Appendix:German spelling alphabet

German

Spelling alphabet (2022 version)

According to DIN 5009 (2022 version), 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

In the former version which is still valid for Germany in areas outside of office applications, the following German names and words are assigned to letters of the alphabet for clearer enunciation on the telephone. Both historic versions, and versions for Austria and Switzerland, differ significantly.

A – Anton (/aː/ wie /ˈantoːn/)
Ä – Ärger (/ɛː/ wie /ˈɛʁɡɐ/)
B – Berta
C – Cäsar (/t͡seː/ wie /ˈt͡sɛːzaʁ/)
Ch – Charlotte (/t͡seːˈhaː/ wie /ʃaʁˈlɔtə/ (sic!))
D – Dora
E – Emil
F – Friedrich
G – Gustav
H – Heinrich
I – Ida
J – Julius
K – Kaufmann (Sometimes "Kurfürst" is used, which stems from a historic version.)
L – Ludwig
M – Martha
N – Nordpol
O – Otto
Ö – Ökonom
P – Paula
Q – Quelle
R – Richard
S – Samuel (Often "Siegfried" is used, which stems from a historic version.)
Sch – Schule (/ˈɛsˈt͡seːˈhaː/ wie /ˈʃuːlə/)
ẞ – Eszett (/ɛsˈt͡sɛt/)
T – Theodor
U – Ulrich
Ü – Übermut
V – Viktor (/faʊ̯/ wie /ˈvɪktoɐ̯/ (sic!))
W – Wilhelm
X – Xanthippe (Sometimes "Xaver" is used, which stems from Austrian and Swiss versions.)
Y – Ypsilon
Z – Zacharias (Sometimes "Zeppelin" is used, which stems from a historic version.)

When reading the complete spelling alphabet from A to Z for practice, umlauts, "ch", "sch", and "ẞ" 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."

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

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