Do you what are those little dots and other strange, special characters in German?
Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer to this question – in this blog post, you’ll find it! The famous German umlauts, the enigmatic Eszett (ß) and other diacritical marks in German.
Before we explain it effortlessly, we highly recommend checking out Feli from Germany’s excellent video on German umlauts. She explains everything you need to know in a clear way:
Now, let’s find the mysteries of Ä, Ö, Ü, ß, and more!
1. Special German characters: the umlauts
The German umlauts are a famous feature of the language. They have an important role in both pronunciation and meaning.
The diacritical marks consist of two dots placed above certain vowels and the history of theirs goes back to the Old High German period (approximately 750-1050 AD).
First, they appeared as tiny ‘e’s written above vowels, but gradually turned into the two dots we recognize today.
German umlauts serve multiple functions in German.
They change the pronunciation of words, they change their meaning, and they can even show grammatical shifts such as pluralization or German verb conjugation.
And what are the German umlauts? Let’s explore them one by one!
Ä – ä
The umlaut ‘Ä’ has been a part of the German language since the 8th century.
Its pronunciation is similar to the ‘a’ in the English word “apple.”
This umlaut usually appears when forming plurals or in comparative forms of adjectives.
It’s a fundamental element of German phonology and orthography.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Äpfel | apples |
| Mädchen | girl |
| Bär | bear |
| Käse | cheese |
| Hände | hands |
| Ärzte | doctors |
| Gärten | gardens |
| Kälte | cold (noun) |
| Länder | countries |
| Wärme | warmth |
Ö – ö
The ‘Ö’ umlaut, which emerged around the same time as ‘Ä’, is pronounced somewhat like the ‘i’ in the English word “bird.”
It’s used in words related to size or in verb conjugations. Here are a few examples with Ö.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| schön | beautiful |
| Öl | oil |
| möchten | would like |
| Löwe | lion |
| hören | to hear |
| Öffnung | opening |
| Köche | cooks |
| Größe | size |
| Töchter | daughters |
| Vögel | birds |
Ü – ü
The ‘Ü‘ umlaut, which appeared in the 9th century, is pronounced like a blend between ‘oo’ and ‘ee’ in English.
It occurs in plural forms and in comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.
This umlaut requires a distinct mouth shape when pronounced – practice makes perfect!
| German | English |
|---|---|
| über | over |
| Tür | door |
| fünf | five |
| Gemüse | vegetables |
| Mütze | cap |
| Brüder | brothers |
| Bücher | books |
| Küche | kitchen |
| Flüge | flights |
| Frühling | spring |
2. Learn German Eszett (ß)
The Eszett, or ‘ß’, is another special character in German alphabet that originated in the late Middle Ages.
It developed as a ligature (combination) of ‘sz’ or ‘ss’ in Gothic script. The Eszett is used after long vowels and diphthongs, to show the length of the preceding vowel.
This special character in German can also change the meaning of words. For example, “in Masse” (in mass) has a different meaning form “in Maße” (in moderation). So, it’s really important to know the difference.
While Switzerland has eliminated the use of ‘ß’ in favor of ‘ss’, it remains prevalent in Germany and Austria, despite a 1996 spelling reform that increased the use of ‘ss’ in certain contexts.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Straße | street |
| groß | big |
| heiß | hot |
| Fußball | football |
| Maß | measure |
| Grüße | greetings |
| außer | except |
| Spaß | fun |
| Stoß | push |
| weiß | white |
3. Other diacritical marks in German: é, á
While umlauts and the Eszett are fundamental to German orthography, other diacritical marks such as ‘é’ or ‘á’ occasionally appear in the language.
These marks are mainly found in loanwords – especially those borrowed from French.
Although they aren’t officially part of the German alphabet, these diacritical marks are retained in borrowed words to preserve their original spelling and pronunciation.
Here are a few examples:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Café | cafe |
| Coupé | coupe (type of car) |
| Exposé | exposé |
| Varieté | variety show |
| Rosé | rosé wine |
| Pâté | pâté |
| Déjà-vu | déjà vu |
| Séance | séance |
| Attaché | attaché |
| Soufflé | soufflé |
4. How to type special characters in German
Okay, but now, the main question: how do you type these special characters in German?
You might have a German keyboard by your side, but what if you don’t have it? The good news is that you can still types special characters in German.
Depending on your device and operating system, here’s how you can do that:
Type Ä/ä on PC/Mac
- On Windows: Hold Alt and type 0196 for Ä or 0228 for ä
- On Mac: Option + U, then A for Ä or Option + U, then a for ä
- On German keyboard: Press the key with Ä/ä on it
Type Ä/ä on mobile
Press and hold A, then select Ä or ä
Type Ö/ö on PC/Mac
- On Windows: Hold Alt and type 0214 for Ö or 0246 for ö
- On Mac: Option + U, then O for Ö or Option + U, then o for ö
- On German keyboard: Press the key with Ö/ö on it
Type Ö/ö on mobile
- Press and hold O, then select Ö or ö
Type Ü/ü on PC/Mac
- On Windows: Hold Alt and type 0220 for Ü or 0252 for ü
- On Mac: Option + U, then U for Ü or Option + U, then u for ü
- On German keyboard: Press the key with Ü/ü on it
Type Ü/ü on mobile
- Press and hold U, then select Ü or ü
Type ß on PC/Mac
- On Windows: Hold Alt and type 0223
- On Mac: Option + S
- On German keyboard: Press the key with ß on it
Type ß on mobile
- Press and hold S, then select ß
5. Learn special German letters and their pronunciation with Conversation Based Chunking
It’s good to know about these special characters in German but knowing how to correctly use them is even better.
And how else would you learn these special characters in German than in context? Conversation Based Chunking helps you achieve this by teaching you with the help of natural building blocks.
We can call them lexical chunks, too – but the main goal of this approach is to teach you with the most common German phrases and expression instead of just stating the boring grammar rules and definitions.
To help you on this journey, we can send you a German Conversation Based Chunking Guide – ALL for FREE!
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