The modern German alphabet is a variant of the Latin script and consists of 26 letters.
German uses the Umlaut letters ä, ö, ü and the ligature ß (Eszett). In Switzerland/Liechtenstein ß → ss.
German is a major world language with ≈100 M native speakers – the most in the EU.
Oldest records: 8th c. CE. Literary peak: 12–13th c.
Die Deutsche Sprache
Europe
Official in Germany, Austria, Switzerland. Border regions of France, Belgium, Netherlands.
Italy: co‑official in South Tyrol.
Soviet Germans
≈1.5 M lived in the USSR; most repatriated after 1990. Dialects are archaic.
United States
≈2 M speak German at home; ≈50 M claim German ancestry.
South America
≈500 000 speakers in Brazil after WWII migration.
West Germanic (English, Dutch). Nordic languages = North Germanic.
Major split: High German (basis of Standard) vs. Low German.
Low Saxon Dialect
German dialects are often mutually unintelligible. Speakers code‑switch.
Bavarian (Munich)
| English | German | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Hallo | /haˈlo/ |
| Thank you | Danke | /ˈdaŋkə/ |
| Please | Bitte | /ˈbɪtə/ |
| Yes / No | Ja / Nein | /jaː/ /naɪn/ |
| Good morning | Guten Morgen | /ˌɡuːtn̩ ˈmɔʁɡn̩/ |
| Friend | Freund(in) | /fʁɔɪnt/ |
| Family | Familie | /faˈmiːliə/ |
| Water | Wasser | /ˈvasɐ/ |
| Bread | Brot | /bʁoːt/ |
| House | Haus | /haʊs/ |
| Car | Auto | /ˈaʊto/ |
| One | Eins | /aɪns/ |
| Two | Zwei | /tsvaɪ/ |
| Three | Drei | /dʁaɪ/ |
| Love | Liebe | /ˈliːbə/ |
| Time | Zeit | /tsaɪt/ |
| Today | Heute | /ˈhɔɪtə/ |
| Work | Arbeit | /ˈaʁbaɪt/ |
| School | Schule | /ˈʃuːlə/ |
| Book | Buch | /buːx/ |
| English | German |
|---|---|
| How are you? | Wie geht es dir? |
| I don't understand | Ich verstehe nicht |
| Where is the bathroom? | Wo ist die Toilette? |
| Can you help me? | Können Sie mir helfen? |
| I'd like a coffee | Ich möchte einen Kaffee |
| Cheers! | Prost! |
| See you later | Bis später |
| Excuse me | Entschuldigung |
| What's your name? | Wie heißt du? |
| Nice to meet you | Freut mich |
1. Articles
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. | der | den | dem |
| Fem. | die | die | der |
| Neut. | das | das | dem |
| Plural | die | die | den |
2. Verb: sein (to be)
| ich bin | wir sind |
| du bist | ihr seid |
| er/sie/es ist | sie/Sie sind |
3. Word Order
Main clause: Ich esse Brot. (I eat bread.)
Question: Isst du Brot? (Do you eat bread?)
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
The language of Goethe, precision, and clarity.
Spoken by 130 million across three continents —
Willkommen in der deutschen Welt!
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