The German alphabet: 30 letters
Type the German alphabet in order, as fast as you can. The clock starts on your first letter.
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The 30 letters and their names
Counted strictly, German has the 26 letters of English; with the umlauts ä, ö and ü and ß, the sharp s, it has the 30 below. Under each letter is its German name, then how to say it, with the stressed syllable in capitals. Ö and ü have no English match: say them with your lips rounded.
- A a A ah
- B b Be bay
- C c Ce tsay
- D d De day
- E e E ay
- F f Ef eff
- G g Ge gay
- H h Ha hah
- I i I ee
- J j Jot yot
- K k Ka kah
- L l El ell
- M m Em emm
- N n En enn
- O o O oh
- P p Pe pay
- Q q Qu koo
- R r Er air
- S s Es ess
- T t Te tay
- U u U oo
- V v Vau fow
- W w We vay
- X x Ix iks
- Y y Ypsilon EWP-see-lon
- Z z Zet tset
- Ä ä Ä eh
- Ö ö Ö ur
- Ü ü Ü ew
- ẞ ß Eszett ess-TSET
Typing ä, ö, ü and ß on a US or UK keyboard
A German keyboard has a key for each of the four. On a US or UK keyboard, United States-International on Windows types ä, ö and ü as " then the vowel, and ß as AltGr S. On a Mac, Option U then the vowel, and Option S for ß.
On a German keyboard
Windows: German · macOS: German · Linux: German
Add it in Windows under Settings > Time & language > Language & region, in macOS under System Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources, in Linux under Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources.
| Letter | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| ä | Ä | Ä | Ä |
| ö | Ö | Ö | Ö |
| ß | ß | ß | ß |
| ü | Ü | Ü | Ü |
On a US or UK keyboard
Windows: United States-International · macOS: ABC – Extended · Linux: English (US, intl., with dead keys)
To add it: on Windows, Settings › Time & language › Language & region; on a Mac, System Settings › Keyboard › Input Sources; on Linux, Settings › Keyboard › Input Sources. On this layout ' and " are dead keys: type a space after one for the mark itself.
| Letter | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| ä | Shift 'then A | Option Uthen A | Shift 'then A |
| ö | Shift 'then O | Option Uthen O | Shift 'then O |
| ß | AltGr S | Option S | AltGr S |
| ü | Shift 'then U | Option Uthen U | Shift 'then U |
More alphabets
- The English alphabet 26 letters
- The Spanish alphabet 27 letters, ñ
- The French alphabet 26 letters
- The Italian alphabet 21 letters
- The Polish alphabet 32 letters, ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ź ż
- The Turkish alphabet 29 letters, ç ğ ı ö ş ü
- The Greek alphabet 24 letters and their names
lite-type · lite-type.com/alphabet/german