German Umlauts – ä, ö, ü

Ever heard someone try to imitate German? It usually involves exaggerated throat-clearing and attempts at pronouncing tricky words like “Schmetterling.” For those unacquainted with the language, learning German might feel like a daunting task. But with around 130 million German speakers out there, picking up the language can open up a world of opportunities.

Sure, German can be complicated, but with practice and time, anyone can get the hang of it. Its complexities and linguistic quirks make it a great language for those who love learning new and challenging words.

One interesting characteristic of the German language is its letters, particularly the three additional ones that make its alphabet unique: ä, ö, and ü. These special characters, known as umlauts, are distinctive features of German orthography. Further, we will explain what they are and provide guidance on how to pronounce German words with umlauts.

What Are Umlauts?

In German and Scandinavian languages, umlauts happen when vowels in a word mix, especially when one is said at the front of the mouth and the other at the back. To make speaking smoother, people tweaked one of the vowels, and that’s how umlauts were born.

Historically, this adjustment was sometimes denoted by adding an “e” after the vowel in written form, leading to combinations like “ae”, “oe”, and “ue”. Nowadays, it’s common to represent umlauts in writing using special marks like dots above the vowels, such as ä, ö, and ü.

Learning a new language can be tough, especially when you have to say sounds your mouth isn’t used to. Languages often find ways to make pronunciation easier, and umlauts are one example.

What Are the Types of German Umlauts?

There are three German umlauts in addition to the 26 letters of the alphabet. These umlauts are:

• Ä – as in Äpfel (apples)
• Ö – as in Österreich (Austria)
• Ü – as in Grüße (greetings)

Umlauts are characterized by the two dots on top of the letter and are very useful for learning German. They play a crucial role in both grammar and pronunciation. The presence or absence of umlauts can change the meaning of words and their grammatical function.

Like with German vowels, each umlaut – ä, ö, ü – can be pronounced in two ways: “short” and “long.” This distinction helps differentiate between words and affects pronunciation. Short umlauts are said quickly, while for long umlauts, you will have to hold the sound for a bit.

How to Pronounce German Umlauts?

German umlauts are highly useful in the language, but for non-native speakers, they can be difficult sounds to master. This is because your language may not have equivalent sounds that match the umlauts in German. To help you learn how to pronounce German umlauts, we’ll use English words to give you an idea of how they sound.

Pronouncing the Umlaut Ä

To pronounce the umlaut Ä in German, follow these steps:

 

1. Start with the sound of the English letter “E” as in “bed.”
2. Keep your mouth slightly more open than when pronouncing the English “E.”
3. Relax your lips and keep your tongue in the middle of your mouth, neither too high nor too low.

The long “Ä” is essentially the same sound but held for a longer duration.

For a better idea of the pronunciation, we’ve compiled a list of examples of words that sound like Ä and some German words that use this umlaut.

Umlaut	Sound	English Example	German Word
Short Ä	/ɛ/  in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)   Pronounced like the “e” sound in the English word “bed” or “bet.”	the “e” in bed the “ea” in head the “e” in met	Äpfel (apples) Männer (men) Käse (cheese) März (March)
				Long Ä	/ɛ:/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)   Start with the Short Ä and lengthen it + add a silent H	the “e” in end   the “ie” in friend   the “a” in sad	Ähnlich (similar)   Mädchen (girl)   Nächste (next)   Krähe (crow)

Note: There’s an exception to the typical pronunciation of the letter “ä” when it’s paired with the vowel “u.” In this case, it’s pronounced similarly to the “oi” sound in the English word “ointment”. For instance, in words like “Läufer” (runner), “Träume” (dreams), and “Häufig” (frequent).

For a better idea of how to pronounce the Ä umlaut, check out the audio recordings below from German learning sites.

• Short Ä audio recording.
• Long Ä audio recording.

Pronouncing the Umlaut Ö

Pronouncing the Umlaut Ö can be tricky, especially for non-native German speakers. For English speakers specifically, this isn’t easy because English does not have a similar sound.  So, if you’re learning German, practicing Ö is essential for accurate pronunciation.

Think of the Ö sound as resembling the French “œ” in “œuf” or the “u” in the English word “turn.” To pronounce the Umlaut Ö in German:

1. Start by forming your lips into a halfway circle, similar to when you say “O.”
2. Next, try to produce the sound of the short Ä while maintaining the lip position from step 1.

We’ve compiled examples that you can use as a basis to be able to say the umlaut Ö.

Umlaut	Sound	English Example	German Word
Short Ö	[œ] in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)   Start saying “ê” and purse your lips into an O.	the “i” in flirt   the “o” in word	Öffnen – To open   Stöcke – Sticks   Wörter – Words   Löffel – Spoon
				Long Ö	[ø] in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)   Lengthen the Short Ö	the “o” in Worm   the “i” in Bird	Öl – Oil   Mögen– To like   Böse – Evil   Hören – To hear

 

Below, you’ll find audio recordings from German learning sites that demonstrate how to pronounce the Ö umlaut. They provide examples of words with Ö to help you understand its pronunciation.

• Short Ö audio recording.
• Long Ö audio recording.

Pronouncing the Umlaut Ü

The last umlaut in the German language is the Ü. Similar to the Ö, there is no sound in the English language, which is the equivalent of this umlaut.

Follow the steps below, to pronounce Ü:

1. Begin by making the sound “ee” as in the English word “see.”
2. While making this sound, purse your lips as if you were whistling, almost closing them completely.
3. Keep your tongue in the same position as when saying “ee” but change the shape of your mouth as if you were saying “oo.”

We’ve compiled examples that you can use as a basis to be able to say the umlaut Ü.

Unfortunately, this umlaut is almost impossible to find in any English word, so there are no examples of it in the language.

Umlaut	Sound	French Example	German Word
Short Ü	[ʏ] in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Say the sound “ee” and purse your lips almost completely shut.	the “u” in tu (you)	Rücken – Back Küche – Kitchen Hütte – Hut Müll – Garbage
				Long Ü	[yː] in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Lengthen the Short Ü.	the “ue” in rue (street)	Bühne – Stage Bücher – Books Üben – Practice Mühle – Mill

 

For a better idea on how to pronounce the Ü umlaut, below you will find an audio recording from German learning sites where examples of the use of Ü are provided.

• Short Ü audio recording.
• Long Ü audio recording.

Summary of German Umlaut Pronunciation

In summary, the three German umlauts are pronounced as follows:

• Ä – make the sound “eh” or “ê” without gliding into the sound “ey”;
• Ö – make the sound “ê” and purse your lips into an O shape;
• Ü – make the sound “ee” and then purse your lips as if you are whistling;

Reading how to pronounce something and seeing examples can give you a pretty good idea of how to pronounce the umlauts. However, it is much better when you listen to it. The video below gives a short overview of how to pronounce the German umlauts.

How to Pronounce an Umlaut | German Lessons

What Are German Umlauts Used For?

Umlauts are important in German because they can change the meaning, pronunciation, and grammatical function of words. Not using them will confuse those who are reading or listening to you speaking German.

Umlauts are used in various patterns, such as:

• Differentiating between singular vs. plural nouns.
• Second and third-person verb conjugations in the present tense.
• Differentiating between past actions and expressing wishes or hypothetical situations.
• Comparative and superlative adjectives.
• Creating cuter versions of words.

Let’s explore more about these patterns below:

Singular and Plural Nouns

In many cases, the vowel in a German noun changes to an umlaut when it transitions from singular to plural. For example, the word “house” is singular, and in German, it is “Haus”. In the plural, the English version becomes “houses”, while in German, it becomes “Häuser”.

Additional examples include:

Singular	Plural
der Mann (the man)	die Männer (the men)
der Apfel (the apple)	die Äpfel (the apples)
der Vogel (the bird)	die Vögel (the birds)
das Wort (the word)	die Wörter (the words)
der Fuß (the foot)	die Füße (the feet)
der Kuss (the kiss)	die Küsse (the kisses)

Second and Third-Person Conjugations of Irregular Verbs

Umlauts also occur when conjugating specific Germanic strong (irregular) verbs in the second and third-person singular forms of the present tense. This commonly happens with verbs that feature the stem vowel “a”.

Let’s illustrate this with some examples and their conjugations:

Verb	ich (I)	du (you, singular)	er/sie/es (he/she/it)
backen (to bake)	backe (I bake)	bäckst (you bake)	bäckt (he/she/it bakes)
fangen (to catch)	fange (I catch)	fängst (you catch)	fängt (he/she/it catches)
schlafen (to sleep)	schlafe (I sleep)	schläfst (you sleep)	schläft (he/she/it sleeps)
waschen (to wash)	wasche (I wash)	wäschst (you wash)	wäscht (he/she/it washes)

The Simple Past Subjunctive Mood II (Konjunktiv II)

The Subjunctive II mood in German, also known as Konjunktiv II, is used for hypothetical situations, wishes, politeness, and reported speech. The umlaut is often added to the simple past stem vowel “a”, “o”, or “u” in the subjunctive II forms. This transformation differentiates subjunctive II forms from their indicative counterparts in strong verbs

Strong verbs like “geben” (to give) gain an umlaut, creating forms like “gäbe” (would give). For instance, in the indicative mood, we say “Er gab mir das Buch” (He gave me the book), but in the subjunctive II, we express a hypothetical situation with “Wenn er Zeit hätte, gäbe er mir das Buch” (If he had time, he would give me the book).

This transformation also occurs with several other verbs, including:

Verb	Indicative simple past tense	Subjunctive II simple past tense
finden (to find)	ich fand (I found)	ich fände (I would find)
haben (to have)	ich hatte (I had)	ich hätte (I would have)
nehmen (to take)	ich nahm (I took)	ich nähme (I would take)
lesen (to read)	ich las (I read)	ich läse (I would read)
sein (to be)	ich war (I was)	ich wäre (I would be)

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are crucial for comparing people, objects, or situations, while superlative adjectives express the highest degree of a quality among a group. Some German adjectives with stem vowels “o” or “u”, they transform into umlauts in comparative and superlative forms.

 

For example, the adjective “kalt” (cold) becomes “kälter” in the comparative form → Im Winter ist das Klima in Kanada kälter als in Deutschland (In winter, the climate in Canada is colder than in Germany.)

The adjective “groß” (big), is transformed into”am “größten” in the superlative form →  Die Blauwale sind die größten Tiere im Meer. (The blue whales are the largest animals in the sea.)

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
lang (long)	länger (longer)	am längsten (the longest)
kalt (cold)	kälter (colder)	am kältesten (the coldest)
stark (strong)	stärker (stronger)	am stärksten (the strongest)
alt (old)	älter (older)	am ältesten (the oldest)
jung (young)	jünger (younger)	am jüngsten (the youngest)
groß (big)	größer (bigger)	am größten (the biggest)

Diminutives (Smaller or Cuter Versions of Nouns)

Diminutives are smaller or cuter versions of nouns, often used to convey endearment or indicate something small. In German, they’re formed by adding suffixes like “-chen” or “-lein” to the end of a noun. This is similar to how we add “-y” or “-ie” to the end of a word in English, in words such as “doggie” or “kitty”.

All diminutives in German take the neuter article “das”, regardless of the original noun’s gender. For example, “das Mädchen” (the girl) and “das Jüngchen” (the little boy). In forming diminutives, vowels like “a”, “u”, and “o” can transform into umlauts. Here are some other examples:

Original Noun	Diminutive (Vowel to Umlaut Shift)
der Mann (the man)	das Männlein (the little man)
der Baum (the tree)	das Bäumchen (the little tree)
der Hund (the dog)	das Hündchen (the little dog)
das Brot (the bread)	das Brötchen (the little bread roll)

How to Type the German Umlauts?

Keyboards vary by country, often customized to suit the local alphabet. If you’re not from Germany or a native German speaker, your keyboard might not have the umlauts necessary for typing correctly.

A straightforward solution is to get a German keyboard, where umlauts are conveniently located on the right-hand side, as shown in the picture below.

German Umlauts Keyboard Combination Keys

Another solution to typing German umlauts is to use keyboard combination keys (listed below)!

Microsoft Windows

For Windows users, you can type German umlauts using these keyboard combination keys:

Lowercase Umlaut	Keyboard Combination	Uppercase Umlaut	Keyboard Combination
ä	ALT 0228	Ä	ALT 0196
ö	ALT 0246	Ö	ALT 0214
ü	ALT 0252	Ü	ALT 0220

MacOS

To type the German umlauts on macOS, you can use these keyboard shortcuts:

Umlaut	Shortcut
Ä	Option + U, then release and type A
Ö	Option + U, then release and type O
Ü	Option + U, then release and type U

Phone

Typing German umlauts (Ä, Ö, Ü) on phones can vary depending on the operating system (iOS, Android) and the keyboard app you’re using. Here’s a general guide for both iOS and Android:

iOS (iPhone/iPad):

1. Press and hold the letter key on the keyboard that you want to add an umlaut to (e.g., A for Ä, O for Ö, U for Ü).
2. A pop-up menu will appear with accented variations of the letter. Slide your finger to the umlauted version you want and release.

You can also add a German keyboard to your device. Navigate to “Settings” > “General” > “Keyboard” > “Keyboards” and select “Add New Keyboard…”. Scroll or search for “German” in the list and tap to add it. Once added, you can switch between your default keyboard and the German keyboard by tapping the globe icon on the keyboard.

Android

1. Similar to iOS, press and hold the letter key on the keyboard that you want to add an umlaut to.
2. A pop-up menu should appear with accented variations of the letter. Slide your finger to the umlauted version you want and release.

You can also add a German keyboard for convenience. Navigate to “Settings” > “System” > “Language & input” > “Virtual keyboard” or “On-screen keyboard” > select your current keyboard > “Languages” > “Add keyboard” > find and tap “German” to add it. Switch between keyboards by tapping the keyboard icon in your device’s navigation bar or by long-pressing the spacebar.

Alternative Ways to Write German Umlauts

If you find adding a German keyboard or using special characters time-consuming, you can always adjust how you write umlauts. As mentioned earlier, umlauts are essentially the letter followed by “e”.

So, you can type or write them like this:

• ä = ae
• ö = oe
• ü = ue

German speakers will understand that a letter followed by “e” indicates the presence of an umlaut. So, no matter which method you choose, you’ll still be understood.

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