The German alphabet consists of 26 letters, similar to the English alphabet, plus four additional characters: ä, ö, ü, and ß. The letters are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. Each letter has a specific pronunciation, and some letters can have different sounds depending on their placement in a word. In German, vowels can be modified with umlauts, which change their pronunciation. For example, ä sounds like the "a" in "cat," while ö and ü have unique sounds not found in English. The ß character, known as "Eszett," represents a sharp "s" sound and is used in specific contexts, primarily in Germany and Austria.