Ä ä
A with umlaut
Use Ä or ä in the original spelling. The standard technical fallback is Ae or ae.
GERMAN CHARACTER COLLECTION
German letters: Ä, Ö, Ü, ß, and ẞ
Copy the German umlaut vowels and sharp S characters. Use the focused pages below for complete shortcuts, codes, spelling guidance, and examples.
Click a character, then paste with Ctrl+V or ⌘V.
Umlaut vowels Ä Ö ÜSharp S ß ẞFormat Unicode text
FOCUSED REFERENCES
Choose the German letter you need
This collection keeps the whole German set together without repeating the detailed reference for each character. Open a focused page when you need keyboard shortcuts, Unicode and HTML codes, word examples, or help distinguishing a similar-looking letter.
Ö ö
O with umlaut
Ö is different from both plain O and the slashed letter Ø. The fallback is Oe or oe.
Ü ü
U with umlaut
Ü is an umlaut in German. The standard technical fallback is Ue or ue.
ß ẞ
German sharp S
ß is called Eszett or sharp S. ẞ is its capital form, while SS remains an established uppercase representation.
SPELLING BOUNDARIES
German character substitutions when the original is unavailable
Ä, Ö, and Ü are vowel letters formed with the German umlaut. The dots belong to the spelling and can distinguish both sound and meaning. ß is a consonant. It is part of the German character set, but it is not an umlaut.
| German character | Fallback in ordinary text | All-capital form |
|---|---|---|
| Ä / ä | Ae / ae | AE |
| Ö / ö | Oe / oe | OE |
| Ü / ü | Ue / ue | UE |
| ẞ / ß | SS / ss when a fallback is required | ẞ where appropriate, or SS |
Use the original characters whenever Unicode text is supported. These are fallbacks for technical limitations, not preferred replacements.
For personal names and official records, preserve the spelling supplied by the person or issuing authority and follow the destination’s requirements. These substitutions are German-specific and should not be applied automatically to similar-looking letters in other languages.
Swiss Standard German
Swiss Standard German normally writes ss where German orthography elsewhere may use ß. The umlaut letters ä, ö, and ü are still used.
WRITING OPTIONS
Copy a letter or write with a German layout
The copy buttons above are convenient for an occasional character. For several words, use the online German keyboard. For regular German writing, add a German input layout to your operating system so that ä, ö, ü, and ß are available directly.
Shortcuts vary by layout. The focused letter pages provide Windows, Mac, mobile, Microsoft Word, Unicode, and HTML guidance for each character.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about German letters
What are the special letters in German?
German uses the umlaut vowels Ä, Ö, and Ü, with lowercase ä, ö, and ü, plus sharp S in lowercase ß and uppercase ẞ.
Is ß an umlaut letter?
No. ß is a consonant called sharp S or Eszett. Only the German vowels ä, ö, and ü are umlaut letters.
Can I replace ä, ö, and ü with a, o, and u?
Not as the standard fallback. Use ae, oe, and ue when the original umlaut character is unavailable. Preserve the actual umlaut whenever the system accepts it.
Does lowercase ß always become ẞ in uppercase?
No. ẞ is an uppercase form, but SS remains an established uppercase representation. Follow the spelling or style required for the name, word, or document.
Related German resources
References: Unicode Latin-1 names list, Unicode character and casing FAQ, and official German spelling rules.