The German alphabet
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Lesson outline
HideLearn the German alphabet
Knowing the alphabet is very important when learning a new language. It plays a big role during the learning process in multiple ways. Once you are familiar with the German alphabet and its pronunciation, learning the German language won't be that difficult for you anymore.
The German alpabet is not as complicated as it probably seems. The German alphabet consists in 26 letters, those letters are the same as in English. However the German alphabet has four extra letters, that I will explain to you in the following part.
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German alphabets with pronunciation
It's time to look at the alphabtet in more details. In the following list you can not only learn how to pronounce the german letters, also there are some examples. Remember to practice the pronunciation in order to maximise your skills and knowledge.
| German letters | Pronunciation | German word with translation |
|---|---|---|
| a | ah | Arm (arm) |
| b | beh | Bruder (brother) |
| c | tseh | Celsius (celsius) |
| d | deh | Dienstag (Tuesday) |
| e | eh | essen (to eat) |
| f | eff | Familie (family) |
| g | geh | Gold (gold) |
| h | hah | Haus (house) |
| i | ih | Idee (idea) |
| j | yott | Januar (january) |
| k | kah | Kaffee (coffee) |
| l | ell | Lampe (lamp) |
| m | emm | Mann (man) |
| n | enn | Nase (nose) |
| o | oh | Ozean (ocean) |
| p | peh | Pause (pause) |
| q | kuh | Quelle (source) |
| r | err | Regen (rain) |
| s | ess | schön (pretty) |
| t | teh | Telefon (telephone) |
| u | uh | Uhr (clock) |
| v | fau | Vater (father) |
| w | veh | Wilkommen (welcome) |
| x | iks | Xylophon (xylophone) |
| y | ypsilon | Yoga (yoga) |
| z | tzett | Zeitung (newspaper) |
Here you can listen to the pronounciation of the whole alphabe:
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
Quick reminder
- The W sounds like V in English
- The V sounds like F in English
German special characters
In German we have four special characters (Sonderzeichen):
| Sonderzeichen | Approximate Sound in English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ä | like the "e" in melon | ängstlich, ähnlich, Mädchen |
| ö | like the "i" in girl | Löwe, Möwe, Österreich |
| ü | no comparable sound in English | müde, Übung, Rübe |
| ß | double "s" sound (sharp s) | Straße, heiß, Spaß |
German Spelling
Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels (gliding vowels). Some of them sound very similar:
| Diphthonge | Approximate Sound in English | Example |
|---|---|---|
ai | like | Mai |
äu, eu | boy | Bäume, deutsch |
au | house | Daumen |
There are several consonant combinations in the german language:
Consonant combination | Approximate Sound in English | Example |
|---|---|---|
ch | hue | Bach |
sch | shoe | Schuh |
sp | sh + p | Spaß |
st | sh + t | Stange |
How to type German characters
Most of you probably don't have a German keyboard. For the exercises, that are spread through all our chapters, it is really important that you know how to type the German special characters:
For all the combinations you have to press the ALT key while typing.
- 0196 for Ä
- 0228 for ä
- 0214 for Ö
- 0246 for ö
- 0220 for Ü
- 0252 for ü
- 0223 for ß
German alphabet song
You still have problems pronouncing the German alphabet? Listening to the following video will help you learning the pronounciation of the German alphabet!
I hope you have enjoyed this lesson! It's now your time to shine! Go and test yourself with our fun and engaging short exercises. See you soon!
Exercises
- Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 2
- Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 1
Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 2
Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 1
Exercises
- Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 2
- Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 1
Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 2
Learn how to pronounce the German Alphabet: Part 1
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Hello, my name is Katerina und I’m a qualified German teacher with 8 years teaching experience.
I would like to help you to master the German language. You will get your personal online lesson via Skype.
If you are interested in learning this world language, just contact me –
I’m looking forward to getting to know you!
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I have hardly had oportunities to speak German, so the lesson was a little tough, but I had fun. The way, that she tries to understand what I mean each time and make me understood is wonderful.
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Hallo :) I'm a German language teacher with a Bachelor and Master degree in German and with many years of teaching experience.
I was born and lived in Switzerland for many years and grew up in a bilingual family, because of that I speak German, Swiss German, Croatian and English :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, listening audio, reading, writing and for some fun: games and role plays :)
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books: Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen, ....
If you wish to have only conversational lessons, I can arrange this also for you (only available for B1 and B2 level).
* IMPORTANT: coLanguage shows only my general availability, if you want to book a lesson, please sent me a message with your availability and language level, and I will contact you as soon as possible with more informations :)
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Thank you very much Marilena :)
Hello, my name is Katerina und I’m a qualified German teacher with 8 years teaching experience.
I would like to help you to master the German language. You will get your personal online lesson via Skype.
If you are interested in learning this world language, just contact me –
I’m looking forward to getting to know you!
G. .
I recommended everyone to choose this teacher ! she's explaining pretty clear and she have a lot of patient ! she helped me a lot to improve my German skills !
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Katsiaryna S.
Thank you so much!
Hello, my name is Katerina und I’m a qualified German teacher with 8 years teaching experience.
I would like to help you to master the German language. You will get your personal online lesson via Skype.
If you are interested in learning this world language, just contact me –
I’m looking forward to getting to know you!
M. .
I can not recommend enough Katja. She makes the lessons extremely enjoyable. Her materials are diverse and well thought through.
Dear Marcia, thank you!
Hallo :) I'm a German language teacher with a Bachelor and Master degree in German and with many years of teaching experience.
I was born and lived in Switzerland for many years and grew up in a bilingual family, because of that I speak German, Swiss German, Croatian and English :)
- ABOUT THE CLASS -
I offer German language lessons for A1, A2, B1, B2 level and they include everything you need: grammar, speaking, listening audio, reading, writing and for some fun: games and role plays :)
This is ideal for students who want actively participate and speak more, learn new words and exercise the grammar.
All learning materials and exercises are included and will be provided during the lesson.
The learning material is from various books: Schritte International, Menschen, Sicher im Alltag und Beruf, Begegnungen, ....
If you wish to have only conversational lessons, I can arrange this also for you (only available for B1 and B2 level).
* IMPORTANT: coLanguage shows only my general availability, if you want to book a lesson, please sent me a message with your availability and language level, and I will contact you as soon as possible with more informations :)
C. P.
Mihaela is punctual and organised. She has a friendly attitude and plans the lessons well with relevant materials.
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