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Vowels

Certain sounds are especially important in the German language. Without them, we could hardly pronounce any word correctly. We call them vowels. They are represented by the letters a - e - i - o - u. Some vowels are missing in the following exercises.

Jonas Children At sparrow school

Consonants

However, we cannot form words from vowels alone. Other sounds have to be added. We call them consonants. In addition to the 5 vowels, there are 21 consonants. Together, they make up the alphabet, which we sometimes also call the ABC. The letters represent the sounds. Each sound has a lowercase and an uppercase letter. Complete the next exercise. 

Lowercase and uppercase letters

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Umlauts

Besides vowels and consonants, there are other sounds too. Some are called umlauts. These are variations of the sounds A, O, and U. When we write them, they become
  • A and a, Ä and ä,
  • turn O and o into Ö and ö,
  • and U and u become Ü and ü.
You can try an exercise for this, too.
Vowels become umlauts

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Diphthongs

Besides vowels, consonants and umlauts, there are also diphthongs. These are also called diphthongs. They include: Au / au - Ei / ei - Eu / eu - Ch / ch - Sch / sch - Äu / äu. Try this exercise:
Diphthongs