TheGermanStefan Academy
Kempten Foundation Camp
Module 3 of 12 — The Alphabet
📍 Kempten, Bavaria
Kempten, Bavaria — Basilica of St. Lorenz with Bavarian Alps at golden hour
KMP-003

The Alphabet

German uses 30 symbols: 26 standard letters, three umlauts, and one special character. Most look familiar. A few sound different.

Kempten is one of Germany’s oldest cities. Nestled in the Bavarian Alps, it is the perfect place to take your very first steps in German.

Letters A – G

A aah
B bbeh
C ctseh
D ddeh
E eeh
F feff
G ggeh

Letters H – N

H hhah
I iee
J jyot
K kkah
L lell
M memm
N nenn

Letters O – U

O ooh
P ppeh
Q qkoo
R rerr
S sess
T tteh
U uoo

Letters V – Z

V vfau
W wveh
X xiks
Y yüpsilon
Z ztset

German specials — umlauts and ß

Ä äah-umlaut
Ö öoh-umlaut
Ü üoo-umlaut
ßEszett / sharp-S
ß

The Eszett (ß) is a double "s" sound. It never starts a word.

Examples: Straße (street), heißen (to be called), weiß (white)

Recognition practice

How many symbols does the German alphabet have in total?

Which umlaut sounds like "air" or "eh"?

The German letter "j" is called what?

What sound does "ß" (Eszett) make?