Video narration
If you know the English ABC, will German letter names sound the same? The order is familiar, but names change. Use these rough English hints: A ah, B beh, C tseh, D deh, E eh, F eff, G geh, H hah, I ee, J yot, K kah, L ell, M emm, N enn, O oh, P peh, Q kuh, R err, S ess, T teh, U oo, V fau, W veh, X iks, Y upsilon, Z tsett. These are letter names, not sounds inside every word. Here's the surprise: German's core alphabet has 26 letters, not 30. A, O and U are extra letters; ss is used in German spelling, but isn't usually counted among those 26. Not quite: V is called "fau," and W is called "veh." German keeps the familiar A-Z, with A, O, U and ss in German spelling.