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.
