First steps: letters and sounds
Das Alphabet: Buchstaben und Laute
Recognise letters, distinguish letter names from sounds, and spell a short name.
German uses 26 basic letters A–Z, plus Ä, Ö, Ü and ß. Uppercase and lowercase are two forms of one letter: A–a. When spelling a name, we say the letter names. B is called “be”, but its sound in Ball is /b/, without an added “e”. Explore the table first, then the examples.
Anna → A – N – N – A
Example: Anna → A – N – N – A. Say each written letter separately, including repeated letters.
B b → be /beː/; Ball → /b/
B b · name: be /beː/ · sound in Ball: /b/.
German uses 26 basic letters A–Z, plus Ä, Ö, Ü and ß. Uppercase and lowercase are two forms of one letter: A–a. When spelling a name, we say the letter names. B is called “be”, but its sound in Ball is /b/, without an added “e”. Explore the table first, then the examples.
Example: Anna → A – N – N – A. Say each written letter separately, including repeated letters.
B b · name: be /beː/ · sound in Ball: /b/.
The table gives letter names for spelling, not every sound in words. IPA is phonetic notation. Audio uses your device voice; it does not assess your pronunciation.
Write your own name in Latin letters and point to each letter in order.