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5 The German Alphabet Language & Culture Lessons

Ok, moving right along to the Language and Culture lessons. Yes they are "grammar" lessons, but they are so very much
more than that. Along with the grammar you're also getting a great insight into German culture. You'll be way ahead of
the pack if or when you decide to visit my wonderful home country.

I've designed these lessons to ease you into the mechanics behind the German language. You'll notice that many of the
topics correspond to the ones in the Interactive Audio Course. The lessons give you a chance to take a closer look at many
of the words and phrases you learned in those audio lessons.

Like the Interactive Audio Lessons, all of the Language & Culture lessons have Testing. This is the absolute best way to
power up your understanding of German. I really recommend that you test yourself using the Testing tab for each and
every lesson!

The mission for today is to help you with your pronunciation and alphabet in German; Remember your days at
kindergarten? You learned the alphabet right? Well, in your first lesson you'll be introduced to the German Alphabet.
This will get you up and running and ready for the rest of the course. You'll discover the basics of reading, writing and
pronouncing the German alphabet. Topics such as vowel sounds and consonants will be covered and by end of the lesson
you'll already be able to pronounce some everyday German phrases and greetings.

Are you ready to get started? Here we go then…

Language Lesson
The German Alphabet
Learning the letters of the alphabet is not the most exciting way of starting to learn a new language, but knowing the
sounds will help you to pronounce unfamiliar words. Let’s get it over and done with:

The letters in the German alphabet are the same as in English; however, there are four more letters which you will
come across in the German language: ä, ö, ü and ß. These extra four letters, however, are not counted as part of the
actual alphabet. Once you are familiar with the pronunciation of the German language you will find it can be spoken
quite smoothly without using too much spit and harsh, abrupt endings!

Below is the German alphabet with a word giving the approximate pronunciation of the letter. Be aware that that the
pronunciation of the letter by itself can differ from when it’s used in German words.

Letter Pronunciation German example with English

translation
A ah Arm (arm)

B beh Baby (baby)

C say Celsius (celsius)

D day Debatte (debate)

E ay Eskimo (eskimo)

F eff Familie (family)

G gay Gold (gold

H haa Haus (house)

I eeh Idee (idea

J yott Januar (January)

K kah Kaffee (coffee)

L ell Lampe (lamp)

M em Mutter (mother)

N en Nase (nose)
 O oh Ozean (ocean)

P pay Pause (pause)

Q koo Quiz (quiz)

R err Regen (rain)

S ess Salami (salami)

T tay Telefon (telephone)

U oo Uhr (clock)

V fow Vater (father)

W vay Willkommen (welcome)

X eks X-Beine (knock-knees)

Y epseelohn Yoga (yoga)

Z zett Zombie (zombie)

Did you notice the many similarities between German and English words?

Now, that’s good news, isn’t it?

Consonants
Apart from a, e, i, o and u , all the letters in the alphabet are called consonants. Most German consonants are
pronounced similar to English, but here are some differences:

B is pronounced like a p when it appears at the end of a word, for example: lieb (kind)

D is pronounced like a t when it appears at the end of the word, for example: Bad (bath)

G is pronounced like a k when it appears at the end of the word, for example: Tag (day)

St is pronounced sht at the beginning of a word, for example: Student (student)

Sp is pronounced shp Example: Sprache (language)

J is pronounced like a y Example: Jacke (jacket)
W is pronounced like a v Example: Woche (week)
Z is pronounced ts Example: Zimmer (room)
After a, o, u and au the ch sound is produced towards the
Ch there are three ways of pronouncing ch:
back of the throat, similar to making a k sound.
However, it is less abrupt still letting through air, Example: Bauch (stomach) or Tochter (daughter)

The ch can also be produced more at the front of the mouth, the tongue being a lot flatter in the mouth. Imagine the
sound of gas leaking or a hissing cat, for example: ich (I) or Kirche (church).

In some cases ch is pronounced like k, for example: Chaos (chaos) or Wachs (wax)

Vowels
The letters a, e, i, o and u are called vowels. Vowels in German are pronounced differently according to whether the
vowel is short or long. It’s the same in English. For example the vowel “a” in the English word cat is short where as
the a in farmer is long. In German vowels are usually long when followed by h or by another consonant. Use the
short pronunciation when the vowel is followed by two or more consonants. In the following example a short vowel
will be listed like this a and a long vowel like this a_.

Vowel Sound English word with approx. sound German example

a cut kalt (cold)

a_ harm sagen (to say)

 e belt Geld (money)

e_ need Regen (rain)

i hit ist (is)

i_ meet Liebe (love)

o got offen (open)

o_ note Boot (boat)

u foot rund (round)

u_ moon rufen (to call)

Diphthongs
When two different vowels appear together they are called Diphthongs. Instead of pronouncing each one separately
you simply blend them together.

Diphthongs English word with approx. sound German example

au noun Haus (house)

eu boy Teufel (devil)

äu boy Häuser (houses)

ei eye Ei (egg)

ie bee Liebe (love)

Extra Letters
Let’s have a look at the four extra letters ß, ä, ö and ü. This unusual looking letter ß, which looks like a B is called
esszett and is another symbol for a double ss. The ß produces a sharp s- sound like the hissing of a snake as in Ich
heiße I’m called. There are no words that start with ß, so you will only ever come across it in lower case.

The dots above the extra letters ä, ö and ü create a sharper sound, made more in the front of your mouth. These are
called Umlaute. You don’t have to decide whether to put dots on these vowels, these come standard with certain
words. They can also be written as ae, oe, and ue, but this is less common. Umlaute can be pronounced short and
long.

Umlaut Approx. English sound German example

ä eh Mädchen (girl)

ä_ ay Käse (cheese)

ö uh Öffnung (opening)

ö_ er schön (nice)

ü u fünf (five)

ü_ uh Tür (door)

Action Replay
Apart from a, e, i, o and u, all the letters in the alphabet are called consonants.
The letters a, e, i, o and u are called vowels.
Most German consonants are pronounced similar to English
When two different vowels appear together they are called Diphthongs.
German has four extra letters that are not part of the actual alphabet.
The dots above the extra letters ä, ö and ü are called Umlaute.
The unusual looking letter ß, which looks like a B is called esszett and is another symbol for a double ss.
Examples

Nein [nain] No
Ja [yah] Yes
Danke [dang-ke] Thanks
Vielen Dank [feelen dahnk] Thanks a lot
Bitte [bi-te] Please
Hallo [ha-law] Hello
Guten Morgen [gooten morgen] Good morning
Guten Tag [gooten tahk] Good afternoon
Guten Abend [gooten ah-bent] Good evening
Auf Wiedersehen [owf-vee-der-zayn] Goodbye
Tschüss [chüs] bye bye
Bis bald [biss bahlt] See you later
Wie geht's? [vee gaytz] How are you?
Wie geht es Ihnen? [vee gayt e see-nen] How are you? (formal)
Wie geht es dir? [vee gayt es deer] How are you? (casual)
Entschuldigung [entshuldi-gung] Sorry
Sprechen Sie Englisch? [shpre-khen zee English] Do you speak English?
Ich verstehe [ikh fershtay-e] I understand
Ich verstehe nicht [ikh fershtay-e nikht] I don't understand
Wie spät ist es? [vee shpayt ist es] What time is it?

Culture
Shaking Hands

In Germany it is appropriate to shake hands when greeting someone. It is considered to be polite. Just remember to
always use your right hand. Even younger people shake hands, however their moves are much smoother and look
cool, where as a traditional hand shake can look quite stiff.
Between friends it is also common to greet each other with a kiss on the cheek or a hug.
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