German for Beginners:
Das Abc - Das Alphabet
In the following
chart you'll find the letters of the German alphabet,
including those unique to German (in lighter boxes).
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.
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).
For older German font/type styles such as Gothic (Fraktur) or the hand-written Sütterlin, see the links under "Genealogy" or "Translation" in the Subjects box on the left.
| das
Alphabet |
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 |
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) |
Info about studying German language:
- Learn German in Austria: Young and dynamic agency born with the aim of connecting schools and students from all over the world. Find here more information about German language schools and German language courses in Austria.
Info about studying in German countries:
- Guide to Study in Austria: Find universities and colleges in Austria. It offers also pratical information for students that are planning to study in Austria.
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