Appendix:German spelling alphabet

German

Spelling alphabet (2022 version)

According to DIN 5009 (2022), which is valid for Germany, the following German names and words are assigned to letters of the alphabet for clearer enunciation on the telephone.

A – Aachen
Ä – Umlaut Aachen
B – Berlin
C – Chemnitz
D – Düsseldorf
E – Essen
F – Frankfurt
G – Goslar
H – Hamburg
I – Ingelheim
J – Jena
K – Köln
L – Leipzig
M – München
N – Nürnberg
O – Offenbach
Ö – Umlaut Offenbach
P – Potsdam
Q – Quickborn
R – Rostock
S – Salzwedel
ß – Eszett
T – Tübingen
U – Unna
Ü – Umlaut Unna
V – Völklingen
W – Wuppertal
X – Xanten
Y – Ypsilon
Z – Zwickau

Former version of the German spelling alphabet

The former version of the spelling alphabet is still used and considered valid for Germany in areas outside of office applications. Both historic versions, and versions for Austria and Switzerland, differ significantly.

A – Anton
Ä – Ärger
B – Berta
C – Cäsar
Ch – Charlotte
D – Dora
E – Emil
F – Friedrich
G – Gustav
H – Heinrich
I – Ida
J – Julius
K – Kaufmann (sometimes "Kurfürst" is used, derived from a historic version.)
L – Ludwig
M – Martha
N – Nordpol
O – Otto
Ö – Ökonom
P – Paula
Q – Quelle
R – Richard
S – Samuel (sometimes "Siegfried" is used, derived from a historic version.)
Sch – Schule
ẞ – Eszett
T – Theodor
U – Ulrich
Ü – Übermut
V – Viktor
W – Wilhelm
X – Xanthippe (sometimes "Xaver" is used, derived from Austrian and Swiss versions.)
Y – Ypsilon
Z – Zacharias (sometimes "Zeppelin" is used, derived from a historic version.)

When reading the complete spelling alphabet from A to Z for practice, ch, sch, ẞ, and letters with umlauts are often omitted and wie is inserted between a letter and the corresponding name, i.e., A wie Anton, B wie Berta, C wie Cäsar, etc.

Austrian variant

A – Anton
Ä – Ärger
B – Berta
C – Cäsar
Ch – Charlotte, Christine
D – Dora
E – Emil
F – Friedrich
G – Gustav
H – Heinrich
I – Ida
J – Julius, Johann
K – Konrad
L – Ludwig
M – Martha
N – Nordpol, Norbert
O – Otto
Ö – Österreich
P – Paula
Q – Quelle
R – Richard
S – Siegfried
Sch – Schule
ẞ – scharfes S
T – Theodor
U – Ulrich
Ü – Übel
V – Viktor
W – Wilhelm
X – Xaver
Y – Ypsilon
Z – Zürich, Zeppelin

Swiss variant

A – Anna
Ä – Aesch / Äsch
B – Berta
C – Cäsar, Charly
Ch – Chiasso
D – Daniel
E – Emil
F – Friedrich
G – Gustav
H – Heinrich
I – Ida
J – Jakob
K – Kaiser
L – Leopold
M – Marie
N – Niklaus
O – Otto
Ö – Oerlikon / Örlikon
P – Peter
Q – Quasi
R – Rosa
S – Sophie
T – Theodor
U – Ulrich
Ü – Übermut
V – Viktor
W – Wilhelm
X – Xaver
Y – Yverdon
Z – Zürich