How to Type German Umlauts (ä ö ü) and ß

Quick answer: On a Mac, press Option + U, release, then type the vowel (a, o or u); Option + S gives ß. On Windows, use the numeric keypad: Alt + 0228 (ä), Alt + 0246 (ö), Alt + 0252 (ü), Alt + 0223 (ß). Copy them here:

äa with Umlaut (ä)U+E4CopyDetails
öo with Umlaut (ö)U+F6CopyDetails
üu with Umlaut (ü)U+FCCopyDetails
ßEszett / Sharp S (ß)U+DFCopyDetails

German uses three umlaut letters (ä, ö, ü), their capitals (Ä, Ö, Ü) and the sharp s, ß (Eszett). If you just need to write a few words, the SymbolHero Accent Keyboard has a German row with all of them: type your text, click the letters where you need them, and copy the result. If you type German regularly, set up one of the keyboard methods below.

German special characters: codes at a glance

The four-digit codes with a leading zero use the Windows-1252 character set; the three-digit codes use the older DOS code page 437. Both need the numeric keypad with Num Lock on. The Alt code finder covers every other accented letter.

How to type umlauts on Windows

Alt codes

1. Turn on Num Lock.
2. Hold Alt and type the code on the numeric keypad, for example 0252 for ü.
3. Release Alt.

This is fine for occasional use. It does not work with the number row, so most thin laptops need one of the next methods.

US-International layout

The United States-International layout keeps your familiar US keys but makes the quotation-mark key a dead key. Press Shift + ' (the " key), release, then press a vowel:

• " then A = ä, " then O = ö, " then U = ü
• Hold Shift on the vowel for Ä, Ö, Ü
• For a plain quotation mark, press " then Space

The same layout also offers one-step combinations with the right Alt key: Right Alt + Q = ä, Right Alt + P = ö, Right Alt + Y = ü and Right Alt + S = ß.

To add it, open Settings and go to Time & language > Language & region, open your language’s options, and add the United States-International keyboard. Toggle layouts with Windows + Space.

German keyboard layout

If you write mostly in German, the German (QWERTZ) layout puts ä, ö, ü and ß on their own keys. Be aware that it swaps Y and Z and moves a lot of punctuation, so touch typists used to US keys may find US-International easier.

Symbol panel and Character Map

Press Windows + ., open the Symbols tab and browse the Latin symbols, or open Character Map and copy the letter.

How to type umlauts on a Mac

1. Press Option + U. A highlighted ¨ appears.
2. Release and press A, O or U (hold Shift for a capital).

For ß, press Option + S. You can also press and hold A, O, U or S to pick from a menu of variants. The Option + U dead key works on other vowels too, giving ë, ï and ÿ.

Word, Excel and Google Docs

• Word: type the code and press Alt + X: 00E4 (ä), 00F6 (ö), 00FC (ü), 00DF (ß), 1E9E (ẞ). Or use Insert > Symbol > More Symbols.
• Excel: =UNICHAR(228) ä, =UNICHAR(246) ö, =UNICHAR(252) ü, =UNICHAR(223) ß.
• Google Docs: Insert > Special characters, then search “diaeresis” or “sharp s”.

iPhone and Android

Press and hold a, o or u and slide to the umlaut version. Hold s for ß. Adding a German keyboard in your phone’s settings gives you German autocorrect, which inserts umlauts for you as you type common words.

The capital sharp s (ẞ)

Traditionally ß had no capital form; in all-caps text it was written as SS (Straße becomes STRASSE). Unicode added a capital sharp s, ẞ (U+1E9E), in 2008, and German orthography rules have allowed it in capitals since 2017, although SS remains correct and common. There is no Windows Alt code or standard Mac shortcut for ẞ; copy it, use Word’s 1E9E + Alt + X, or write ẞ in HTML. Note that many programs’ “uppercase” functions still convert ß to SS rather than ẞ.

Umlaut vs diaeresis

The two dots over a vowel have two names. In German they are an umlaut and signal a change in vowel sound (schon vs schön). In English, French and other languages they are a diaeresis and show that a vowel is pronounced separately, as in naïve or Noël. Unicode does not distinguish them: ü is the same character (U+00FC, LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS) whether it appears in German or anywhere else.

When you can’t type umlauts

German has a standard fallback: write ä as ae, ö as oe, ü as ue and ß as ss (Müller becomes Mueller, Straße becomes Strasse). This is the accepted substitute in email addresses, URLs and old systems. Simply dropping the dots (Muller) is wrong and can change the meaning. Swiss Standard German uses ss instead of ß as a matter of normal spelling.

Troubleshooting

• Alt codes don’t work: Num Lock is off, or you’re using the top number row. Use a keypad, US-International, or the accent keyboard.
• Y and Z are swapped: the German layout is active. Press Windows + Space to switch back.
• Quotation marks don’t appear: US-International’s " is waiting for a letter; press Space after it.
• ü appears as ü: the text is UTF-8 being read with the wrong encoding. Save and serve files as UTF-8.
• Search doesn’t find “Müller”: the word may use u plus a combining diaeresis (U+0308) instead of the single character ü. Check with the Unicode lookup.

Related characters

• ä, ö, ü, ß
• Ä, Ö, Ü
• Other diaeresis letters: ë, ï, ÿ
• German quotation marks: „ and “
• All accented Latin letters

FAQ

What is the Alt code for ü?

Alt + 0252 (or Alt + 129) on the numeric keypad. Capital Ü is Alt + 0220.

How do I type ß on a US keyboard?

On Windows use Alt + 0223, or Right Alt + S with the US-International layout. On a Mac press Option + S.

Can I write ss instead of ß?

Yes. ss is the standard substitute when ß is unavailable, and it is the normal spelling in Switzerland.

Is ä the same as a with a diaeresis?

Yes. Unicode encodes it once, as LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS (U+00E4). “Umlaut” describes its role in German.