The alphabet and spelling your name
Say the 30 German letters, spell your name and your e-mail address aloud, and ask someone to spell a word for you.
Sounds and letters · Start from zero · 20 min · 20 exercises · Start from zero, High school, College
Before numbers, before hello, you need the letters. In Germany you will spell your name at the Bürgeramt, at the doctor, on the phone and whenever you give your e-mail address, and the German letter names are not the English ones: a German E sounds like an English A, and a German I sounds like an English E. This lesson gives you the 30 letters, the way Germans spell on the phone and the phrases to ask for a spelling.
The letters that trick English speakers
- Asay ah, as in father
- Esay eh, like the English letter A
- Isay ee, like the English letter E
- Jsay yot
- Vsay fow, rhymes with how
- Wsay veh
- Ysay Ypsilonthe longest letter name
- Zsay tset
- ÄA with Umlaut, like the e in bed
- ÖO with Umlaut: say eh with rounded lips
- ÜU with Umlaut: say ee with rounded lips
- ßsharp s, written ss in Switzerland
Inside the platform every word is read aloud by a German voice.
The German alphabet: 26 letters plus ä, ö, ü, ß
| Letter | Say the name like | Example word |
|---|---|---|
| A | ah, as in father | der Apfel (apple) |
| B | beh | das Buch (book) |
| C | tseh | das Café |
| D | deh | Deutschland (Germany) |
| E | eh, like the English letter A | Emil |
| F | eff | fünf (five) |
| G | geh, with a hard g | gut (good) |
| H | hah | Hallo |
| I | ee, like the English letter E | Ida |
| J | yot | ja (yes) |
| K | kah | der Kaffee (coffee) |
| L | ell | Lena |
| M | emm | Martha |
| N | enn | nein (no) |
| O | oh | Otto |
| P | peh | Paula |
| Q | kuh | die Quelle (source) |
| R | err, rolled or made in the throat | Richard |
| S | ess | Samuel |
| T | teh | der Tag (day) |
| U | oo, as in moon | Ulrich |
| V | fow, rhymes with how | Viktor |
| W | veh | Wilhelm |
| X | iks | Xanthippe |
| Y | üpsilon | Ypsilon |
| Z | tset | Zacharias |
| Ä | like the e in bed; also called A Umlaut | das Mädchen (girl) |
| Ö | say eh with rounded lips; O Umlaut | schön (nice) |
| Ü | say ee with rounded lips; U Umlaut | fünf (five) |
| ß | Eszett or scharfes S | die Straße (street) |
Asking for a spelling
- der Buchstabedie Buchstabenletter (of the alphabet)
- der Großbuchstabecapital lettergroß = big
- der Kleinbuchstabesmall letterklein = small
- der Umlautthe two dots on ä, ö, ü
- der Vornamefirst name
- der Nachnamelast name
- Wie schreibt man das?How do you write that?the everyday way to ask for a spelling
- Können Sie das buchstabieren?Can you spell that?formal, with Sie
- Buchstabieren Sie bitte.Please spell it.
- Noch einmal, bitte.Once more, please.
- Langsam, bitte.Slowly, please.
- Danke.Thank you.
Inside the platform every word is read aloud by a German voice.
At the registration desk
Lena registers at the Bürgeramt in Dresden.
How to spell a word aloud
Ask Wie schreibt man das? (How do you write that?) or Können Sie das buchstabieren? (Can you spell that?). To answer, say the letter names one by one: L, E, N, A. For a double letter say Doppel plus the letter: Anna is A, Doppel-N, A. For ä, ö, ü say the umlaut name (Ä) or A Umlaut, and say Eszett for ß. If the listener looks lost, switch to the phone alphabet: N wie Nordpol.
The phone spelling alphabet (die Buchstabiertafel): say the letter, wie, and the word
| Letter | Word | Letter | Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Anton | N | Nordpol |
| B | Berta | O | Otto |
| C | Cäsar | P | Paula |
| D | Dora | Q | Quelle |
| E | Emil | R | Richard |
| F | Friedrich | S | Samuel |
| G | Gustav | T | Theodor |
| H | Heinrich | U | Ulrich |
| I | Ida | V | Viktor |
| J | Julius | W | Wilhelm |
| K | Kaufmann | X | Xanthippe |
| L | Ludwig | Y | Ypsilon |
| M | Martha | Z | Zacharias |
Spelling names aloud
- Müller: M, Ü, Doppel-L, E, R.Müller: M, Ü, double L, E, R.Doppel for two identical letters
- Meyer: M wie Martha, E wie Emil, Y wie Ypsilon, E wie Emil, R wie Richard.Meyer, spelled with the phone alphabet.useful for names with several spellings: Meyer, Meier, Maier
- Jana: J, A, N, A.Jana: J, A, N, A.J is yot
- Weiß: W, E, I, Eszett.Weiß: W, E, I, sharp s.
- Großbuchstabe B, Kleinbuchstabe b.Capital B, small b.
Spelling on the phone and in e-mail addresses
On the phone Germans spell with the Buchstabiertafel: A wie Anton, B wie Berta. A newer official standard (DIN 5009, 2022) uses city names, A wie Aachen, B wie Berlin, but most people still use the old first names, so learn those. In e-mail addresses and web forms the umlauts are written ae, oe, ue and ß becomes ss: Müller becomes mueller. Switzerland does not use ß at all and always writes ss.
Sing it. The German alphabet fits the same tune as the English ABC song, and singing fixes the names faster than reading them. Then spell three things until they are automatic: your first name, your last name and your e-mail address, because you will give them again and again.
The E and I trap: when a German says eh, write E, not A; when you hear ee, write I, not E. Spell your own name slowly the first time. Also, V is fow, not vee, and Z is tset, not zee; and the letter name of Y, Ypsilon, has nothing to do with the English why.
The exercises of this lesson
20 corrected exercises in two sessions (discovery, practice), including listening items read aloud by a German voice: multiple choice (4), fill in the gap (5), matching (3), sorting (2), word order (1), translation (3), find the mistake (1), gap text (1). Every answer is corrected immediately, with the rule that applies.