buchstabieren

to spell out

verb bookh-shta-BEE-ren Rare

Origin: from Buchstabe (letter)

Usage Note

buchstabieren means to spell a word out letter by letter, derived from Buchstabe (a letter of the alphabet). As a verb ending in -ieren it forms its participle without ge-: buchstabiert. Germans use a fixed spelling alphabet (Anton, Berta...) on the phone.

Examples

"Können Sie Ihren Namen bitte buchstabieren?"

Natural Translation

Could you please spell your name?

Literal Translation

Can you your name please spell-out?

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