LinguaLetters you know, read the German way
German is written with the 26 Latin letters, plus ä, ö, ü and ß. The shapes are not new; what is new is the German NAME of each letter and its SOUND. The good news: German is read almost exactly as it is written. A letter nearly always says the same sound, and every letter is spoken, even an e at the end of a word: Lampe is “LAM-peh”. Today: the first thirteen letters, A to M, capital and small. You will see many capitals, because German writes every noun with a capital letter: Hand, Kind, Lampe.
A is “ah”, B is “beh”. Capital A: two legs that meet at the top, then the bar. Small a: the round part, then the line down its right side. Capital B: the post, then two bellies, the upper one smaller. Small b: a tall post with one belly at the bottom.
C is “tseh”, D is “deh”. C is one curve, open on the right. Capital D: the post, then one big belly. Small d: the round part first, then the tall post on its right – the mirror image of b.
E is “eh”, F is “eff”. Capital E: the post, then three bars from top to bottom. Small e: the little bar first, then curl up, left and round. F is an E without its foot. Small f: a hook drawn from the top down, then a short bar across it.
G is “geh”, H is “hah”. Capital G: a C with a short bar turning in at the bottom. Small g: the round part, then a tail below the line that curls to the left. Capital H: two posts, then the bar. Small h: a tall post with one arch.
I is “ee”, J is “yot”. Small i: a short line, then the dot. Small j: a line that goes below the line and curls left, then the dot. Capital J: a hook, like the handle of an umbrella.
K is “kah”, L is “ell”. K: the post, then two strokes that meet it in the middle. Capital L: the post, then the foot to the right. Small l: just one tall line.
M is “emm”. Capital M: two posts joined by a V that hangs from their tops. Small m: a short post, then two arches side by side.
| Letter | German name | How it sounds | In a word |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | a | “ah”, as in “father” | Arm |
| B b | be | b; at the end of a word like p | Ball |
| C c | ce | rare alone: k in Café; mostly inside ch and ck | Café |
| D d | de | d; at the end of a word like t | Dach |
| E e | e | “eh”, or a long “ay” without the y; weak at the end of a word | Esel |
| F f | ef | f, as in “fun” | Fenster |
| G g | ge | always hard, as in “go” | Glas |
| H h | ha | a breath, as in “hand” | Hand |
| I i | i | “ee”, as in “see”, or short as in “it” | Igel |
| J j | jot | like the y in “yes” | Jahr |
| K k | ka | k, with a puff of air | Kind |
| L l | el | a clear l, as in “leaf” | Lampe |
| M m | em | m | Mama |
Mama hat eine Lampe.Mum has a lamp.
Das Kind hat einen Ball.The child has a ball.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| der Arm | arm | Mama hat das Kind im Arm. Mum is holding the child in her arms. |
| der Ball | ball | Der Ball ist rot. The ball is red. |
| das Dach | roof | Das Dach ist alt. The roof is old. |
| das Ei | egg | Ein Ei, bitte! An egg, please! |
| das Fenster | window | Das Fenster ist offen. The window is open. |
| das Glas | glass | Ein Glas Wasser, bitte. A glass of water, please. |
| die Hand | hand | Gib mir die Hand! Give me your hand! |
| der Igel | hedgehog | Der Igel ist klein. The hedgehog is small. |
| das Jahr | year | Ein Jahr hat zwölf Monate. A year has twelve months. |
| das Kind | child | Das Kind ist müde. The child is tired. |
| die Lampe | lamp | Die Lampe ist an. The lamp is on. |
| die Mama | mum, mom | Mama ist da! Mum is here! |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- trace the letter: 3
- fill the gap: 2
- match the pairs: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which letter do Germans call “jot”?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.