🇩🇪 German Alphabet & Pronunciation
German alphabet and pronunciation: all letters, common letter combinations, and IPA. Free beginner guide with clear examples.
The German Alphabet
German uses the same 26 Latin letters as English, plus four extra characters: the umlauts (Ä, Ö, Ü) and the Eszett (ß). That gives you 30 letters total. Many sound familiar, but several have important differences from English — pay special attention to J, V, W, Z, and the umlauts.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Sounds Like... | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | ah | aː | Like "a" in "father" | Apfel (apple) |
| B | beh | b | Same as English "b" | Buch (book) |
| C | tseh | ts / k | "ts" before e/i, "k" before a/o/u | Café (café) |
| D | deh | d | Same as English "d" | Deutsch (German) |
| E | eh | eː / ɛ | Long: like "ay" in "say". Short: like "e" in "bet" | Essen (food / to eat) |
| F | eff | f | Same as English "f" | Fenster (window) |
| G | geh | ɡ | Always hard, like "g" in "go" | Garten (garden) |
| H | hah | h | Like English "h" at the start of a word; silent after vowels | Haus (house) |
| I | ih | iː / ɪ | Long: like "ee" in "see". Short: like "i" in "sit" | Idee (idea) |
| J | yot | j | Like English "y" in "yes" | Jahr (year) |
| K | kah | k | Same as English "k" | Katze (cat) |
| L | ell | l | Same as English "l" | Lampe (lamp) |
| M | emm | m | Same as English "m" | Musik (music) |
| N | enn | n | Same as English "n" | Nacht (night) |
| O | oh | oː / ɔ | Long: like "o" in "note". Short: like "o" in "hot" | Ohr (ear) |
| P | peh | p | Same as English "p" | Platz (place) |
| Q | kuh | k | Always followed by "u", pronounced "kv" | Quelle (source) |
| R | err | ʁ | Guttural — made in the back of the throat | Rot (red) |
| S | ess | z / s | "z" sound before a vowel, "s" at end of a word | Sonne (sun) |
| T | teh | t | Same as English "t" | Tisch (table) |
| U | uh | uː / ʊ | Long: like "oo" in "moon". Short: like "u" in "put" | Uhr (clock) |
| V | fau | f / v | Usually "f" sound in German words; "v" in foreign words | Vogel (bird) |
| W | veh | v | Like English "v" in "very" | Wasser (water) |
| X | iks | ks | Like "x" in "box" | Hexe (witch) |
| Y | ypsilon | yː / ʏ | Like German "ü" — round your lips and say "ee" | Gymnasium (high school) |
| Z | tsett | ts | Like "ts" in "cats" | Zeit (time) |
| Ä | ah-umlaut | ɛː / ɛ | Like "e" in "bed" but held longer | Ärger (anger) |
| Ö | oh-umlaut | øː / œ | Round your lips for "o" but say "e" | Öl (oil) |
| Ü | uh-umlaut | yː / ʏ | Round your lips for "u" but say "ee" | Über (over / about) |
| ß | eszett | s | Sharp "s" — like "s" in "sun" | Straße (street) |
Common Letter Combinations
German has many letter combinations that produce sounds different from what you might expect. These are essential for reading German aloud correctly. The most important ones are ch (two variants!), sch, and the vowel pairs ei/ie.
| Combination | IPA | Sounds Like... | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ch | ç / x | Soft "ch" after e/i/ä/ö/ü (ich-laut). Hard "ch" after a/o/u (ach-laut) | ich / Buch (I / book) |
| sch | ʃ | Like "sh" in "ship" | Schule (school) |
| ei | aɪ | Like "eye" or "i" in "mine" | Eis (ice / ice cream) |
| ie | iː | Like "ee" in "see" | Liebe (love) |
| eu | ɔʏ | Like "oy" in "boy" | Europa (Europe) |
| äu | ɔʏ | Same sound as "eu" — like "oy" in "boy" | Häuser (houses) |
| au | aʊ | Like "ow" in "how" | Haus (house) |
| sp | ʃp | "shp" at the start of a word | Spaß (fun) |
| st | ʃt | "sht" at the start of a word | Straße (street) |
| pf | pf | Both sounds together — "p" then "f" quickly | Pferd (horse) |
| qu | kv | "kv" — like "k" + "v" together | Quelle (source) |
| ck | k | Just a "k" sound — signals the vowel before it is short | Brücke (bridge) |
| ng | ŋ | Like "ng" in "sing" — no separate "g" sound | lang (long) |
| tsch | tʃ | Like "ch" in "church" | Deutsch (German) |
| th | t | Just a "t" — no "th" sound like English | Theater (theater) |
| ph | f | Like "f" — same as English "ph" | Philosophie (philosophy) |
Reading German Words
German pronunciation is much more consistent than English — once you learn the rules, you can read almost any word aloud correctly. Here are the key patterns: **Stress:** German words are usually stressed on the first syllable (HAus, GAr-ten, FEN-ster). Exceptions include words with inseparable prefixes (be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, emp-, ent-) which stress the second syllable: ver-STE-hen, be-GIN-nen. **Long vs. short vowels:** A vowel is long when doubled (Haar, Beet, Boot), followed by a single consonant (Hut, Weg), or followed by a silent "h" (Uhr, Zahn, Mehl). A vowel is short before a double consonant (Bett, Sonne, Mann) or before "ck" (Brücke, Stück). **Silent H:** After a vowel, "h" is not pronounced — it just makes the vowel long. Uhr = /uːʁ/, Zahn = /tsaːn/, gehen = /ˈɡeːən/.
IPA Quick Reference
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) gives every sound a unique symbol, so you always know exactly how a word is pronounced — no guessing. The tables below list every German sound grouped by type.
| IPA Symbol | Letters | English Approximation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| aː | a | "a" in "father" | Vater |
| a | a | "a" in "cat" (shorter) | Mann |
| eː | e, eh, ee | "ay" in "say" | Weg |
| ɛ | e, ä | "e" in "bet" | Bett |
| ɛː | ä, äh | "e" in "bed" (held longer) | Mädchen |
| iː | i, ie, ih | "ee" in "see" | Liebe |
| ɪ | i | "i" in "sit" | bitte |
| oː | o, oh, oo | "o" in "note" | Ohr |
| ɔ | o | "o" in "hot" | Sonne |
| uː | u, uh | "oo" in "moon" | Uhr |
| ʊ | u | "u" in "put" | und |
| yː | ü, üh, y | Round lips for "oo", say "ee" | über |
| ʏ | ü, y | Short version of ü | fünf |
| øː | ö, öh | Round lips for "o", say "e" | schön |
| œ | ö | Short version of ö | Köln |
| ə | e | "a" in "sofa" (unstressed) | Liebe |
| aɪ | ei, ai, ay | "eye" / "i" in "mine" | Eis |
| aʊ | au | "ow" in "how" | Haus |
| ɔʏ | eu, äu | "oy" in "boy" | heute |
| b | b | "b" in "bed" | Buch |
| d | d | "d" in "dog" | Deutsch |
| f | f, v, ph | "f" in "fish" | Vogel |
| ɡ | g | "g" in "go" (always hard) | Garten |
| h | h | "h" in "hat" | Haus |
| j | j | "y" in "yes" | Jahr |
| k | k, ck, c | "k" in "kit" | Katze |
| l | l | "l" in "let" | Lampe |
| m | m | "m" in "met" | Musik |
| n | n | "n" in "net" | Nacht |
| ŋ | ng | "ng" in "sing" | lang |
| p | p | "p" in "pet" | Platz |
| ʁ | r | Guttural, back of throat | Rot |
| s | s, ss, ß | "s" in "sun" | Straße |
| z | s | "z" in "zoo" (s before vowel) | Sonne |
| ʃ | sch, sp-, st- | "sh" in "ship" | Schule |
| ç | ch | Breathy "h" in "hue" (ich-laut) | ich |
| x | ch | Like Scottish "loch" (ach-laut) | Buch |
| t | t, th, dt | "t" in "top" | Tisch |
| ts | z, tz | "ts" in "cats" | Zeit |
| tʃ | tsch | "ch" in "church" | Deutsch |
| v | w | "v" in "very" | Wasser |
| pf | pf | "p" + "f" together | Pferd |
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