

In German, the ß character is called eszett. It's used in “Straße,” the word for street, and in the expletive “Scheiße.” It's often transliterated as “ss,” and strangely enough, it's never had an official uppercase counterpart. The letter “a” has “A” and “b” has “B,” while ß had…

How do you make a ß on an English keyboard? ›

Turn on Num Lock and press ALT, keep it pressed and use the numbers 225, that gives the ß. An open mind doesn't mean that information is coming and going without leaving an impression.

Is eszett the same as beta? ›

Differences between the German ß and the Greek β

They emerged from and, thus, belong to different scripts (alphabets): the “vita” belongs to the Greek alphabet, while the Eszett arose from the ligature of the long s (ſ) and the “tailed z” (ʒ) to ß.

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