Your name will be spelled on the phone, at the doctor's and at every office. Learn the German alphabet, the special letters ä, ö, ü and ß, and the words on personal-details forms.
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| German | Meaning |
|---|---|
| das Alphabet | alphabet |
| der Buchstabe, -n | letter (of the alphabet) |
| buchstabieren | to spell |
| Wie schreibt man das? | How do you spell that? |
| der Vorname, -n | first name |
| der Nachname, -n / der Familienname, -n | surname |
| das Geburtsdatum | date of birth |
| der Geburtsort, -e | place of birth |
| die Adresse, -n | address |
| die Straße, -n | street |
| die Hausnummer, -n | house number |
| die Postleitzahl, -en (PLZ) | postcode |
| der Wohnort, -e | place of residence |
| die E-Mail-Adresse, -n | email address |
| der Punkt | dot |
| at / das @ | at (@) |
| der Bindestrich | hyphen |
| das Formular, -e | form |
| ausfüllen | to fill in |
| unterschreiben | to sign |
| genau | exactly |
| sich anmelden | to register |
Most letters are said similarly to English, but some are different. These are the ones to practise: A [ah], E [eh], I [ee], J [yot], V [fow], W [veh], Y [üpsilon], Z [tset]. Plus four special letters: Ä [like e in bed], Ö, Ü and ß [es-tset], which sounds like a sharp s.
| Letter | Say | Example |
|---|---|---|
| J | yot | Jana |
| V | fow | Vater |
| W | veh | Wasser |
| Z | tset | Zahl |
| ß | es-tset | Straße |
| Ü | ü (lips round, say ee) | Müller |
Say the letters one by one: S – H – A – R – M – A. For double letters say doppel: Anna = A – doppel N – A. In emails: Punkt (.), at (@), Bindestrich (-), Unterstrich (_). German addresses put the house number after the street and the postcode before the town: Müllerstraße 14, 13353 Berlin. If you can't type ä, ö, ü, write ae, oe, ue; ß becomes ss.
Tap the words in the right order.
Fill in a personal-details form for yourself: first name, surname, date of birth, place of birth, street and house number, postcode and town, email address.
Vorname: Ravi Nachname: Sharma Geburtsdatum: 22.07.1994 Geburtsort: Pune Straße und Hausnummer: Müllerstraße 14 PLZ und Wohnort: 13353 Berlin E-Mail: ravi.sharma@mail.de
On German forms your name must be written exactly as in your passport, including all first names. Many Indian passports have only a given name or only a surname; offices then follow the passport, and you may see your whole name in one field. Keep your spelling the same on every form, because the bank, insurer and Ausländerbehörde all compare them.
Related: A1 writing practice · Anmeldung step by step · German phrases you need
