German Alphabet
german
German Alphabet
German Alphabet & Sounds
| Letters | Name | IPA | Easy English approximation | Key notes & common mistakes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | ah | /aː/ /a/ | long: father short: cup (open) | aa → always long: Haar /haːr/ |
| Ä ä | äh | /ɛː/ /ɛ/ | long: fair (no r) short: bed | NEVER say “ay” like day |
| E e | eh | /eː/ /ɛ/ /ə/ | long: café short: bed unstressed: about | ee → always long: See /zeː/ |
| I i | ih | /iː/ /ɪ/ | long: see short: sit | |
| O o | oh | /oː/ /ɔ/ | long: go (no “w” glide!) short: or | Lips very round! |
| Ö ö | öh | /øː/ /œ/ | say “ee” with rounded “oo” lips | schön, göttlich, Häuser (plurals love ö!) |
| U u | uh | /uː/ /ʊ/ | long: moon short: book | |
| Ü ü | üh | /yː/ /ʏ/ | say “ee” while making tight “oo” shape | über, fünf, süß, Tür |
| B b | beh | /b/ → /p/ (end) | final b = sharp p (no puff) | Lob /loːp/, ab /ap/ |
| P p | peh | /pʰ/ (aspirated) | strong puff at start | Pack /pʰak/, Papa |
| D d | deh | /d/ → /t/ (end) | final d = sharp t | Bad /baːt/, und /ʊnt/ |
| T t | teh | /tʰ/ (aspirated) | strong puff at start | Tag /tʰaːk/, Tisch |
| G g | geh | /ɡ/ → /k/ or /ç/ | final g usually /k/ (north) final -ig = /ɪç/ | Tag /taːk/, lustig /ˈlʊstɪç/, wichtig /ˈvɪçtɪç/ |
| K k | kah | /kʰ/ (aspirated) | strong puff at start | Kind /kʰɪnt/ |
| C c | ceh | /ts/ or /k/ | only in foreign words | Café /kaˈfeː/, Celsius /ˈtsɛlzɪʊs/ |
| F f | eff | /f/ | same as English | |
| V v | fau | /f/ or /v/ | German words = /f/ foreign = /v/ | Vogel /ˈfoːɡl̩/, Vase /ˈvaːzə/ |
| W w | weh | /v/ | English “v” – never English “w”! | Wein /vaɪ̯n/, Wasser /ˈvasɐ/ |
| S s | ess | /z/ or /s/ | before vowel = /z/ at end/before t,p = /s/ | See /zeː/, Haus /haʊ̯s/, ist /ɪst/ |
| Z z | zett | /ts/ | always “ts” – never English “z” | Zug /tsuːk/, Katze /ˈkatsə/ |
| ß (or ss) | ess-zett | /s/ | sharp s after long vowels/diphthongs | Fuß (long) vs. Kuss (short) Straße /ˈʃtʁaːsə/ |
| H h | hah | /h/ or silent | start: English h after vowel: lengthens it | Haus /haʊ̯s/, sehen /ˈzeːən/ |
| J j | jot | /j/ | English “y” in yes | ja /jaː/, jung /jʊŋ/ |
| L l | ell | /l/ | light, clear l (tongue on teeth) | Liebe /ˈliːbə/, Milch /mɪlç/ |
| R r | err | /ʁ/ ~ /r/ | uvular (French/gargle) or rolled r – never English r | Rot /ʁoːt/, Bruder /ˈbʁuːdɐ/ |
| X x | iks | /ks/ | same as English | Taxi /ˈtaksi/ |
| Y y | ypsilon | /yː/ /ʏ/ /j/ | German words = ü-sound foreign = /j/ | Typ /tyːp/, Yoga /ˈjoːɡa/ |
Special combinations
| Combo | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ch | /ç/ or /x/ | ich /ɪç/ (hiss after e/i/ä/ö/ü) ach /aːx/ (Scottish loch after a/o/u/au) |
| Sch | /ʃ/ | like “sh” – Schule, Fisch |
| Pf | /pf/ | lips + tongue together – Apfel /ˈapfəl/ |
| Qu | /kv/ | never “kw” – Quelle /ˈkvɛlə/, quick |
| ck | /k/ | sharp k after short vowels – lecker |
Diphthongs (one smooth sound!)
| Letters | IPA | English feel | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| ei, ai, ay | /aɪ̯/ | “eye” | mein, Mai, Bayern |
| au | /aʊ̯/ | “ow” in cow | Haus, Maus, Braun |
| eu, äu | /ɔɪ̯/ | “oy” in boy | neu, Häuser, läuft |
| ie | /iː/ | long “ee” | lieben /ˈliːbn̩/, sie |
Final -ig rule (super common!)
-ig at the end of a word → always /ɪç/ (never /ɪɡ/ or /ɪk/)
→ wichtig /ˈvɪçtɪç/, lustig /ˈlʊstɪç/, königlich /ˈkøːnɪçlɪç/
Bonus: Numbers 0–20
0 null • 1 eins • 2 zwei • 3 drei • 4 vier • 5 fünf • 6 sechs • 7 sieben • 8 acht • 9 neun • 10 zehn
11 elf • 12 zwölf • 13 dreizehn • … • 20 zwanzig
Words that end in voiced consonants change to their voiceless counter parts.
| If a word ends in … | Pronounce it as … | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | p | Leib | body |
| d | t | Bad | bath |
| g | k | Weg | path |