German for Beginners
Lesson 1.2 - Das Abc
Das Alphabet - Part One
A German Pronunciation Guide
The Sounds of German - The German Alphabet
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In the following chart you'll find the letters of the German alphabet, including those unique to German (in shaded rows). The pronunciation shown is only approximate and is for the letter (der Buchstabe) itself, not the way it may be sounded in the sample words shown. (For that, see our German Pronunciation Hazards.) To hear the entire alphabet in German, click on the link below. (Some sound files require the free RealPlayer. See below.) To hear individual letters (as .wav files), click on any linked letter.
AUDIO 
LISTEN to German! (below)
The alphabet is a very practical thing to learn. There are times when you may need to spell your name or other words on the phone. A BMW car is prounonced BAY-EM-VAY in German. A VW is a FOW-VAY. A bra is a BAY-HAH (BH) in German. Many other German words are reduced to letters in the same way: Lkw (truck, ELL-KA-VAY), Pkw (car, PAY-KA-VAY), ICE (high-speed train, EE-SAY-AY). After studying this chart, see our Alphabet Exercise to test your ability to write out German letters for abbreviations or words you hear!
Spelling German on the Phone: See a related lesson on the German Phonetic Spelling Code - the German equivalent of Alpha, Bravo, Charlie...
For older German font/type styles such as Gothic (Fraktur) or the hand-written Sütterlin, see the article German Typefaces, the Fraktur Typeface Glossary, and links under "Genealogy" or "Translating German" in the Topics column on the left.
Also see Diphthongs and Grouped Consonants in Part 2, plus our German Pronunciation Hazards in Part 3.
How to Use This Alphabet Chart
- Click on any linked letter below to hear that letter as a .wav file.
- MP3 Audio: The entire alphabet in German: Das Abc (MP3)
- To hear the entire alphabet in German as streamed .ram audio, click on the speaker icon (here or below).
- Don't have the RealPlayer? Download it for free from Real.com.
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| das Alphabet The German Alphabet and Its Sounds |
||
| Buchstabe Letter |
Aussprache Pronunciation |
Beispiele / Examples |
| A a | ah | ab (from), der Apparat (appliance, phone) |
| Ä ä | ay | der Äther (ether), die Fähre (ferry) |
| B b | bay | bei (at, near), das Buch (book) |
| C c | say | die City (downtown), der Computer |
| D d | day | durch (through), dunkel (dark) |
| E e | ay | elf (eleven), wer (who), er (he) |
| F f | eff | faul (lazy), der Feind (enemy) |
| G g | gay | das Gehirn (brain), gleich (same, equal) |
| H h | haa | die Hand (hand), halb (half) |
| I i | eeh | der Igel (hedgehog), immer (always) |
| J j | yot | das Jahr (year), jung (young) |
| K k | kah | der Kalender (calendar), kennen (know) |
| L l | ell | langsam (slow, slowly), die Leute (people) |
| M m | emm | mein (my), der Mann (man) |
| N n | enn | die Nacht (night), nein (no), nicht (not) |
| O o | oh | das Ohr (ear), die Oper (opera) |
| Ö ö | ooh | Österreich (Austria), öfters (once in a while) |
| P p | pay | das Papier (paper), positiv (positive) |
| Q q | koo | die Quelle (source), quer (crossways) |
| R r | err | das Rathaus (city hall), rechts (right) |
| S s | ess | die Sache (matter), das Salz (salt), seit (since) |
| ß | ess-zett (s-z ligature) |
Lower case only. Replaces "ss" in some words. Not used in Swiss German. groß (big, great), die Straße (street) BUT: das Wasser (water), dass (that), muss (must) |
| T t | tay | der Tag (day), das Tier (animal) |
| U u | ooh | die U-Bahn (subway, metro), unter (below) |
| Ü ü | uyuh | über (over, about), die Tür (door) |
| V v | fow | der Vater (father), vier (four) |
| W w | vay | wenn (if, whenever), die Woche (week) |
| X x | ixx | x-mal (umpteen), das Xylofon |
| Y y | oop-see- lohn |
der Yen (yen), der Typ (type) |
| Z z | zett | zahlen (pay), die Pizza, zu (to, too) |
| To hear the entire alphabet in German as streamed audio, click on the speaker: (Requires free RealPlayer) |
||
NEXT > Part 2 - Diphthongs and Grouped Consonants in German
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ALSO SEE > German Pronunciation Guide and Alphabet Exercises
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