Though German mostly uses the same alphabet as English, there are some important rules English speakers will need to master in order to read and write in German. Some of the most important differences between writing in English and German include the German capitalization rules, how to use umlauts (ä, ö, ü), and when to use the special letter ß, (called scharfes s meaning sharp s or Eszett).
But that’s not all! To really master reading and writing in German you’ll need to know certain pronunciation rules as well as how to add punctuation to your writing as well. There is so much more to talk about! In this article, we’ll look at the most important orthography and punctuation rules that are unique to the German language. Let’s dive right in!
What are the German capitalization rules?
In German, we capitalize the first letter of a sentence, but also every noun in the sentence. Yes, I mean every single one! This means that even common nouns such as das Haus (house) or das Auto (car) are written with a capital letter.
This rule applies regardless of where the noun appears or the role it plays in a sentence. It even applies to nouns that come from verbs and other abstract nouns.
Are German pronouns capitalized?
As a rule, German pronouns are not capitalized unless they start a sentence. Unlike capitalization in English, this includes the subject pronoun ich meaning I!
Even non-personal pronouns like jemand meaning someone or alle meaning everyone are not capitalized.
Are countries capitalized in German?
Because countries are nouns, they are generally capitalized in German.
However, in cases where the name of a country functions as an adjective, as when these words describe nationalities, they are not generally capitalized.
- Die italienischen Nudeln hat meine Mutter aus dem Urlaub mitgebracht.Translation: My mother brought the Italian pasta back from her vacation.
- Das deutsche Rezept ist sehr gut.Translation: The German recipe is very good.
Remember that the name of a language, though, is a noun. So if you’re talking about something being “in a language” then the name of the country will be capitalized:
The alphabet: How to use German letters?
German mostly uses the same alphabet as English. However, there are a few letters and spelling rules that will be unfamiliar to English speakers. In this section, we’ll go through a few of them!
What is an umlaut in German?
In German, an umlaut is a pair of dots placed above certain vowels which change its pronunciation. There are three umlauted vowels: ä, ö, and ü.
These vowels can be found in the basic forms of words:
- das MädchenTranslation: the girl
- überlegenTranslation: to think about
- törichtTranslation: foolish
- zurückTranslation: back
But often an umlaut can be added to a base form to signal slight changes in meaning such as:
a plural form:
das HousTranslation: housedie HäuserTranslation: housesa comparative or superlative form of an adjective:
großTranslation: biggrößerTranslation: biggeram größtenTranslation: biggestthe feminine version of a noun:
der ArztTranslation: doctordie ÄrztinrTranslation: female doctorthe diminutive form of a noun:
die KatzeTranslation: catdas KätzchenTranslation: little cat
How to use the letter ‘ß’ in German?
In German, the letter ß is known as the Eszett or scharfes S meaning sharp s. This letter is unique to German and is not used in any other language. You can think of this as a “double-s”, which means it’s always pronounced as a voiceless, classic “s” sound, as in “see” or “some.”
Before 1996, the letter ß was used much more in written German than it is today. In 1996, German spelling underwent a reform and one of the rules that changed was that ß was replaced by ss in words with short, stressed vowels.
| Old Spelling | New Spelling | Translation |
|---|---|---|
daß | dass | that |
naß | nass | wet |
However, the letter ß is still around when it shows up after long vowels or diphthongs, as in the words below.
- Long vowels:süß, das MaßTranslation: sweet, measurement
- Dipthongs:heiß, reißenTranslation: sweet, measurement
How to pronounce German vowel combinations
In German, sequences of vowels are sometimes pronounced as a long vowel and sometimes as a dipthong. Let’s go through a few of the tricky vowel sequences and how to pronounce them!
‘ei’ vs. ‘ie’
This is an especially tricky contrast, and which sequence you use can often change the meaning of a word:
das Lied meaning song — das Leid meaning suffering
dienen meaning to serve — deinen meaning yours
Here’s the difference:
The sequence ei is a diphthong, pronounced like the English word “eye.”
- das EisTranslation: ice, ice cream
- leidenTranslation: to suffer
The sequence ie is usually a long vowel, pronounced “ee”.
- die WieseTranslation: meadow
- liebTranslation: lovely
However, at the end of the word, it is sometimes split into two syllables.
- die Mat·er·i·eTranslation: matter
- die Fam·il·i·eTranslation: family
‘au’, ‘eu’, and ‘äu’
Here’s the difference between these vowel sequences:
The sequence au is a diphthong pronounced like the vowel in the word “cow.”
- das AugeTranslation: eye
- traurigTranslation: sad
The diphthong äu is the little sister to au, and it is pronounced like the vowel in “boy.”
- träumenTranslation: to dream
- der BaumTranslation: treedie BäumeTranslation: trees
- der BaumTranslation: treedas BäumchenTranslation: little tree
The diphthong eu is also pronounced like the vowel in “boy.”
- die TreueTranslation: faithfulness
- leuchtenTranslation: to shine
‘ai’, ‘oi’, and ‘ui’
These diphthongs are pretty rare and they only appear in words that do not have Germanic roots. But here’s how to pronounce them, just in case!
The sequence ai is a diphthong pronounced like the English “eye.”
- der MaiTranslation: May
- der HaiTranslation: shark
The sequence oi is usually split into separate syllables:
- e·go·is·tischTranslation: selfish
- das He·ro·inTranslation: heroin
But it can represent a diphthong pronounced like the sound in “boy.”
Ahoi!Translation: ahoy!The sequence ui is also usually split into separate syllables:
- Pin·gu·inTranslation: penguin
- in·tu·i·tivTranslation: intuitive
But it can represent a diphthong in some cases:
Pfui!Translation: Yuck!
How to pronounce ‘st’ and ‘sp’ in German?
The consonant combinations st and sp in German change their pronunciation quite a bit, depending on their placement in a word. Have a look!
st can be pronounced “sht”, at the beginning of a word or syllable, or “st” at the end of a word.
"sht"
die StadtTranslation: citystehenTranslation: to standaussteigenTranslation: to get off"st"
erstTranslation: firstder RestTranslation: rest
sp can be pronounced “shp”, at the beginning of a word or syllable, or “sp” when it is split between two syllables.
"shp"
der SportTranslation: sportspitzTranslation: pointyversprechenTranslation: to promise"st"
die Knos·peTranslation: buddie Ris·peTranslation: truss
Note that in some dialects, these letter combinations are pronounced like in English at the beginning of words, too. But it’s not very common.
What are some important German punctuation rules?
If you want to read and write in German, it’s important to understand the basic German punctuation rules. While there are similarities to English punctuation, there are also some rules that are very different in German. Let’s take a look!
Where to use commas in German
Commas are more frequently used in German than in English. Here are some of the most important places to add them:
Separating clauses
In German, we always use commas to separate a subordinate clause from the main clause, regardless of which clause comes first. This includes relative clauses.
subordinate clauseIch weiß nicht, wann ich wieder Zeit zum Kochen haben werde.Translation: I don’t know when I’ll have time to cook again.Wenn du Zeit hast, komm zum Abendessen vorbei!Translation: If you have time, come over for dinner!Das Abendessen, das wir gestern gekocht haben, war sehr lecker.Translation: The dinner that we cooked yesterday was very delicious.Generally, you don’t need a comma before a coordinating conjunction like und meaning and or oder meaning or, though it is optional. If the independent clauses are short and closely related, a comma is often omitted.
coordinating conjunctionMeistens koche ich(,) oder bestelle eine Pizza.Translation: I mostly cook or order a pizza.However, there is always a comma before the coordinating conjunction aber meaning but.
aberIch koche gern mit vielen Zutaten, aber er kocht gern einfache Gerichte.Translation: I like to cook with lots of ingredients but he likes to cook simple dishes.Forming lists
As in English, commas are used in German to separate items in a list. The general rule is to place a comma after each item in the list, but in German there is no “Oxford comma” so you don’t need to put a comma before und meaning and or oder meaning or.
Die Frau hat einen Apfel, eine Orange, eine Ananas und eine Mango gekauft.Translation: The woman bought an apple, an orange, a pineapple and a mango.When listing multiple adjectives before a noun we only add commas in between them if they are of equal “rank.” Such adjectives can exchange locations in a sentence in a way that the sentence will still make sense and the meaning doesn’t change.
Das Kind isst ein süßes, fruchtiges Eis am Stiel.Translation: The child is eating a sweet fruity popsicle.Both adjectives describe the flavor.If they do not rank equally or are different types, they almost become like a unit with the noun they describe and no comma is needed.
Die neueste medizinische Erkenntnis besagt…Translation: The latest medical insight says…The adjectives provide different types of information.Before infinitive clauses
A comma is necessary when an infinitive clause. is introduced with one of the following words: als meaning than, um meaning to, außer meaning except, ohne meaning without, anstatt/statt meaning instead.
- Der Koch trug eine Schürze, um seine Kleidung zu schützen.Translation: The chef wore an apron to protect his clothes.
- Er holte den Braten aus dem Ofen, ohne sich zu verbrennen.Translation: He took the roast out of the oven without burning himself.
A comma is also necessary when a da-compound like damit meaning thereby/so that, dafür meaning for that, darauf meaning thereon or a noun introduces the infinitive clause.
- Der Koch muss damit rechnen, viele hungrige Restaurantgäste zu haben.Translation: The chef must anticipate that he may have a lot of hungry restaurant guests.
- Ich habe das Bedürfnis, einen zweiten Nachtisch zu bestellen.Translation: I am feeling the urge to order a second dessert.
Emphasis
You also use a comma after an emphasized element at the beginning of a sentence to make the meaning or emphasis clearer.
- Sie mögen es, nicht auf das Essen warten zu müssen.Translation: They like it not having to wait for the food.
- Sie mögen es nicht, auf das Essen warten zu müssen.Translation: They don’t like having to wait for the food.
How to punctuate German numbers?
When typing or writing numbers in German, there are a couple of differences from English you need to consider. Follow these rules in German:
Use a period as the thousands separator:
English German 10,000
10.0005,500
5.500Use a comma as the decimal separator:
English German 50.2
50,210,500.7
10.500,7
When to use apostrophes in German?
In German, apostrophes are primarily used for indicating the omission of letters in contractions This is mostly when combining verbs like gehen meaning to go or haben meaning to have before the word es meaning it , as in the questions below:
- Wie geht’s?Translation: How are you?
- Ich hab’s
In German we do not use apostrophes to indicate possession. Instead, the possessive forms are typically formed by adding the appropriate genitive endings to the noun or pronoun and the letter s without an apostrophe to names.
How to use quotation marks in German?
Quotation marks are used in German to indicate a direct quote, as well as to enclose quotations or citations. But the quotation marks don’t always look like English ones!
Lots of German print media, novels etc. use a type of quotation marks called guillemets or “French quotation marks” (« »)
- Er sagte: «Ich habe Hunger.»Translation: He said: “I am hungry.”
- Sein Lieblingskochbuch ist «Arabische Küche für Anfänger».Translation: His favorite cookbook is “Arabic cuisine for beginners.”
Double quotation marks can be used in German, but when using these, you put the first on the bottom and the last on the top („ “):
- Er sagte: „Ich habe Hunger.”Translation: He said: "I am hungry."
- „Arabische Küche für Anfänger”.Translation: His favorite cookbook is “Arabic cuisine for beginners.”
Summary
Here’s a quick summary of rules for reading and writing German we discussed in this post:
Capitalization → capitalize the first letter of a sentence and all nouns, but not pronouns (except the formal Sie!)
Alphabet and spelling → German uses the same alphabet as English, but there are a few additional letters and spelling rules:
ß (also known as sharp s) is pronounced “ss”.
the umlauts are ä, ö, and ü and that you may sometimes see them written out as ae, oe and ue.
Remember the different vowel combinations, especially the difference between ei transcribed eye and ie transcribed ee!
st and sp are usually pronounced “sht” and “shp” at the start of a word or syllable.
Punctuation → similar to English, but with some important differences:
Commas separate out all subordinate clauses, including infinitive clauses.
In numbers, use a period to separate thousands and a comma as a decimal.
Apostrophes are used for contractions, but not possessives.
Use « » or „ “ as quotation marks.
Ready to practice? Check out these activities to practice German orthography!
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