German alphabet with transcription in Russian. Reading rules in German

The German alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet with diacritics for vowels ( ä , ö , ü ) and a letter ß , not used in other languages. There are alternative spellings for these letters: ae, oe, ue, ss, but their use loses its uniqueness.

2. Transliteration

Some of the German letters are translated into Russian unambiguously:

3.J

Combinations j + vowel transferred like this:

At the beginning of a word and after vowels ja → I, ja (je) → e, jo → yo, jo → yo, ju → Yu, ju → yuu: Jahns → Jens, Jul → july;

After consonants ja → ya, ja (je) → ye, jo → yo, jo → yo, ju (ju)→ ew: Lilje → Lilje.

Before a consonant and at the end of a word j → th.

4. Vowels and their combinations

German diphthongs are transmitted in transcription according to the following rules: eu → oh, ei → ah, ie → and. A common tradition to pass eu (ei) → hey (her) is considered obsolete today, although many names and surnames are transmitted according to these rules: Reuters → Reuters, Geiger → Geiger.

After vowels e (ä ) → uh, i → th. At the beginning of a word e (ä , ö ) → uh, ü → and.

In other cases, vowels are transmitted by transliteration: a → a, e (ä ) → e, i → and, o → about, ö → yo, u → at, ü → Yu, y → and.

5. S, C, H

letter combinations sch, chh, ch, ph, rh, th in transcription are transmitted, respectively: sch → sh, chh → hg, ch → X, ph → f, rh → R, th → t.

Combinations tsch, zsch and chs wholly belonging to one syllable are transmitted according to the rules tsch (zsch) → h, chs → ks: Achslach → Axlakh, Zschopau → chopau. Sometimes the components of these letter combinations refer to different syllables, in which case they are transmitted independently: Altschul → Altshul.

Before front vowels ( i, e, in borrowings also y) With → c: Cilli → cilly. In other contexts c → to: Carl → Charles.

Before letters p and t at the beginning of a word or part of a compound word s → sh: Spray → spree. Before vowels single s → h, otherwise s → With.

In a position between a vowel and a consonant (or between a vowel and e) h omitted in transcription. In other provisions h → X.

The tradition of transmitting everywhere h → G Today it is considered obsolete, but many names and surnames are transmitted precisely according to this rule: Tannhauser → Tannhäuser, Heisenberg → Heisenberg.

The "transcriptor" does not know how to divide German words into syllables and compound words into parts.

6. Consonants

letter combinations gk and tz passed according to the rules gk → G, tz → c.

doubled ll It is conveyed in different ways, depending on the position in the word:

between vowels ll → ll: Ellerbach → Ellerbach;

At the end of a word and between consonants ll → ll: Tellkoppe → Tellkoppe;

In other positions ll → l or eh.

Before vowels l → l, before consonants and at the end of words l → eh.

In German names and titles v → f: Volkmar → Volkmar. But in names of foreign origin v can be transmitted through in: Crivitz → Krivits.

"Transcriptor" always transmits v how f.

7. Double letters

Doubled (long) German vowels are always transmitted as one: Klopeinersee → Klopeinersee.

Doubled German consonants are transmitted as doubled and in transcription if they are in a position between vowels or at the end of a word. In other positions, doubled German consonants correspond to one consonant letter of transcription: Blatt → Blatt, Schaffran → Saffron.

letter combination ck corresponds kk in a position between vowels, otherwise ck → to: Becker → becker, Dick → Dick.

Reading and pronunciation of German words is quite simple and does not cause any difficulties for a Russian-speaking person. The main thing here is to know a few solid rules for reading the German language, since in some combinations not all letters are read in the same way as they are written. We present them in the form of a visual table.

Rules for reading individual German letters and their combinations

In conclusion, it is necessary to note a few general, typical points for the German language:

all German double consonants, when read, convey one sound, while indicating the brevity of the preceding vowel sound, for example: re nn en - rush, rush;

all doubled German vowels convey one long sound, for example: der aa l [a: l] - eel;

if letter h stands after vowels, it is never read, but only indicates the length of the previous vowel; letter h usually heard only at the beginning of a syllable/word, for example: se h r - very (not pronounced), h ier - here (pronounced);

to transfer Russian letters i, yo, yu combinations of German letters are used in the letter ja, jo, ju, for example: Yura - Ju ra, Yasha - Ja scha;

in German there are several variants of reading the letter r: at the beginning of words - burry [r], which is pronounced like a long Russian sound [x], but only with the participation of the voice; at the beginning of words, a rolling front-lingual [r] is also possible; in the middle of the words [r] is noticeably quieter, but quite distinguishable, but at the end of the letter r conveys a sound that is completely different from the previous two in its essence, since it is vocalized [α], that is, closer to a vowel sound. Example: der R abe - raven (loud [r]), leh r en - teach, teach (muffled, but quite distinguishable [r]), der Zuschaue r- spectator (voiced [α]);

the combination of two or more consonants indicates the shortness of the previous vowel sound, even in cases where these consonants denote one sound, for example lö sch en - go out, fade out, erase;

vowels that are at the beginning of a root or word are always pronounced much sharper, with a so-called hard attack, for example: der Alter [ `a ltәα], this gives German speech a more abrupt and clear character compared to smooth Russian speech;

all German consonants are hard, all voiced ones are muffled and pronounced semi-voiced, and at the end of words they are always completely stunned, for example: der D ie b thief (the consonant d is semi-voiced, and b at the end of the word is completely muffled);

The stress in German words mostly falls on the first syllable. Exceptions are:

1. words with unstressed prefixes ( be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, emp-, miss-). In this case, the stress falls on the second syllable;
2. borrowed words (der Comp u ter); and the suffix -tion is always stressed and is read, while the stress falls on about(die Kontribu tio n);
3. some other exceptions (war u m).

The study of any language begins with the basics, namely with its alphabet. Some people have known him since school, but even for those who have never taught him, but have some knowledge of English, it will be easy to figure it out. The fact is that these two languages ​​are similar in many ways, moreover, it contains the same characters as English, but their pronunciation is different. Therefore, phonetics will not seem too complicated.

All characters in are based on the Latin alphabet. In total it has 26 letters. It is worth noting that the German alphabet with pronunciation is easier than English. At first, there may be difficulties in learning grammar, but this will not be a big problem.

It is comfortable for Russian-speaking citizens to study in Russian, the table of which is presented below.

Why you should learn German

Relationship with tourism

As you know, in countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg, people mostly speak German. However, knowing the German alphabet with Russian pronunciation, you can also easily communicate with people from Liechtenstein, Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, northern Italy, eastern Belgium and some other countries.

German is important for tourism

New useful acquaintances

In a foreign country, you should be more confident. Knowing the language will greatly simplify communication with the locals. Knowing the language for beginners with pronunciation, you can easily meet new people, learn their character and interests.

Education and self-development

Many people strive to become more educated, to expand the range of their knowledge and skills, and what could be better in this matter than learning one or more foreign languages? It is worth noting that not only the quantity is taken into account, but also the level of mastering them. The German alphabet with pronunciation will help with this problem as well.

Work abroad

It's no secret that even the minimum wage in Europe can exceed Russian standards. With knowledge of at least one foreign language, you can choose more than one prestigious profession, or try to open your own. Russian-speaking citizens will be helped in this by the German alphabet with Russian pronunciation.

Educational literature

Approximately 18% of the total mass of books in the world are printed in German. Of these, only an insignificant part has been translated into Russian. Reading works in their original form allows a person to enrich himself with invaluable knowledge, learn more about the culture of a given country, and better understand the specifics of its language. The German alphabet with pronunciation will help to appreciate the fullness of works of art.

Consonants. Pronunciation

For beginners with pronunciation, it is advisable to remember such an important nuance that all German consonants are hard. Voiced pronunciation is slightly muffled. The final consonant of the word is completely stunned.

Phonetics offers illustrative examples for analysis. The word dieb is a thief. As can be seen from the transcription, the letter "d" is semi-voiced, and "b", as it stands at the very end, is significantly muffled.

1. The letter "h" in the root or the first in the word is read as "x" with a slight aspiration. For example, herz, which translates as heart. Inside and at the end, she lengthens the vowel before her: fahren - to go; froh - cheerful or joyful.
2. The letter "j" is similar to the Russian "y". It is worth remembering the phrases "ja" and "ju", sounding like "I" and "yu". For example, jahr, which translates as a year, or juni - June.
3. The letter "l" is always slightly softened: blume is a flower.
4. The letter "s" preceding the vowel is converted to the sound "z": sonne - the sun, the verb lesen - to read.
5. The letter "ß" is pronounced like "s". For example, groß is big.
6. The consonants k, p, t should be pronounced with a slight aspiration: park - park, torte - cake, ko†fer - suitcase.
7. It is important to note that the letter "v" is not read as "v", but as "f": vater - father. However, in borrowed words it can be pronounced as "in": vase - vase.
8. The letter “w” must be pronounced by analogy with the Russian “v”: wort is a word.
9. You should remember a small rule: double consonants sound like single ones, shortening the vowel in front of them: rennen - rush, sommer - summer, mutter - mother.

Letter "r". Pronunciation features

The German alphabet with pronunciation will help you master the alternative pronunciation of "r".

• If she starts a word, then the sound will be a little burry and stretched like the Russian sound [x], but in this case the voice will play a direct role.
• Another pronunciation is possible if the letter is at the beginning of the word. The sound will become more resonant and front-lingual [r].
• Toward the middle of the word [r] becomes much quieter, but still distinguishable.
• It is worth noting that in the tail of the word the letter loses its original sound and is transformed into a vocalized [α], which is closer to a vowel.

The German alphabet with Russian pronunciation provides an opportunity to practice comparative analysis. For example, in the word der rabe, which means raven, the sound [r] is predominantly loud and rolling. In the verb to teach - lehren, this sound will be more muffled, but will not lose its color. As for the word spectator - der zuschauer, you can see how [r] turns into a vocalized [α] by its example.

Vowel pronunciation

To convey the Russian letters i, ё and yu, special letter combinations ja, jo, ju are used in German. They are able to most accurately convey the sound of analogues of letters. For example, consider a couple of Russian names: Yura - Jura and Yasha - Jascha.

As for double vowels, they are read with one long sound. For example, an eel is der Aal [а:l]. On the transcription, you can see that the sound [a] is lingering. The rest of the vowels are read according to the same principle: tee - tea; raar - pair; boot - boat.

If the vowel is located at the beginning or at the root of the word, the sound will turn out to be much sharper and harder, giving the German speech a rougher character, jerky phrases in comparison with the usual Russian speech. You can trace this intonation in the word der Alter [altә].

Letter combinations in vowels and consonants

The alphabet in German with pronunciation has its drawbacks. Not every sound is optimally described by a letter. Sometimes, to achieve the desired result, you have to resort to combining certain characters of the alphabet:

1. The combination of the letters "ie" is converted into a drawl "and". For example: bier -. And if you swap these characters in places - "ei", then you get a short sound "ai": heimat - homeland.
2. In combination with "u", the letter "e" gives the sound "oh": heute - today. The same sound can be obtained by combining the letter "ä" with "u": bäume - trees. The features of this symbol will be discussed further.
3. The letter combination "sp" at the root or the beginning of the word should be pronounced as "shp": sport, which means sport in translation.
4. There is another sound similar to this - "piece". It is formed by combining the letters "s" and "t" by analogy at the beginning or root. Example word: stern - star.
5. The pure sound "sh" is formed using three letters at once: s, c, h, going in a row one after another. As an example: schule - school, schwester - sister.
6. The letter combination "ck" is pronounced like a short "k": backen - oven. This sound also has varieties: "ks" and "kv". The first of them is formed by three letters: c, h, s. For example: sechs - six. And the sound "kv" can be obtained by combining two elements "q" with "u": quark - cottage cheese.
7. It is impossible not to note such sounds as "x" and "h". They are an integral part of the German language. As a rule, by combining "c" and "h" you can get a deaf "x": buch - book, machen - to do. And to get a short "h" you will need 4 letters at once: t, s, c, h. This combination is used in one very useful word: deutsch - German.

Unusual symbols and their pronunciation

The German alphabet with Russian pronunciation, the table of which is shown below, has specific letters that have a cap in the form of two dots. These symbols also have their own pronunciation. For example, the letter “ä” sounds more like the Russian sound “e”: mädchen is a girl.

The next letter is ö. It is very reminiscent of "yo" from the Russian alphabet and is read exactly the same way as it is. Example word: schön - beautiful.

And the last character is “ü” by analogy with “yu”: müll is garbage.

Emphasis features

The stress in German usually falls on the first syllable. In words with an unstressed prefix, the stress moves to the next syllable. For example, consider the suffix –tion. It will always be stressed and pronounced as , where "i" is a short slip sound, and the stress fell on "o".

As for the letter combinations "ts", they form the sound "ts". For example, we can take the foreign word kommunikation, which means connection or communication.

Words where the stress falls on the first syllable: ausländer - a foreigner or aufmachen - to open. An exception to the rule is a common borrowing from foreigners of the word computer and others.

It is worth noting the words with the presence of an unstressed prefix, these include: be-, ge-, er-, ver-, zer-, ent-, miss-. The stress in words with such prefixes will be shifted to the next syllable. For example: verkaufen - to sell, bekommen - to receive.

Simple words to practice pronunciation

The German alphabet with Russian pronunciation, a table for the practice of simple words of which is presented below, allows you to practice reading them, at the same time replenishing your lexical dictionary.

• strand - beach;
• reise - travel;
• leute - people;
• zeit - time;
• frühling - spring;
• herbst - autumn;
• fleisch - meat;
• fisch - fish;
• wein - wine;
• kaffee - coffee;
• zwieback - cracker;
• radieschen - radish;
• richtig - correct;
• schule - school;
• volk ​​- people.

German alphabet with Russian pronunciation: table, phonetics updated: June 3, 2019 by: Amazing World!

german letters based on the Latin alphabet, german letters- the topic of the article. 26 German letters present in German. Additional german letters, which are not included in the alphabet, but are often found in a variety of words, these are the three umlauts Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü and the ligature ß. Latest german letters obey alphabetical order, that is, in dictionaries they immediately follow A a, O o, U u and double ss, respectively. In some cases, additional variants of German letters are used, but this is typical only for some dialects and, in particular, for words of foreign origin. German letters can form different letter combinations in words, which obey certain reading rules. There are separate sounds that are transmitted by two, three or more German letters. At the same time, one German letter, when read, can give two sounds (affricate), while some German letters can denote different sounds depending on their position in the word and neighboring letters. All double consonant German letters convey one sound and at the same time indicate the brevity of the previous vowel sound, for example: rennen - rush, rush. All doubled vowels of German letters when read are one long sound, for example: der Aal [a: l] - eel. Standing after the vowels of the German letters h is never read, but only indicates the longitude of the previous vowel. To convey the Russian letters i, ё, u in writing, the letter combinations of the German letters ja, jo, ju are used, which most closely convey the sound of these letters that have no analogues in German, for example: Yura - Jura, Yasha - Jascha. The combination of two or more consonant German letters indicates the brevity of the previous vowel even in cases where these consonants denote one sound, for example löschen - go out, fade out, erase. German vowels that are at the beginning of a root or word are always pronounced much sharper, with a so-called hard attack, for example: der Alter [`altәα]. All consonants of German letters are hard, all voiced ones are muffled and pronounced semi-voiced, and at the end of words they are always completely deafened, for example: der Dieb vor. German consonants cannot be softened before vowels, as is done in Russian. In German, German consonants are always hard. Do not get too hung up on the written version of German letters, write as you like, the main thing is to be understood. Only approximate sketches of handwritten German letters are given here. Pay attention to the umlauts (umlauts) Ää Öö Üü - these are German letters "without a name", they only denote sounds.

Letters of the German alphabet

Thus, in this table, all existing German letters of the alphabet were considered, including four additional ones. Further, German letters can form different letter combinations in words, which obey certain reading rules. Let's try to present them also in the form of a visual table.

Letters of the German alphabet, forming characteristic letter combinations and rules for reading individual German letters

In the picture below you see handwritten German letters, but here it should be noted that everyone has their own handwriting and there can be many options.

Video with the pronunciation of the letters of the German alphabet:

And one more video for fixing:

German is one of the European languages ​​spoken by 120 million people. If you know him, you can communicate freely with Germans, Austrians, Swiss, residents of Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. These are not all countries where many people speak the language of Heine and Nietzsche. Learning any language starts with the alphabet, and German is no exception.

How many letters are in the German alphabet?

The German alphabet consists of 26 letters. It is also based on Latin, but has its own characteristics. Characters that make the language special are umlauts (dotted vowels like Ä-ä, Ü-ü, Ö-ö) and the ß ligature.

The language of Kafka and Mann has a phonetic basis. If you study the sound system, it will be clear how the word is spelled, and its graphic image will not cause obstacles in pronunciation.

How many vowels are in the German alphabet?

Vowels in German 8, they make twice as many sounds.

Vowels in German can be long and short, the length of vowels can change the semantic meaning completely. As in most European languages, German also has diphthongs:

• Ei - (ai);
• Ai - (ai);
• Ie - long(s);
• Eu - (oh);
• Äu - (oh);
• Au - (au).

Vowels in words form open and closed syllables. In an open or conditionally closed syllable, when the form of the word changes, the syllable can again become open.

How many consonants are in the German letter?

There are 21 consonants in the German alphabet.

Features of consonants and their combinations in German

• The letter C forms an affricate with h - ch (хх) or (с);
• chs gives sound (ks);
• before e and i in some cases one "c" is pronounced as (ts).

Other cases are no less interesting:

1. The neighborhood of the letters Sch gives the sound (sh).
2. The affricate ph produces the sound (f).
3. The combination of letters ts is pronounced as (ts). The ligature ß (escet) stands apart, which expresses a short sound similar to Russian (c). It usually stands in the middle of a word or at its end.
4. DT or TH give the same sound (t).
5. The combinations of the letters tsch are like the sound (h).
6. And Z or TZ give rise to sound (c).

German alphabet and speech. 15 interesting facts

1. Until about the 12th century, runic writing was widespread in Germany.
2. Since the 15th century, the Schwabacher font, which belongs to the Gothic style of writing, has spread. It was common until the beginning of the last century. However, in the century before last, it began to be supplanted first by fraction, and later by antiqua. They were officially recognized only after the Revolution of 1918.
3. Since the 20s of the twentieth century, the Zütterlin font has become popular.
4. In 1903, a special telephone directory was published for reading German words by sounds. Initially, they tried to convey the letters as numbers, but this was a hard-to-remember way.
5. In military affairs, when encrypting, the ligature ß and the affricate ch were replaced by letter combinations.
6. During the reign of Hitler, they tried to revive the imperial type, but the idea did not take root.
7. The stress in German usually falls on the first syllable. When a word has an unstressed prefix, the stress shifts to the second syllable.
8. All nouns in German writing, regardless of their place in a sentence, are capitalized.
9. The word "girl" in German is neuter. And this is not an isolated case: such inconsistencies often occur in the language.
10. Some phraseological units in German are funny when translated directly. The phrase, which we would translate as "You have a pig!", Means that a person was called lucky. With the words "This is not your beer!" Germans remind each other not to interfere in other people's business.
11. The word "fraer", which is considered jargon in Russian speech, came from German. They call him the groom.
12. The longest German word still used in speech and writing consists of 63 letters.
13. The words “treasure”, “Romeo” and even “stallion” often become affectionate words in relation to the beloved among the Germans.
14. John Gutenberg printed the first book on his machine not in German, but in Latin. The famous Bible in German translation appeared 10 years later.
15. German could become the official language in the USA. After the Civil War, at a meeting of Congress, the English won by chance. It received one more vote than the German language.

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