The German Umlaut: Double down with the double dots (2024)

The Umlaut has a strong association with the German language. It’s more than just a decorative diacritical. It’s an accent mark that packs a real punch, affecting both the sound and meaning of German words.

We’ll touch briefly on the origins of the Umlaut. Then, we’ll look into the places you’re most likely to find it in German words. We’ll also talk a bit about how to pronounce and type these special sounds. Lastly, we’ll answer a few frequently asked questions about Umlauts.

What is a German Umlaut?

Originally, the word Umlaut – coined by folklorist and linguist Jacob Grimm – applied to the sound of the vowels themselves. Nowadays, we think of it as the two dots above certain vowels in German: ä, ö, and ü.

At one point, the Umlaut sound was represented by a tiny e above the affected letter or an e next to the affected letter. That’s why an e is still sometimes used in place of the double-dotted punctuation to indicate the Umlaut sound, like in the name of the huge German law firm Hengeler Mueller.

Even though the Umlaut can be replaced by an e, it’s never placed above one in German. Nor will you find a German i sporting an Umlaut.

Why are Umlauts used?

German Umlauts can appear for several different reasons. When you’re first studying German, these reasons may not be clear.

Don’t worry, though. As you learn more words, you’ll start to see some patterns. Here are a few places you’ll frequently spot Umlauts.

Umlauts in plurals

Not all German plurals use Umlauts. That said, many masculine nouns in German are made plural by adding an Umlaut and a final -e. Here are several of them.

Table: German masculine plurals formed with an Umlaut and final -e

Singular

Plural

English meaning

der Bach

die Bäche

stream(s)

der Bart

die Bärte

beard(s)

der Baum

die Bäume

tree(s)

der Fuß

die Füße

foot, feet

der Gast

die Gäste

guest(s)

der Schuh

die Schühe

shoe(s)

der Sohn

die Söhne

son(s)

Roughly 30 feminine nouns in German form their plurals in the same way. Here are several of the most common ones:

Table: German feminine plurals formed with an Umlaut and final -e

Singular

Plural

English meaning

die Angst

die Ängste

fear(s)

die Bank

die Bänke

bank(s)

die Frucht

die Früchte

fruit(s)

die Hand

die Hände

hand(s)

die Herkunft

die Herkünfte

origin(s)

die Kuh

die Kühe

cow(s)

die Maus

die Mäuse

mouse, mice

die Nacht

die Nächte

night(s)

die Nuss

die Nüsse

nut(s)

die Stadt

die Städte

city, cities

die Wurst

die Würste

sausage(s)

Floß (raft) is the only neuter German noun that follows this pattern in the plural, becoming Flöße (rafts). A few German plurals are created by adding both an Umlaut and a final -er. This only happens with a few masculine and neuter words.

Table: German plurals formed with an Umlaut and final -er

Singular

Plural

English meaning

das Amt

die Ämter

office position(s)

das Blatt

die Blätter

leaf, leaves

das Fahrrad

die Fahrräder

bicycle(s)

das Haus

die Häuser

house(s)

der Mann

die Männer

man, men

der Wald

die Wälder

forest(s)

das Wort

die Wörter

word(s)

Two dozen masculine words simply add an Umlaut to create the plural form. Only a couple of feminine and neuter words fit this pattern:

Table: German plurals formed with only an added Umlaut

Singular

Plural

English meaning

der Mantel

die Mäntel

coat(s)

der Vater

die Väter

father(s)

die Mutter

die Mütter

mother(s)

die Tochter

die Töchter

daughter(s)

das Wasser

die Wässer/die Wasser

water(s)

das Kloster

die Klöster

cloister(s); convent(s)

Umlauts in nicknames

Umlauts are often used in the formation of nicknames as well as other German words that take the -chen ending. Zum Beispiel (for example):

  • Hündchen (puppy)
  • Häschen (bunny, sweetheart)
  • Mädchen (girl)
  • Brötchen (bread roll)

Adding the -chen ending generally means adding an Umlaut to the a, o, or u in the root word. You won’t see an Umlaut in the word Kaninchen (rabbit) or Schweinchen (piglet).

Umlauts in verbs

The Umlaut is used in some stem-changing verbs with the letter a in their stems. For instance:

Fahren forms with Umlaut

English Translation

du fährst

you (singular informal) drive

ihr fährt

you (plural informal) drive

Sometimes, adding an Umlaut can change the meaning of a verb. For example, ich hatte means “I had.” However, ich hätte means “I would have.”

How to pronounce German Umlaut sounds

Some umlauted vowels are pronounced differently in various dialects of German. For that reason, we’re going to stick to Standard German pronunciations here.

Mouth positions play an important role in these pronunciations.

ä (a Umlaut)

The ä sound in German is somewhat similar to the tight e sound in the English words “bed” or “fell.” It also sounds like the e in “meh” or the e in the name of Vienna-based PEZ candies.

As you practice the ä sound, keep your lips wide, like you’re grimacing. Try to imitate the permanent facial expression of Beaker, Muppet Labs’ long-suffering assistant to Doctor Bunsen Honeydew.

The äu sound

When ä is combined with ü, it’s pronounced like “oy” in English.

Examples:

  • träumen – to dream
  • aufräumen – to tidy up
  • Häuser – houses
  • er läuft – he runs

ö (o Umlaut)

Form a tight ring with your lips, with your tongue touching your lower teeth. Try saying the English word “burn” or “bird” but with a British – rather than American – accent. This will give you an approximation of the German ö sound.

  • zwölf – twelve
  • schön – beautiful
  • Löwe – lion
  • öffnen – to open

ü (u Umlaut)

Method 1: As you’re saying “eeeee,” tighten your lips into a pucker. With your lips held in pucker position, the “eeeee” should transform into ü.

Method 2: Using the same ring-shaped mouth position, you can also try saying the word “moo” repeatedly. The English oo sound should start morphing into the German ü.

If you’re familiar with French, you’ll find that the u in puce (flea) or tu (you) is just like the German ü.

  • fünf – five
  • hübsch – pretty
  • früh – early
  • süß – sweet

How can I type vowels with the German Umlaut?

Don’t have ä, ö, and ü on your keyboard? No worries! Here’s how to type these essential German vowels.

Umlauts on mobile devices

Hold your finger on the a, o, or u. A menu should appear with alternate forms for each letter. Slide your finger up to select ä, ö, or ü.

Umlauts on desktop operating systems

With a few keystroke combinations, it’s fairly straightforward to type these umlauted vowels. Windows and MacOS use different codes for these letters.

Windows

Vowel

Lowercase

Uppercase

ä/Ä

ALT+0228

ALT+0196

ö/Ö

ALT+0246

ALT+0214

ü/Ü

ALT+0252

ALT+0220

MacOS

Vowel

Lowercase

Uppercase

ä/Ä

OPTION+u+a

OPTION+u+A

ö/Ö

OPTION+u+o

OPTION+u+O

ü/Ü

OPTION+u+u

OPTION+u+U

Final thoughts on using the Umlaut

The Umlaut occurs frequently in German. It changes the meaning and pronunciation of words. Probably the best way to make sure you’ve mastered it is to take German classes, where you can ask questions and practice speaking, listening, and writing.

If you’re ready to test out your pronunciation, you can look for a German conversation partner on a language exchange app. Attempt to imitate their pronunciation and ask for some pointers.

Studying 1-on-1 in live lessons with a tutor will provide plenty of pronunciation practice opportunities. Seek a tutor who will cater to your learning style and help you meet your goals. On the more practical side, your tutor should also fit your budget and your schedule.

The German Umlaut: Double down with the double dots (2024)
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