German Alphabet, Pronunciation and Greetings
German uses the same letters as English, plus four extra characters. Better still, German spelling is far more regular than English spelling: once you know the sound rules, you can read almost any word out loud correctly.
The 30 characters
The German alphabet has the 26 letters you already know, plus the umlauts Ä, Ö, Ü and the letter ß (called Eszett). Most letters sound close to English, but a few behave differently and are worth learning first.
| Letter | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| J | English y in yes | Jahr (year) |
| V | usually f | Vater (father) |
| W | English v | Wasser (water) |
| Z | ts | Zeit (time) |
| S before a vowel | English z | Sonne (sun) |
| ß | sharp s, like ss | Straße (street) |
Umlauts: ä, ö, ü
Ä sounds like the e in bed, or a longer version of it: Äpfel (apples). Ö has no English equivalent. Say the English e in bed, then round your lips as if saying o: schön (beautiful). Ü is the same idea with ee: say ee and round your lips tightly, as in über (over).
Umlauts matter for meaning. Schon means already, while schön means beautiful.
Long and short vowels
A vowel is long when it is doubled (Staat, Boot), followed by an h (Bahn, Kuh), or followed by a single consonant at the end of a syllable (Name, Hof). A vowel is usually short when it is followed by two consonants: Mann, Sonne, Bett. Compare Staat (long a) and Stadt (short a).
Greetings and introductions
Germans choose greetings by time of day and by how formal the situation is. Use Sie (formal you) with strangers, older people and in business, and du with friends, family and children.
| German | English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Hallo | Hello | Any informal situation |
| Guten Morgen | Good morning | Until about 10 or 11 a.m. |
| Guten Tag | Good day | Daytime, formal or neutral |
| Guten Abend | Good evening | From late afternoon |
| Gute Nacht | Good night | Only when going to bed |
| Tschüss | Bye | Informal goodbye |
| Auf Wiedersehen | Goodbye | Formal goodbye |
Introducing yourself
Start with three sentence patterns: Ich heiße Anna (My name is Anna), Ich komme aus Spanien (I come from Spain), and Ich wohne in Berlin (I live in Berlin). To ask the same questions, use Wie heißt du? (What is your name?), Woher kommst du? (Where are you from?) and Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?). With someone formal, say Wie heißen Sie?
Wie geht's? means How are you? A typical answer is Gut, danke, und dir? (Good, thanks, and you?).
Common mistakes
- Pronouncing W like the English w. In German it is always the English v sound.
- Forgetting that every German noun starts with a capital letter, not just names.
- Using du with a stranger or a teacher. When in doubt, use Sie.
- Mixing up the two sounds of ch: soft in ich (like a hissed h), harder in Bach.
Practice
Say each letter out loud, then spell your own name and your city in German. Finish by saying a full introduction: your name, where you are from and where you live.
Start the interactive Chapter 1 lessons