Learn the German Alphabet
The German alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. It includes the 30 letters of the Latin alphabet plus four extra letters. The table below shows the names of the German letters and example words that use those letters. Please note that the letter names are used for spelling words. The actual pronunciation of the letters in words is different from the letter names.
| German letter | Letter name | IPA transcription | Example words |
| A a | ah | /a:/ | ab (from), der Abend (evening) |
| Ä ä | ay | /ɛ:/ | ändern (to change), der Ärger (anger) |
| B b | bay | /be:/ | bei (at, by), bitte (please) |
| C c | say | /tseː:/ | die Chance (chance) |
| D d | day | /de:/ | da (there), danke (thank you) |
| E e | ay | /e:/ | einfach (easy) |
| F f | eff | /ɛf/ | die Frau (woman) |
| G g | gay | /ge:/ | gut (good) |
| H h | haa | /ha:/ | haben (to have) |
| I i | eeh | /i:/ | immer (always) |
| J j | yot | /jɔt/ | jetzt (now) |
| K k | kah | /ka:/ | kein (no, not a), das Kind (child) |
| L l | ell | /ɛl/ | der Laden (store) |
| M m | emm | /ɛm/ | der Mann (man) |
| N n | enn | /ɛn/ | nach (to, after), das Nichts (nobody) |
| O o | oh | /o:/ | oder (or) |
| Ö ö | ooh | /ø:/ | Österreich (Austria) |
| P p | pay | /pe:/ | die Polizei (police) |
| Q q | koo | /ku:/ | der Quatsch (nonsense) |
| R r | err | /ɛʀ/ | der Rest (remainder, rest) |
| S s | ess | /ɛs/ | sagen (to say) |
| ß | eszett | /ɛs'tsɛt/ | außer (ouside of, besides), groß (big) |
| T t | tay | /te:/ | das Telefon (telephone) |
| U u | ooh | /u:/ | und (and) |
| Ü ü | uyuh | /y:/ | zurück (back), die Tür (door) |
| V v | fow | /faʊ/ | der Vater (father) |
| W w | vay | /ve:/ | das Wunder (miracle, wonder) |
| X x | ixx | /ɪks/ | Mexiko (Mexico), die Existenz (existence) |
| Y y | oop-see-lohn | /'ʏpsilɔn/ | der Yen (yen) |
| Z z | zett | /tsɛt/ | die Zwei (two) |