Das Alphabet And its pronunciation In German

German Alphabet A- Ah B- Bay C- Tsay D- Day E- Ay F- Ayf G- Gay

H- Ha I- Ee J- Yote K- Ka L- Ell M- Em N- En

O- Oh P- Pay Q- Koo R- Er S- Es T- Tay U- Oo

V- Fow W- Vay X- Iks Y- Oopsilon Z- Tset

When singing the alphabet Song is the same as the English (sung to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). Song repeats (Q,R,S,T,U,V, W) After Z, say “O Weh!” (Oh Vay!) Then sing “Das ist das ganze A B C” (Das ist das gantsa Ah Bay Tsay)

Singen Wir! (Let’s Sing!) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Q R S T U V W X und Y Z, O Weh! Das ist das ganze A B C.

Phonetics Most similar to English G will sound like a “K” with the combination of “ag” at the end of a word: “Tag” and like “ch” with the combination of “ig” at the end of a word: “Zwanzig” J sounds like Y R has a rolling sound within words, almost no sound at end of words. “Franken und Vater” V will sound like F “Sven” W will sound like V “Wasser” Y will sound like OO “Psychologe” Z will sound like TS (C may also sound this way) “Zelt und Zentrum, Centrum”

Combinations/ odds and ends Most letters are pronounced separately, however: Ei, Ai, Ay, Ey- all have long “I” sound “Bayern, frei, Main” IE- most always “EE” “Frieden” CH- that German gurgling “KHHHH” “ich” SCH- like English “SH” “Schule” SP- “SHP” only at the start of a word: “Spanien” ST- “SHT” only at the start of a word: “Stern” QU- “KV” “Quark” ß- das Eszett- this is actually “ss” “heißt” Ä- usually takes long “A” sound “während” Ö- similar to “oo” sound “hören” Ü- similar to strong long “U” sound “Bücher” Eu, Äu- “oy” as in boy or hoist