If you’ve spent any time with German, you’ve run into ß — the character in Straße (street), Fußball (soccer), and groß (big). It looks like a fancy B, but it isn’t one. It’s not even a diacritic like ä or ö. It’s its own letter, with its own name, its own rules, and — as of relatively recently — its own capital form.
This guide covers how to type ß on every platform, what it actually is, and the one rule that trips up almost everyone learning German: when you can substitute “ss” instead.
What Is ß, Exactly?
ß is called the eszett (from the old letter names “s” and “z”) or scharfes S — “sharp s.” It represents a single “ss” sound, but German uses it in specific situations governed by vowel length, not just habit.
The short version of the rule: ß follows a long vowel or diphthong; ss follows a short vowel.
- groß (big) — long “o” sound → ß
- Fluss (river) — short “u” sound → ss
- Straße (street) — long “a” sound → ß
- muss (must) — short “u” sound → ss
This is a real spelling rule, not a stylistic choice — straße and strasse aren’t interchangeable variants; using the wrong one is a spelling error in standard German, similar to a misplaced Spanish accent changing a word’s correctness.
How to Type ß on Windows
Alt Code (most reliable):
| Character | Code |
|---|---|
| ß (lowercase) | Alt + 0223 |
| ẞ (uppercase) | Alt + 7838 |
Hold Alt, type the code on your numeric keypad, release. Num Lock must be on.
German keyboard layout:
If you type German regularly, adding the German keyboard layout (Settings → Time & Language → Language → Add a language → German) puts ß on a dedicated key — typically where the hyphen sits on a US keyboard. Faster than any code once you’re used to the layout.
Word/Google Docs AutoCorrect:
Set a text replacement (e.g., ;ss → ß) if you type German often — genuinely faster than remembering Alt codes.
How to Type ß on Mac
Option key shortcut:
Press Option + S — one keystroke, no dead key involved (unlike accented vowels, ß doesn’t require a second letter press).
Uppercase ẞ:
The direct Option shortcut only produces lowercase ß. For the capital form, use the Character Viewer: press Control + Command + Space, search “capital sharp s,” and double-click to insert.
Press and hold:
Hold the S key — ß sometimes appears in the popup alongside other s-variants, though this is less consistent than the direct Option shortcut.
How to Type ß on Mobile
iPhone and Android:
- Switch your keyboard to German (Settings → Keyboard → Add Keyboard → Deutsch), or
- Press and hold the S key — on many keyboards, ß appears in the popup options
If ß doesn’t appear in your press-and-hold popup, adding the German keyboard is the more reliable fix, since it also gives you proper German autocorrect.
Need ß or any other German character fast? Our Device Shortcut Generator shows the exact shortcut for your device.”
The Surprising Truth About Capital ß
Here’s the fact most guides miss: a capital ß didn’t officially exist until 2017.
For most of modern German history, when a word with ß needed to be capitalized — like in all-caps headlines or signage — writers substituted SS instead, because no official uppercase form existed. Straße in all caps became STRASSE, not STRAßE.
In 2017, the German Council for German Orthography officially added the capital letter ẞ to the German alphabet. It’s slowly appearing in dictionaries, some official documents, and typography — but SS is still the far more common and universally understood substitute, especially since many fonts, older software, and most people’s muscle memory don’t include the new capital form yet.
Practical takeaway: for everyday writing, capitalize ß as SS. The capital ẞ exists and is technically correct, but it’s not yet the expected default the way, say, capitalizing É in French is.
When You Can Substitute “ss” for ß
If you’re on a device where typing ß genuinely isn’t practical — or writing to an audience using Swiss German, which dropped ß entirely in the 1930s — substituting ss is an accepted fallback almost everywhere except formal German writing.
Switzerland doesn’t use ß at all. Swiss Standard German writes Strasse, not Straße, in all contexts. If you’re specifically writing for a Swiss German audience, ss isn’t a substitute — it’s the correct spelling.
For everyone else: ss is a widely understood workaround, but not the “correct” spelling in Germany and Austria. Use the real ß when you can.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ß just two S’s mashed together?
Not quite — historically it likely evolved from a ligature of “long s” (ſ) and either “z” or a second “s,” depending on the source. Visually it resembles a fancy B, which trips up a lot of English speakers, but it has no relation to B at all.
Do all German-speaking countries use ß?
No — Germany and Austria use it; Switzerland and Liechtenstein don’t, writing “ss” in all cases instead.
Why does my keyboard autocorrect ß to B?
Autocorrect and some fonts occasionally misrender ß due to its visual similarity to B, especially in poor-quality or non-German-aware fonts. This is a rendering issue, not a rule.
Can I always use ss instead of ß?
For casual writing, informal messages, or when technically limited, yes — it’s understood everywhere. For formal writing, official documents, or anything meant to reflect correct German spelling (outside Switzerland), use the real ß.
The Bottom Line
ß isn’t a decoration on top of German words — it’s a real letter with a real spelling rule behind it, following long vowels where “ss” follows short ones. Option + S makes it a one-keystroke character on Mac; Alt + 0223 covers Windows. And now you know the trivia most guides skip: German didn’t have an official capital ß until 2017, which is why SS still rules in most all-caps German text today.