German Alphabet: Quick Guide for Beginners (Pronunciation Included)

Want to learn the German alphabet? Well, here’s the guide that will help you nail down all the letters Introduction to the German Alphabet The German language is considered one of the most difficult languages in the world. With its three noun genders, its complex grammar, and compound words, many consider German as a nearly impossible language to learn. However, all you really need to learn this beautiful language is commitment and motivation. And to start that journey on the right foot, the first thing you need to master is the German alphabet.

The German alphabet is quite similar to the English alphabet. It basically contains the 26 letters included in the English alphabet plus 4 special letters: one consonant (ß) and 3 “umlauted” vowels (Ä, Ö, Ü). They are called “umlauted” because the “Umlaut” is the pair of dots placed above the vowels. This would make up a total of 22 consonants and 8 vowels. Mastering pronunciation is a lot easier in German than in English. This is because German is way more phonetically consistent. This means that words are typically pronounced the way they are spelled. Unlike English, there are a lot of rules that can be followed to achieve proper pronunciation. In addition, let’s remember that German and English are both West Germanic languages, which are part of the Indo-European language family. As a consequence, many words look or sound similar to the way they do in English. We call these words “cognates.” German and English share a large number of cognates, which will certainly make the language learning process easier.

The Alphabet

A – /ah/ – apple – example: Apfel

B – /beh/ – ball – example: Ball

C – /zeh/ – (usually comes as Diphthongs, or are found on borrowed words such as Celcius)

D – /deh/ – dog (when d is at the end, it is pronounced like t) – example: Danke, Bad [ba-t]

E – /eh/ – elegant (take note of Diphthongs later) – example: Essen

F – /eff/ – face – example: Favorit

G – /geh/ – get (when at the end of the word, it is pronounced like k or ish [depending on the place, in Hessen it is ish]] – example: gehen, Essig [eh-sish/ eh-sik]

H – /haa/ – hammer – example: Hammer

I – /eeh/ – issue (take note of Diphthongs later) – example: Imbiss

J – /yot/ – yes – example: Ja

K – /kaa/ – kilo – example: Kilo

L – /ell/ – lake – example: lassen

M – /em/ – math – example: Mathe

N – /en/ – not – example: Not

O – /oh/ – octopus – example: Ofen

P – /peh/ – paper – example: Papier

Q – /kvuh/ – (I can’t think of an equivalent) – example: Quelle [kvu-e-le]

R – /er/ – rank (take note of Diphthongs later) – example: Ratte

S – /es/ – sale – example: Sahne (sometimes it is pronounced like z)

T – /teh/ – tea – example: Tee

U – /ooh/ – cool – example: Ufer

V – /faw/ – face (few exemptions are borrrowed words such as Vase)- example: Vogel [fo-gel]

W – /veh/ – vein – example: Wein [vayn]

X – /kz/ – six – example: Mixer, Hexe

Y – /uepsilon/ – yellow – example: Xylofon [kzu-lo-fon]

Z – /tset/ – zero – example: Zelt

Umlaut:

Ä – /eh/ – end – example: Ära [eh-ra]

Ö – girl – example: Öl [round your lips and say ooh-l]

Ü – hue – example: über [round and make your lips pointed and say uu-ber]

Diphthongs:

While most German words are read as it is written (syllabicated) , most German words are composed of combination of letter and the pronounciation changes. These are called diphthongs.

Here are the diphthongs and how you pronounce them:

ai and ei – /ay/ – eye – example: Main [mayn] , Ei [ay]

au – /aw/ – cow – example: Auge [aw-ge]

eu and äu – /oy/ – coil – example: Europa [oy-ro-pa] , Häuser [hoy-ser]

ie – /eeh/ – feel – example: sieben [zeeh-ben]

ch – /k/ when after the vowels a, o and u – example: Buch [bu-k]

otherwise, it is palatal – example: ich [put the tip of your tongue behind your lower teeth and then say the word, make sure your tongue does not leave its position behind your lower teeth!] This is the most difficult one to learn but it’ll develop thru practice.

ck – /k/ – pick – example: dick

pf – /pf/ [both letters are pronounced] – example: Pfeffer [pfe-fer]

ph – /f/ – Philippines – example: Philippinen

qu – /kvu/ – example: Quelle [kvu-e-le]

sch – /sh/ – example: Schule [shu-le]

sp – /shp/ – example: Spiel [sh-pil]

st – /sht/ – example: stehen [sh-tey-hen]

th – /teh/ -example: Theater [te-a-ter]

The most important similarity between the German and the English alphabet is that they both share the 26 letters included in the Latin alphabet. This will definitely make it easier for you to start reading and writing right away. In addition, the large number of cognates that English and German share will definitely make your language learning journey easier, since you’ll be able to guess what many words mean.

How’s it different from English? Pronunciation: German Vowels and Consonants As mentioned before, the German alphabet contains 4 additional letters that you will need to look out for.

• ß

• Ä

• Ö

• Ü

Let’s take a look at these.

• The extra consonant “ß” is pronounced “ss.”

• The “umlauted” vowel Ä is pronounced similar to an open “e,” as in “red.”

• Ö is pronounced between a closed “e” (like the “ai” in “air”) and a closed “o” (like “o” in “order”). The resulting sound is similar to the “i” in “girl” or the “u” in “turn.”

• Finally, the Ü is a combination between a closed “u” (ooh) and a closed “i” (eeh). The resulting sound is similar to the “u” in “cute.”

Perhaps the most difficult letter to pronounce in German is the guttural “R,” which comes from the throat. To get an idea, take a sip of water, tilt your head back, and gargle. Try to say “ahh.” You should feel your throat vibrate.

Pronunciation: German and Filipino Words

In Filipino language, we read as how it is exactly spell. This give Filipino learners an advantage as most German words are pronounced as how it is written.