Skip to main content
Script Tutorial
Making sense of old handwriting

Alphabet Charts

The German Alphabet

The German alphabet consists of 26 letters the same as the English alphabet (though x and y are rarely used) plus four additional letters. These four special letters are ß (called Eszett or Sharp S) and the umlauted vowels ä, ö, and ü.

German/Antesperg_ABC

It should also be noted that the lowercase letter s had two different forms depending on its environment. These forms are shown in the Lowercase letters chart below and their usage is explained on their respective letter pages.

The charts below display all the letters of the German alphabet, lowercase and uppercase, and the numbers 1 to 10. Each letter is shown first in English (Latin), then Gothic Handwriting, and then in Gothic Typeface, or Fraktur.

We also offer an alphabet chart with Latin, Fraktur and Kurrent characters.

Click any handwriting letter or number to see an animation, description and examples of that character. Click any typeface letter to see a description and examples of that letter.


Lowercase Letters

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

o

p

q

r

s

s

t

u

v

w

x

y

z

ä

ö

ü

ß

Uppercase Letters

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Ä

Ö

Ü

Numbers

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0

data-content-type=""

Introduction
Paleography Introduction
Practical Suggestions Language Latin Influence Names Dates Genealogical Vocabulary Symbols and Abbreviations Keyboard Tips for Transcribing
Alphabet Charts Kurrent Letter Variations Gothic Handwriting Gothic Typefaces
Letter Test Word Test Passage Test
Gazetteers Maps and Atlases Dictionaries Handwriting Guides German Genealogy German Grammar