Before we learn a single word, we start from the very foundation: the letters. German is written with the Latin alphabet (the same letters as English and French), and it has 26 letters, plus four special symbols: ä, ö, ü (called Umlaut) and ß (called Eszett).
The good news: German is a language that is read almost exactly as it is written. Once you know the sound of each letter and each combination, you can pronounce any word you see — even if you don't understand its meaning. That is why this lesson is the key to all the lessons that follow.
In this lesson you will learn: (1) the name of each letter and how to say it when spelling out loud, (2) the special letters ä ö ü ß, (3) the important letter combinations such as sch, ch, ei, and ie, which confuse beginners the most. Practice saying every sound out loud — pronunciation is mastered through repetition, not memorization.