German Language has 30 Letters | 5 Vowels, 3 Umlauts, 1 Eszett and 21 Consonant Letters

Q: How many letters are in German?

The standardized German alphabet has 30 letters : 26 basic Latin letters plus ä, ö, ü, and ß/ẞ [1] .

Q: What are German umlauts?

German umlauts are ä, ö, ü (and Ä, Ö, Ü). The Amtliche Regelung lists them as integral letters that influence spelling and alphabetical order [3] .

Q: What is the role of the Eszett (ß)?

The Eszett (ß/ẞ) represents the sharp “s” sound after long vowels and diphthongs, and official rules explain when ß contrasts with "ss" in standard spelling [3] .

Q: Does German really have an uppercase ẞ?

Yes. The Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung adopted uppercase ẞ so that ß has a capital counterpart for signage, passports, and all-capital text [3] .

Q: Who maintains German spelling rules?

The Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung publishes the Amtliche Regelung , which governs letters, punctuation, and hyphenation for all German-speaking countries [3] .

German Alphabet at a Glance

26 basic letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21 consonants ^[1]
Uses Latin script for writing ^[1]
Features 3 umlaut letters (ä, ö, ü) and the Eszett (ß) character ^[1]
Uppercase (A–Z) and lowercase (a–z) pairs plus uppercase ß (ẞ) are encoded in Unicode ^[1]
West Germanic language of the Indo-European family ^[2]
Orthography (including umlauts and ß rules) is standardized by the Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung ^[3]
Official rules specify when ß contrasts with double s, ensuring consistent spelling across German-speaking countries ^[3]

German Vowels (Lowercase)

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[oo]

German Vowels (Uppercase)

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[oo]

German Umlaut Letters (Lowercase)

[eh]

[eur]

[ue]

German Umlaut Letters (Uppercase)

[ess-tset]

ẞ

German Consonants (Lowercase)

[beh]

[tseh]

[deh]

[eff]

[geh]

[hah]

[yot]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[fow]

[veh]

[iks]

[ypsilon]

[tset]

[beh]

The letter "b" as in "Buch" (book).

[tseh]

The letter "c" as in "Computer" (computer).

[deh]

The letter "d" as in "Deutsch" (German).

[eff]

The letter "f" as in "Frau" (woman).

[geh]

The letter "g" as in "gut" (good).

[hah]

The letter "h" as in "Haus" (house).

[yot]

The letter "j" as in "ja" (yes).

[kah]

The letter "k" as in "Kind" (child).

[ell]

The letter "l" as in "Land" (country).

[emm]

The letter "m" as in "Mann" (man).

[enn]

The letter "n" as in "Name" (name).

[peh]

The letter "p" as in "Post" (mail).

[kuh]

The letter "q" as in "Qualität" (quality).

[err]

The letter "r" as in "rot" (red).

[ess]

The letter "s" as in "Sonne" (sun).

[teh]

The letter "t" as in "Tag" (day).

[fow]

The letter "v" as in "Vater" (father).

[veh]

The letter "w" as in "Wasser" (water).

[iks]

The letter "x" as in "Xylophon" (xylophone).

[ypsilon]

The letter "y" as in "Yoga" (yoga).

[tset]

The letter "z" as in "Zeit" (time).

German Consonants (Uppercase)

[beh]

[tseh]

[deh]

[eff]

[geh]

[hah]

[yot]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[fow]

[veh]

[iks]

[ypsilon]

[tset]

[beh]

The letter "B" as in "Buch" (Book).

[tseh]

The letter "C" as in "Computer" (Computer).

[deh]

The letter "D" as in "Deutsch" (German).

[eff]

The letter "F" as in "Frau" (Woman).

[geh]

The letter "G" as in "Gut" (Good).

[hah]

The letter "H" as in "Haus" (House).

[yot]

The letter "J" as in "Ja" (Yes).

[kah]

The letter "K" as in "Kind" (Child).

[ell]

The letter "L" as in "Land" (Country).

[emm]

The letter "M" as in "Mann" (Man).

[enn]

The letter "N" as in "Name" (Name).

[peh]

The letter "P" as in "Post" (Mail).

[kuh]

The letter "Q" as in "Qualität" (Quality).

[err]

The letter "R" as in "Rot" (Red).

[ess]

The letter "S" as in "Sonne" (Sun).

[teh]

The letter "T" as in "Tag" (Day).

[fow]

The letter "V" as in "Vater" (Father).

[veh]

The letter "W" as in "Wasser" (Water).

[iks]

The letter "X" as in "Xylophon" (Xylophone).

[ypsilon]

The letter "Y" as in "Yoga" (Yoga).

[tset]

The letter "Z" as in "Zeit" (Time).

;

„

–

—

(

)

[

]

{

}

€

[null]

[eins]

[zwei]

[drei]

[vier]

[fuenf]

[sechs]

[sieben]

[acht]

[neun]

[komma]

[null]

Zero - invariable number in German.

[eins]

One - cardinal number "eins" in German.

[zwei]

Two - cardinal number "zwei" in German.

[drei]

Three - cardinal number "drei" in German.

[vier]

Four - cardinal number "vier" in German.

[fuenf]

Five - cardinal number "fünf" in German.

[sechs]

Six - cardinal number "sechs" in German.

[sieben]

Seven - cardinal number "sieben" in German.

[acht]

Eight - cardinal number "acht" in German.

[neun]

Nine - cardinal number "neun" in German.

[komma]

Decimal comma (Dezimalkomma) - used as decimal separator in German numbers.

Expand All Collapse All

How many letters are in German?

What are German umlauts?

What is the role of the Eszett (ß)?

Does German really have an uppercase ẞ?

Who maintains German spelling rules?

References:

[1] Unicode Consortium. "Unicode CLDR - Languages and Scripts". Retrieved from Unicode CLDR Scripts
[2] Glottolog. "Standard German (High German)". Retrieved from Glottolog: German
[3] Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung. "Amtliche Regelung der deutschen Rechtschreibung". Retrieved from German Spelling Council