Alphabet & Basic Pronunciation

German Alphabet Overview

The German alphabet consists of 26 letters, the same as in English, but with some additional elements:

• Three umlauts: Ä, Ö, Ü
• One special letter: ß (Eszett or “sharp S”)

Below is the complete German alphabet with their letter names:

Pronunciation Guide for Vowels & Consonants

Vowels

German vowels are either short or long. Pronouncing them correctly is crucial for distinguishing between different words.

• A:
  • Short: /a/ as in Tante (aunt)
  • Long: /aː/ as in Vater (father)
• E:
  • Short: /ɛ/ as in Bett (bed)
  • Long: /eː/ as in Esel (donkey)
• I:
  • Short: /ɪ/ as in mit (with)
  • Long: /iː/ as in Liebe (love)
• O:
  • Short: /ɔ/ as in offen (open)
  • Long: /oː/ as in Boot (boat)
• U:
  • Short: /ʊ/ as in Mutter (mother)
  • Long: /uː/ as in Schule (school)

Consonants

Here are some consonants with unique pronunciations:

• C: Usually /ts/ (before e, i) as in Cent (cent); otherwise /k/ as in Cafe (café).
• G: Always pronounced as /g/ (never soft like in English) – Garten (garden).
• J: Pronounced /j/ like y in “yes” – Jahr (year).
• R: Can vary between a uvular [ʁ] or a tapped [ɾ] depending on the region – rot (red).
• S: Voiced as /z/ at the start of a word (e.g., Sonne), but unvoiced /s/ at the end (Haus).
• V: Often pronounced /f/ as in Vogel (bird), but sometimes /v/ as in Vase (vase).
• Z: Always /ts/ – Zug (train).

Umlauts (Ä, Ö, Ü) and ß (Eszett)

Umlauts

Ä: Sounds like /ɛ/ as in Hände (hands).

Ö: Similar to the vowel in English “bird,” /œ/ – schön (beautiful).

Ü: A rounded /y/ sound, as in müde (tired).

Eszett (ß)

Pronounced as a sharp /s/ sound. Example: Straße (street).

Used instead of ss after long vowels or diphthongs.

Letter Combinations and Their Sounds

German has many unique letter combinations with specific pronunciations:

• ei: /aɪ̯/ – mein (my)
• ie: /iː/ – Liebe (love)
• eu or äu: /ɔʏ̯/ – Freund (friend)
• ch: /ç/ after front vowels (e.g., ich) and /x/ after back vowels (e.g., Buch).
• sch: /ʃ/ – Schule (school)
• sp and st: /ʃp/ and /ʃt/ at the beginning of words – Sport (sport), Straße (street).

Stress and Intonation Patterns in German

In German, the stress usually falls on the first syllable of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Example: SCHU-le (school), LE-ben (live).

Prefixes: If a verb has a separable prefix (e.g., anrufen – to call), the stress is on the prefix (AN-rufen).

Yes/No Questions: Intonation rises at the end, e.g., Kommst du? (Are you coming?).

Statements: Intonation usually falls at the end, e.g., Ich komme. (I am coming).

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Pronunciation

Not distinguishing between long and short vowels:

• Ofen (oven) vs. offen (open) – length changes meaning.

Mispronouncing umlauts:

• Don’t confuse schön (beautiful) with schon (already).

Incorrect stress on words:

• Stressing the wrong syllable can confuse listeners. For example, verstehen (to understand) must be stressed on the second syllable.

Practice Exercises

Alphabet Drills: Practice spelling your name or words using the German alphabet.
Example: Hallo, mein Name ist Anna – A-N-N-A.

Minimal Pairs: Practice distinguishing minimal pairs (words that differ by one sound).

• Bett (bed) vs. Beet (flowerbed)
• Mutter (mother) vs. Miete (rent)

Umlaut Practice: Read sentences with umlauts aloud.

• Der müde Schüler möchte früh ins Bett.

Tongue Twister:

• Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische.