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      Classroom conversations: German alphabet

      I can ask how to say or spell a word, and I can use the German alphabet to spell.

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      Lesson 8 of 9
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      • Year 7

      Classroom conversations: German alphabet

      I can ask how to say or spell a word, and I can use the German alphabet to spell.

      Lesson details

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. 'Wie sagt man das?' means 'How do you say that?'.
      2. 'Wie schreibt man das?' means 'How do you write that?'.
      3. Knowing the German alphabet allows you to spell words out loud and write them down.

      Keywords

      • Wie? - how?

      • Wissen - irregular verb meaning 'to know' something

      • Weiß - 1st person singular of 'wissen', meaning '(I) know'

      Common misconception

      'J' is pronounced the same in both English and German.

      In German, 'j' is pronounced like 'yot' and sounds like the English 'y'. The German letter 'y' is called 'oopsilon'. It sounds like the German 'j' at the start of borrowed words, e.g., 'Yoga', but like a short ü 'oo' in others, e.g. 'das System'.

      Encourage learners to add some of the trickier alphabet sounds to their Wortschatz, e.g. J / V / W / Y as well as the additional four letters, Ä, Ö, Ü, ß.
      Teacher tip

      Equipment

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

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      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which words contain the [ei] sound?

      Correct answer: frei
      Correct answer: drei
      die
      Correct answer: ein

      Q2.
      Match the German words below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:rosarot,pink
      Correct Answer:blau,blue
      Correct Answer:gelb,yellow
      Correct Answer:rot,red

      Q3.
      True or false? You use 'nicht' with nouns.

      Correct Answer: False

      Q4.
      Which sentence means 'I am not a colour.'?

      Ich bin keine Flasche.
      Ich bin eine Farbe.
      Du bist keine Farbe.
      Correct answer: Ich bin keine Farbe.

      Q5.
      Match each subject below to its form of 'sein'.

      Correct Answer:du,bist
      Correct Answer:ich,bin
      Correct Answer:das,ist

      Q6.
      Put the words below in the correct order to make a question in German.

      1 - ist
      2 - das
      3 - klar

      Assessment exit quiz

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      6 Questions

      Q1.
      How many extra letters does the German alphabet have compared to the English alphabet?

      0
      1
      2
      3
      Correct answer: 4

      Q2.
      Match the German words or sentences below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:Wie sagt man?,How do you say?
      Correct Answer:Wie schreibt man?,How do you write?
      Correct Answer:wissen,to know, knowing
      Correct Answer:Ich weiß nicht.,I don't know.
      Correct Answer:Ist das klar?,Is that clear?
      Correct Answer:Das ist nicht klar.,That is not clear.

      Q3.
      Match the German words or phrases below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:der Tisch,table
      Correct Answer:ein Tisch,a table
      Correct Answer:kein Tisch,no, not a table
      Correct Answer:die Nummer,number
      Correct Answer:eine Nummer,a number
      Correct Answer:keine Nummer,no, not a number

      Q4.
      Match the German verbs below to the correct English translations.

      Correct Answer:sagt,says, tells
      Correct Answer:sagen,to say, to tell
      Correct Answer:ist,is
      Correct Answer:sein,to be, being
      Correct Answer:bist,are

      Q5.
      Wie sagt man 'but'?

      oder
      schwarz
      Correct answer: aber

      Q6.
      Wie sagt man 'goodbye' auf Deutsch?

      Correct Answer: Tschüs, Tschüss, 'Tschüs', Tschues, Tschuess

      Lesson appears in

      UnitGerman / In the classroom: 'sein', nouns, articles, questions

      German

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