How do I type German umlauts on an English keyboard?

Use our virtual German keyboard above. Click on any umlaut character to add it to your text area. Alternatively, on Windows you can use Alt codes (Alt+0228 for a with umlaut), but our tool is much faster and easier to use.

What is the Eszett character?

The Eszett (sharp s) is a unique German character that represents a double 's' sound. It looks like a letter B but is actually derived from a ligature of long s and z. In 2017, an uppercase form was officially added to the German alphabet.

When should I use umlauts vs writing ae, oe, ue?

Native German text should always use proper umlauts when possible. The substitutions ae, oe, ue are acceptable when umlauts aren't available (like in some email addresses or URLs), but they can sometimes change meaning - for example, 'schon' (already) vs 'schoen/schon' (beautiful).

German Keyboard

Click characters below to type German text with umlauts and eszett. Copy the result when you're done.

Copied to clipboard!

Your text:

Umlaute (Umlauts)

Lowercase

Uppercase

Eszett (Sharp S)

Left: lowercase eszett. Right: uppercase Eszett (added to Unicode in 2008).

Common German Punctuation

German quotation marks, guillemets, Euro sign, and section sign (Paragraph).

German Character Reference

Character	Name	Alt Code	HTML
ä	a-umlaut	Alt+0228	ä
ö	o-umlaut	Alt+0246	ö
ü	u-umlaut	Alt+0252	ü
Ä	A-umlaut	Alt+0196	Ä
Ö	O-umlaut	Alt+0214	Ö
Ü	U-umlaut	Alt+0220	Ü
ß	Eszett	Alt+0223	ß

Learn More About the German Alphabet

See the full German alphabet with pronunciation guides, examples, and usage tips.

View German Alphabet