German lessons for German Beginners number one "" German language alphabets: Basic German alphabets are an extended version of Latin. This composes of 30 letters. German language uses 26 letters that are same as English alphabets plus four extra letters. Let us have a look at these 26 alphabets (uppercase and lowercase) plus the extra four alphabets with its pronunciation in bracket:
A a (ah), " (ay), B b (bay), C c (say), D d (day), E e (ay), F f (eff), G g (gay), H h (haa), I i (eeh), J j (yot), K k (kah), L l (ell), M m (emm), N n (enn), O o (oh), (ooh), P p (pay), Q q (koo), R r (err), S s (ess), (ess-zett), T t (tay), U u (ooh), (uyuh), V v (fow), W w (vay), X x (ixx), Y y (oop-see-
lohn), Z z (zett).

German lessons for German Beginners number two "" German language vowels: Basic German beginners should know German vowels have both long and short variants, and would-be long vowels. German is a much more phonetically consistent language than English. German has eight vowels: a, e, i, o, u, , and . They can be short or long. Vowel length makes a difference in word meaning.
German vowels (long and short)
A "" Long like "a" in hard and short like between the vowels in English hut" and "hot" very short and clipped.
E "" Long like the vowel in English "say", but with lips extremely spread and no off glide into an "ee"-sound. Short like e in set, but even shorter.
I "" Long like "ee" in feet. Short like the vowel in English "mitt", but very short and clipped.
O "" Long like vowel in English "so", but with lips extremely rounded and no off glide into an "ooh"-sound. Short like o in hot, but even shorter.
U "" Long like "oo" in boot, said with pursed lips. Short like the vowel in English "bush", but very short and clipped.
"" Long like "" sound - which can be written "" or "h", but never "" - is pronounced like the "a" sound in the English "day" or "played", but the German sound is a longer one which does not slide away into "ee" as the English sounds tends. Short like "" sound - which can only be written "" - sounds like the "e" in English "get" or "set".
"" Long somewhat like the vowel in English "burn". To produce it, say the German long e, then round the lips as for the long "o". Short like a shorter version of German long "". To produce it, say the German short e then round the lips as for the short o.
"" German long "" and short "" are two of the hardest sounds for the English speaker to master, as there are no direct equivalents in the English language. () Similar to "ew" in pew. It"s a shorter version of German long . To produce it, say the German short i, then round the lips as for short u.

German lessons for German beginners number three "" diphthongs: Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels in one syllable (as in the English "lie"). German language has quite a few of them. Instead of being pronounced separately, the two letters have one sound or pronunciation. An example would be the au combination. The diphthong au in German always has the sound OW, as in English "ouch" (the "ou" being an English diphthong; the au is also part of the German word autsch, which is pronounced almost the same as "ouch" in English!). This kind of information is very useful to know when you are taking basic German lessons to pronounce German. German has three diphthongs: ai, oi, and au.
"[ai]
Pronunciation: Like the vowel sound in English "mine", but more clipped and tense.
"[oi]
Pronunciation: Like the vowel sound in English "coin", but more clipped and tense.
"[au]
Pronunciation: Like the vowel sound in English "house", but more clipped and tense.