German Alphabet

The German alphabet is similar to the English alphabet but contains a few additional letters and specific characters. It consists of 26 basic letters, just like English. However, German includes four extra letters that are not present in the English alphabet. Here is the German alphabet:

Uppercase : A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Ä, Ö, Ü, ß
Lowercase : a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z, ä, ö, ü, ß

Letter (Uppercase) Letter (Lowercase) Phonetic Transcription Name of the letter NATO phonetic alphabet Letter Morse Code
A a /aː/ ah Alfa .-
B b /beː/ be Bravo -...
C c /tseː/ ce Charlie -.-.
D d /deː/ de Delta -..
E e /eː/ e Echo .
F f /ɛf/ ef Foxtrot ..-.
G g /ɡeː/ ge Golf --.
H h /haː/ ha Hotel ....
I i /iː/ ee India ..
J j /zhe/ je Juliet .---
K k /kaː/ ka Kilo -.-
L l /ɛl/ el Lima .-..
M m /ɛm/ em Mike --
N n /ɛn/ en November -.
O o /oː/ o Oscar ---
P p /peː/ pe Papa .--.
Q q /kuː/ koo Quebec --.-
R r /ɛr/ er Romeo .-.
S s /ɛs/ es Sierra ...
T t /teː/ te Tango -
U u /uː/ oo Uniform ..-
V v /faʊ/ fau Victor ...-
W w /veː/ we Whiskey .--
X x /ɪks/ eeks X-ray -..-
Y y /ʏpsɪlɔn/ upsilon Yankee -.--
Z z /tsɛt/ tseta Zulu --..
Ä ä /ɛ/ a umlaut .-.-
Ö ö /ø/ be umlaut ---.
Ü ü /y/ oo umlaut ..--
ß ß /s/ ess-set

How many letters in German?

The German alphabet consists of 26 basic letters, just like the English alphabet. In addition to these 26 letters, German includes three umlauted vowels (Ä, Ö, Ü) and the Eszett (ß), which are considered special characters but not separate distinct letters.

So, in total, the German alphabet has 26 basic letters and 4 additional special characters, making a total of 30 characters.

German Vowels Letters

In the German language, there are a total of twelve vowels, including umlauted vowels. The vowels in the German alphabet are:
  • A - Pronounced like "ah" in English.
  • E - Pronounced like "eh" in English.
  • I - Pronounced like "ee" in English.
  • O - Pronounced like "oh" in English.
  • U - Pronounced like "oo" in English.
  • Ä - Umlauted vowel, pronounced similar to the "e" in "bet".
  • Ö - Umlauted vowel, pronounced similar to the "i" in "bird".
  • Ü - Umlauted vowel, pronounced similar to the "u" in "rue".
  • Y - Often considered a vowel in loanwords, pronounced like "ü" in German.
  • EI or IE - Diphthongs, representing two vowel sounds in one syllable, such as in "Ei" (like the English word "eye") or "ie" (like the English word "see").
  • EU - Diphthong, pronounced similar to the "oy" in "boy".
  • AU - Diphthong, pronounced similar to the "ow" in "cow".
These vowels contribute to the pronunciation and formation of words in the German language, and understanding their sounds is essential for proper communication and spelling.

German Consonants Letters

In the German language, there are 21 consonant letters used in the alphabet. These consonants are:
  • B - Pronounced as "beh" in German.
  • C - Often found in loanwords, its pronunciation can vary.
  • D - Pronounced as "deh" in German.
  • F - Pronounced as "eff" in German.
  • G - Pronounced as "geh" in German.
  • H - Pronounced as "hah" in German.
  • J - Pronounced as "yot" in German.
  • K - Pronounced as "kah" in German.
  • L - Pronounced as "ell" in German.
  • M - Pronounced as "emm" in German.
  • N - Pronounced as "enn" in German.
  • P - Pronounced as "peh" in German.
  • Q - Often followed by "u" and pronounced as "kuh."
  • R - Pronounced as "err" in German.
  • S - Pronounced as "ess" in German.
  • T - Pronounced as "teh" in German.
  • V - Pronounced as "fow" in German.
  • W - Pronounced as "vay" in German.
  • X - Usually found in loanwords, pronounced as "iks."
  • Z - Pronounced as "tset" in German.
  • ß - Known as "Eszett" or "scharfes S"; represents a double "s" sound.

German Alphabet Notes

The German alphabet is similar to the English alphabet but includes a few additional special characters. It consists of 26 basic letters plus three umlauted vowels (Ä, Ö, Ü) and the Eszett (ß), which represents a double "s" sound.
Here's an overview of the German alphabet:
Basic Letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Special Characters: Ä, Ö, Ü, ß

The umlauted characters Ä, Ö, Ü are vowels with umlauts, representing different sounds than their non-umlauted counterparts (A, O, U). The Eszett (ß) is a ligature of "ss" and is used to represent the sound of a double "s" in German words.

German orthography is quite phonetic, meaning that words are generally pronounced as they are written. However, there can still be variations and exceptions in pronunciation, especially with regional accents.

Understanding the German alphabet and its special characters is crucial for spelling, reading, and writing in the German language. Additionally, these special characters play an important role in distinguishing words and sounds in written German.