How is the German alphabet different from the English alphabet?

The German alphabet has the same 26 basic letters as English, plus four special characters: Ä, Ö, Ü, and ß . These extra letters are important for pronunciation and spelling.

How do German letters J, V, W, and Z sound?

They are different from English: J = Y as in yes , V = F as in Fisch , W = V as in Vase , and Z = TS as in the end of pizza . These are common pronunciation traps for learners.

What is the letter ß, and how is it pronounced?

ß is called the Eszett or sharp S . It sounds like a normal s sound, and it often appears in words where German spelling requires a long vowel or diphthong before it.

The German Alphabet — A to Z (and Ä, Ö, Ü) 🔡

While the German alphabet shares most letters with English, expect different pronunciations. J sounds like a 'Y' (Ja = yah), V sounds like an 'F' (Vater = fater), and W sounds like a 'V' (Wasser = vah-ser). Don't forget the extra character, the sharp S (ß), which sounds like 'ss'.

Infographic showing the German Alphabet including the special characters Ä, Ö, Ü, and ß.

The German alphabet is very similar to English.
It has the same 26 letters, plus 4 special characters: Ä, Ö, Ü and ß.

The Tricky Letters 😈

Most letters sound the same (M is M, N is N).
But some are "False Friends".

1. J (Jot) = English "Y" 🧘

Ja (Ya)
Jung (Yung)
Jogurt (Yogurt)
It is NEVER like "Jack".

2. V (Vau) = English "F" 🦊

Vogel (Fogel)
Vater (Fater)
Volkswagen (Folks-vagen)
Exception: In foreign words, it sounds like V (Vase).

3. W (Weh) = English "V" 🧛

Wasser (Vasser)
Wrum (Vrum - well, usually "Warum")
Wie (Vee)
It is NEVER like "Water" (Wah-ter).

4. Z (Zett) = English "TS" 🍕

Zeit (Tseit)
Zug (Tsug)
Zebra (Tsebra)
It sounds like the "zz" in Pizza.

The Chart 📊

Letter	Name	Pronunciation	Example
A	Ah	Open mouth (Father)	Apfel
B	Beh	Normal	Ball
C	Ceh	TS or K	Computer
D	Deh	Normal	Danke
E	Eh	Bed	Esel
F	Eff	Normal	Fisch
G	Geh	Hard G (Gold)	Gut
H	Haa	Breath out	Haus
I	Iih	See	Igel
J	Jot	Y (Yellow)	Ja
K	Kah	Normal	Kind
L	Ell	Normal	Licht
M	Emm	Normal	Maus
N	Enn	Normal	Nein
O	Oh	Boat	Ohr
P	Peh	Normal	Papa
Q	Kuh	KV (Quatsch -> Kvatsch)	Quelle
R	Err	Gargled	Rot
S	Ess	Z (Sun) or S (Snake)	Sonne
T	Teh	Normal	Tisch
U	Uuh	Moon	Uhr
V	Vau	F (Father)	Vogel
W	Weh	V (Vase)	Wasser
X	Ix	KS	Xylophon
Y	Ypsilon	Ü-sound	Gymnasium
Z	Zett	TS (Pizza)	Zoo