Eszett (ß): The German Sharp S Explained

The Eszett is the German letter ß, also called scharfes S (“sharp S”), and it always stands for a voiceless s sound, like the s in “see.” It never begins a word, it looks a bit like a B, and it has nothing to do with the Greek beta. Germany and Austria use it; Switzerland and Liechtenstein write ss instead. Copy it with the buttons above, or read on for where it came from and how it works.

Eszett at a glance

Feature	Eszett
Letter	ß (lowercase), ẞ (capital)
German names	Eszett, scharfes S (“sharp S”)
Sound	[s], like the s in “see”
Unicode	U+00DF (ß), U+1E9E (ẞ)
HTML	ß for ß
Windows Alt code	Alt+0223
Mac	Option+S
Fallback	ss

The name is literal. Eszett joins the German names of two letters, Es (S) and Zett (Z), because the character began as a written sz. German speakers use both names; in southern Germany and Austria scharfes S is common, and in English you will see “sharp S,” “eszett” or simply “double s.”

When you spell a word aloud in German, call the letter by its name: Fuß is spelled “eff, uh, Eszett.” It is usually listed last, after z and the three umlauts, which is how German reaches 30 letters; see how many letters are in the German alphabet.

How to pronounce the eszett

This part is easy. ß is always [s], the hissing s of English “see” or “bus.” It is never voiced like the z sound in “zoo,” which is what a single German s often becomes before a vowel (Sonne, Rose). In fact that contrast is one reason ß survives: between vowels, reisen (to travel) has a buzzing [z], while reißen (to tear) has a hissing [s].

Word	Meaning	Why ß	Hear
Straße	street	after long a	▶
groß	big	after long o	▶
Fuß	foot	after long u	▶
heißen	to be called	after diphthong ei	▶
weiß	white; knows	after diphthong ei	▶
Grüße	greetings	after long ü	▶

Every word in that table has a long vowel or a diphthong before the ß. That is the core spelling rule since the 1996 reform: ß after long vowels and diphthongs, ss after short vowels. The full rule, with exceptions and a quick test, is on our ß vs ss page.

Where the eszett came from

The letter grew out of the sz spelling of late medieval and early modern German. In blackletter writing, the long s ſ and a tailed z were joined into a single ligature, ſʒ. You can still see the kinship in Fraktur type: Straße. Roman (antiqua) printers also had an ſs ligature, mainly in Italian books, and the modern ß shape is often explained as a blend of the two traditions. The Unicode chart itself notes that the glyph may be based on ſ with either s or an old-style z.

That history is why ß has no traditional capital form. It started as a ligature that only ever appeared inside or at the end of words, so all-caps text simply wrote SS. A dedicated capital, ẞ, was proposed as early as 1879 but only became an official option in 2017; our capital eszett page covers that story. To see the long s and other old forms, try the Fraktur alphabet.

Why it matters: ß vs ss pairs

Because ß signals a long vowel and ss a short one, swapping them can change the word. These are the classic examples.

With ß	Meaning	With ss	Meaning	Hear
Maße	measurements	Masse	mass	▶
Buße	penance	Busse	buses	▶
Fuß	foot	Fluss	river	▶

Swiss German readers live with the ambiguity: in Switzerland both Maße and Masse are written Masse, and context decides.

Switzerland and Liechtenstein: no ß at all

Swiss Standard German dropped ß during the 20th century. The Education Council of Zürich stopped teaching it in 1935, and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung kept printing ß until 1971, according to Wikipedia’s ß article. Today the official rules let Switzerland always write ss, and Liechtenstein does the same. Swiss keyboards have no ß key.

Austria, by contrast, uses ß exactly as Germany does. If you are writing for a Swiss audience, replace every ß with ss: Strasse, gross, Grüsse.

How to type the eszett

• German keyboard: ß has its own key, to the right of 0. See the German keyboard layout.
• Windows (any keyboard): hold Alt and type 0223 on the numeric keypad.
• Mac: Option+S.
• US-International layout: Right Alt+S.
• Phones: long-press s and choose ß.
• No ß available: write ss. That is always acceptable.

Our how to type umlauts guide covers ä, ö and ü with the same methods.

Common mistakes with the eszett

• Using β or B. Write ß or ss, nothing else.
• Starting a word with ß. No German word begins with it.
• Using ß after a short vowel. Since 1996 it is dass, muss and Fluss, not the old daß, muß, Fluß.
• Reading it as “b” or “z.” It is always a hissing s.
• Keeping ß in Swiss texts. Swiss readers expect ss.
• Forgetting it in names. Weiß and Weiss can be different family spellings; copy the person’s own version.

For all the extra characters together, see our page on German special characters.

Frequently asked questions

What is an eszett?

The eszett (ß) is a German letter for the voiceless s sound. Its name combines the letters S (Es) and Z (Zett), because it began as a written sz.

How do you pronounce ß?

Like the s in “see.” It is never voiced and never sounds like b.

Is ß the same as ss?

It stands for the same sound, and ss is the accepted substitute. In standard spelling, ß follows long vowels and diphthongs, while ss follows short vowels.

Why doesn’t Switzerland use the eszett?

Swiss usage dropped it during the 20th century; Zürich schools stopped teaching it in 1935. The official rules allow Switzerland and Liechtenstein to always write ss.

Is ß a Greek beta?

No. They look alike in some fonts, but ß is a German Latin letter (U+00DF) and β is Greek (U+03B2). Never swap them.

Is there a capital eszett?

Yes, ẞ (U+1E9E). It was added to Unicode in 2008 and allowed in official German spelling since 2017.

Sources

• Wikipedia: ß
• Unicode code chart: Latin-1 Supplement (PDF)
• Duden: außerdem (ß after long vowels and diphthongs)
• Rat für deutsche Rechtschreibung: press release, 29 June 2017 (PDF)

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