German alphabet pronunciation

Published: February 17, 2025Alphabet, german, pronunciation

Here’s how each letter is pronounced in German:

Letter	Pronunciation (IPA)	Approximate English Sound
A	[aː]	“ah” as in car
B	[beː]	“bay”
C	[t͡seː]	“tsay”
D	[deː]	“day”
E	[eː]	“ay” as in hey
F	[ɛf]	“eff”
G	[ɡeː]	“gay”
H	[haː]	“hah”
I	[iː]	“ee” as in see
J	[jɔt]	“yot”
K	[kaː]	“kah”
L	[ɛl]	“ell”
M	[ɛm]	“emm”
N	[ɛn]	“enn”
O	[oː]	“oh”
P	[peː]	“pay”
Q	[kuː]	“koo”
R	[ɛʁ]	“air” (with rolled R)
S	[ɛs]	“ess”
T	[teː]	“tay”
U	[uː]	“oo” as in moon
V	[faʊ̯]	“fow” (like “f”)
W	[veː]	“vay”
X	[ɪks]	“iks”
Y	[ʏpsɪlɔn]	“üpsilon”
Z	[t͡sɛt]	“tset”

Additional Letters:

Letter	Pronunciation (IPA)	Approximate English Sound
Ä	[ɛː]	“eh” as in bet
Ö	[øː]	Like French “eu” in peur
Ü	[yː]	Like French “u” in lune
ß	[ɛs t͡sɛt]	“es-tset” or just “ss”