Before you learn any words, learn how the letters sound. German uses the same alphabet as English but almost every letter sounds different.
These catch every beginner off guard. Learn these first.
These 4 characters do not exist in English. They each have their own sound.
German spelling is almost perfectly phonetic — once you know these sounds, you can pronounce any word you read.
| Letter | How it sounds in German | Example word | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Like the "a" in "father" (open, never the English "ay") | alt (old) | |
| B | Like English "b" at start of words; like "p" at end (e.g. "lieb" → "leep") | Buch (book) | |
| C | Rare alone; "ts" before e/i (Celsius), "k" elsewhere (Café) | Café | |
| D | Like English "d" at start; like "t" at end (e.g. "Hund" → "Hunt") | danke (thanks) | |
| E | Like "e" in "bed" (short) or "ay" in "say" without the glide (long). Final -e is a soft "uh" | Essen (food) | |
| F | Exactly like English "f" | Fenster (window) | |
| G | Like English "g" (always hard, never "j"). At end of word: often like "k" | gut (good) | |
| H | Like English "h" at start of syllables. Silent between vowels or at end | Haus (house) | |
| I | Like "ee" in "see" (long) or "i" in "sit" (short) | ich (I) | |
| J | Always like English "y" — never like English "j" or "zh" | Jahr (year) | |
| K | Like English "k" (always pronounced, even before "n": Knie = "kneeuh") | Kind (child) | |
| L | Like English "l" but cleaner — tip of tongue, no dark "l" sound | lernen (to learn) | |
| M | Exactly like English "m" | Mutter (mother) | |
| N | Exactly like English "n" | Name | |
| O | Like "o" in "more" (lips rounded) — no English "oh" glide | offen (open) | |
| P | Like English "p" — slightly more puffed (aspirated) | Post (mail) | |
| Q | Always "kv" (never "kw"): "Qualität" = "kvah-lee-TAYT" | Qualität (quality) | |
| R | Produced at the back of the throat (uvular), not with the tongue tip like English. See the R section below. | rot (red) | |
| S | Like English "z" before vowels (sagen = "zahgen"); like "s" elsewhere | sagen (to say) | |
| T | Like English "t" — slightly more puffed (aspirated) | Tür (door) | |
| U | Like "oo" in "food" (long) or "u" in "put" (short) — lips rounded | und (and) | |
| V | Like English "f" in German words (Vater = "FAHter"). Like "v" in foreign loanwords (Visum) | Vater (father) | |
| W | Always like English "v" — never like English "w" | Wasser (water) | |
| X | Like "ks" — same as English (rare in German) | Taxi | |
| Y | Like German "ü" in German words; like English "y" in loanwords | Typ (type) | |
| Z | Always "ts" — like the end of "cats". Never like English "z" | Zeit (time) |
German vowels are either long (held longer, more open) or short (clipped). The same letter sounds noticeably different depending on length. This is one of the biggest traps for English speakers.
The German R has no equivalent in English. It is made at the back of the throat (uvular), not with the tongue tip.
These combinations each have one fixed sound in German. Once you know them, you can read almost anything.
Read each word, try to pronounce it using the rules above, then press Play to check yourself.
Now that you know the sounds, the words will start to make sense.
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