Alphabet und Aussprache
The German alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet, but includes extra letters like ä, ö, ü, and ß. In the Hören (listening) and Sprechen (speaking) sections of Goethe/telc exams, you may be asked to spell out your first name, last name, or email address (buchstabieren) — especially when making an appointment over the phone, checking into a hotel, or filling out a form, the other person will ask you to do this in order to write your name correctly. That's why simply 'knowing' the alphabet is not enough; you need to be able to say the letters quickly and with the correct pronunciation.
Two different things need to be kept apart: (1) the NAME of a letter when you say it ON ITS OWN (used when spelling, buchstabieren — e.g. the letter 'W' is called 've') and (2) the SOUND the letter makes INSIDE A WORD. The table below lists the letter names (for buchstabieren). Inside words, some letters sound different from what you might expect: 'W' sounds like 'V', and 'V' usually sounds like 'F'. 'Z' always sounds like 'TS'. The so-called umlauts ä, ö, ü are pronounced by shaping the mouth differently: 'ä' is like the 'e' in 'bed', 'ö' is like saying 'e' with rounded lips, and 'ü' is like saying 'ee' with rounded lips. ß (Eszett/scharfes S) is a single letter pronounced like a double S and is almost always used in lower case; when a whole word is written in capitals, 'SS' is usually used ('Straße' → 'STRASSE'), and since 2017 the capital ẞ has also been officially accepted.
If your keyboard has no ä/ö/ü/ß (e.g. on an English keyboard or in some forms), it is officially accepted to write 'ae', 'oe', 'ue' and 'ss' instead: 'Mueller' instead of 'Müller', 'Strasse' instead of 'Straße'. This is especially useful when entering an email address or filling in an online form. Also, all nouns (Nomen) in German start with a capital letter — a handy clue that helps you tell whether a word in a sentence is a noun or a verb/adjective.
The complete alphabet — letter names for buchstabieren
| Letter | German name | Pronunciation (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| A a | a | a |
| B b | be | be |
| C c | ce | tse |
| D d | de | de |
| E e | e | e |
| F f | ef | ef |
| G g | ge | ge |
| H h | ha | ha |
| I i | i | i |
| J j | jot | yot |
| K k | ka | ka |
| L l | el | el |
| M m | em | em |
| N n | en | en |
| O o | o | o |
| P p | pe | pe |
| Q q | ku | ku |
| R r | er | er |
| S s | es | es |
| T t | te | te |
| U u | u | u |
| V v | vau | fau |
| W w | we | ve |
| X x | ix | iks |
| Y y | ypsilon | üpsilon |
| Z z | zet | tset |
| Ä ä | ä | open e, as in 'bed' (a-umlaut) |
| Ö ö | ö | 'e' with rounded lips (o-umlaut) |
| Ü ü | ü | 'ee' with rounded lips (u-umlaut) |
| ß | Eszett / scharfes S | double s (es-tset) |
EXAMPLES
Wie schreibt man Ihren Namen?
How do you spell your name?
Können Sie das bitte buchstabieren?
Could you spell that out, please?
Mein Name wird M-Ü-L-L-E-R geschrieben.
My name is spelled M-Ü-L-L-E-R.
Exam tip
- • When buchstabieren is requested in the exam, practice saying each letter by its German name (like A = 'a', H = 'ha').
- • You can also specify the letters ä, ö, ü as 'a-umlaut', 'o-umlaut', 'u-umlaut'.
SHORT TEST
1. How is the letter 'V' pronounced in the word 'Volkswagen'?
2. How is the letter 'W' pronounced in the word 'Wasser'?
3. What sound does the letter 'Z' make in the word 'Zahl'?
4. Which letter is the letter 'ß' (Eszett) pronounced like?
5. Which verb is used when spelling a name letter by letter?
6. How is the letter 'J' pronounced in the word 'Ja'?