Before this lesson: make sure you've covered German Alphabet first.
German adds four characters you won't find in English: three umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and the sharp S (ß). They change how a word sounds and can even change its meaning — so they're not optional extras, they're real letters.
Types you should know
Ä / ä
like the "e" in "bed"
Ö / ö
say "ir" (as in bird) with rounded lips
Ü / ü
say "ee" with rounded lips
ß
a sharp "s" sound, used after long vowels
Examples
German
English
Mädchen
girl — MAYT-khen
schön
beautiful — SHURN
müde
tired — MEW-duh
Straße
street — SHTRAH-suh
Memory trick: If you can't type an umlaut, German allows you to write "ae", "oe", "ue", and "ss" instead — schön = schoen, Straße = Strasse.
⚠ Common mistake: Don't just ignore the dots! "schon" (already) and "schön" (beautiful) are completely different words.