A1 · 1.1 · das Alphabet
The German alphabet: A–Z, ä, ö, ü, ß
German uses the 26 letters you know plus 4 more: ä, ö, ü and ß. And every noun starts with a capital letter.
The alphabet
26 letters + ä, ö, ü, ß. The pill shows how to say the letter name, e.g. when you spell your name. eh is a long, steady e: hold it, like “bay” without the “ee” at the end. A double letter (eff, ell, emm) means a short e.
A aah
der Apfel
apple
B bbeh
das Brot
bread
C ctseh
das Café
café
D ddeh
die Dusche
shower
E eeh
das Essen
food
F feff
die Familie
family
G ggeh
das Geld
money
H hhah
das Haus
house
I iee
die Idee
idea
J jyot
das Jahr
year
K kkah
der Kaffee
coffee
L lell
die Lampe
lamp
M memm
die Milch
milk
N nenn
der Name
name
O ooh
das Obst
fruit
P ppeh
die Pause
break
Q qkoo
die Quittung
receipt
R rehr
die Rechnung
bill
S sess
die Sonne
sun
T tteh
der Tee
tea
U uoo
die Uhr
clock
V vfow
der Vater
father
W wveh
das Wasser
water
X xiks
das Taxi
taxi
Y yEWP-see-lon
der Typ
type; guy
Z ztsett
der Zug
train
Ä äeh (open)
die Ärztin
doctor (f.)
Ö öur
das Öl
oil
Ü üew
die Übung
exercise
ßess-TSETT
die Straße
street
The 4 extra letters
ä
Short: like e in “bed”: die Äpfel EP-fel (apples). Long: like “air” without the r: die Ärztin AIRTS-tin (doctor)
ö
Like ur in “fur”, without the r: schön SHURN (beautiful)
ü
Like ew in “few”: München MEWN-shen (Munich)
ß
“Eszett” ess-TSETT, a sharp s: die Straße SHTRAH-suh (street)
ß or ss?
Look at the vowel just before it. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, ä, ö, ü, and each one can be said long (held) or short (quick). Full list in topic 1.2.
ß after a LONG vowel (held)
- long a, e, i, o, u, ä, ö, ü
- or ei, au, eu
groß GROHSSbig (long o)
der Fuß FOOSSfoot (long u)
süß ZEWSSsweet (long ü)
heißen HY-sento be called (ei)
draußen DROW-senoutside (au)
ss after a SHORT vowel (quick)
short a, e, i, o, u, ä, ö, ü
essen ESS-ento eat (short e)
muss MUSSmust (short u)
dass DUSSthat (short a)
Capitals
- Every noun: der Bus (bus), die Klinik (clinic), das Zimmer (room).
- Sie / Ihnen / Ihr (formal “you”): always a capital.
- ich (I): small, unlike English.
Joy wohnt in Leipzig.Joy lives in Leipzig.
Haben Sie ein Zimmer frei?Do you have a room free?
Good to know 1 1
1
1No ä/ö/ü/ß on your keyboard? Write ae, oe, ue, ss: Strasse (= Straße, street), Mueller (= Müller, a surname). You will see this in e-mail addresses.
Real-life GermanIn Switzerland people never write ß, only ss. In Germany and Austria, exams expect ß.
Practise: The alphabet: A–Z, ä, ö, ü, ß10 questions with instant feedback · free, no account needed