Objective

  • Learn the German alphabet
  • Pronounce letters correctly
  • Understand key sounds
  • Avoid common mistakes

 

 How to Use This Lesson

  1. Read
  2. Speak out loud
  3. Repeat 3 times

👉 If you don’t speak, you don’t improve.

 

The German Alphabet (With Examples)

Letter How to Say It Example Pronunciation
A ah Abend ah-bent
B bay Buch bookh
C tsay Café ka-fay
D day danke dan-kuh
E ay Esel ay-zel
F ef Fisch fish
G gay gut goot
H hah Haus house
I ee ihn een
J yot ja ya ⭐
K kah Kind kint
L el Licht lihkh-t
M em Mann man
N en Name naa-muh
O oh Ofen oh-fen
P pay Papa paa-paa
Q koo Quelle kvel-uh
R throat sound rot kh-rot ⭐
S es Sonne zon-uh
T tay Tag taak
U oo Uhr oor
V fau Vater faa-tuh ⭐
W vay Wasser va-suh ⭐
X iks Taxi tak-see
Y oop-see-lon Typ teep
Z tset Zeit tsite ⭐

 Most Important Letters

👉 Focus on these first:

  • J → ya
  • W → v
  • V → f
  • Z → ts
  • R → throat sound

 

 Umlauts (ä, ö, ü)

👉 Critical — they change meaning

ä

  • like “e” in bed
  • Käse → keh-zuh
  • Bär → behr

ö

  • like “e” in her (round lips)
  • schön → shurn
  • öffnen → urff-nen

ü

  • say “ee” + round lips
  • fünf → fewnf
  • Tür → tuer

🎯 Practice: keh – shurn – fewnf (repeat 3x)

 

 Core Sounds (Must Master)

 

CH (2 sounds)

  • Soft (ich) → ich = ish, mich = mish
  • Strong (ach) → Bach = bakh, Buch = bookh

 

R (German R)

  • rot = kh-rot, drei = kh-dry, besser = bessa

 

S (depends on position)

  • Beginning → Z → Sonne = zon-uh
  • Between vowels → Z → lesen = lay-zen
  • Before p/t → SH → Sport = shport, stehen = shteh-en

 

SCH → always SH → Schule = shoo-luh, schön = shurn

 

Z → always TS → Zeit = tsite, zwei = tsvy

 

SS / ß → sharp S → wissen = vis-sen, weiß = vais

 

⚠️ Common Mistakes (English Speakers)

 

  • rot → English R → kh-rot
  • ich → “itch” → ish
  • Bach → “back” → bakh
  • Zeit → “zite” → tsite
  • Wasser → “wassa” → va-suh
  • Vater → “vater” → faa-tuh
  • Sonne → “sonne” → zon-uh
  • Sport → “sport” → shport

 

 Notes for Anglophones

  • Wasser → ouasser → va-suh
  • ja → ja → ya
  • Zeit → zeit → tsite
  • ich → French “ch” → ish
  • Bach → bak → bakh
  • Rolled R → throat R
  • Avoid adding extra vowels or softening consonants

 

Final Drill (Do Daily)

  • ich – Bach
  • rot – besser
  • Sonne – Sport
  • Wasser – Vater
  • Zeit – zwei

👉 Slow → then fast

Suivant