0.0 the Alphabet_v1.00

- 1 – www.rocketlanguages.com

0.0 The German Alphabet

Fast Forward!

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.

Alphabet Letter

Pronunciation of the letter

German Word (With 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, for example: Sprache (language)

J is pronounced like a y, for example: Jacke (jacket)

W is pronounced like a v, for example: Woche (week)

Z is pronounced ts, for example: Zimmer (room)

Ch there are three ways of pronouncing ch. After a, o, u and au the ch

sound is produced towards the back of the throat, similar to making a k sound.

However, it is less abrupt still letting through air, for 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 Approximate 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.


For Example:

German word Pronunciation English translation

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] good bye

Tschüss [chüs] bye bye

Bis bald [biss bahlt] See you later

Wie geht’s? [vee gaytz] how’s it going?

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?

0.0 the Alphabet_v1.00

Documents

Transcript of 0.0 the Alphabet_v1.00