A1 Letter guide
The u umlaut, ü, is the letter that makes learners hesitate the most. It looks like a u with two dots, but it sounds nothing like an English u, and it’s missing from most English keyboards. In a few minutes you’ll know exactly how to pronounce ü (with a trick that works for everyone), the most common words that use it, and how to type ü and Ü on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.
Quick answer
Ü (u umlaut) is a separate letter of the German alphabet. To pronounce it, say “ee” as in “see”, keep your tongue still, and round your lips tightly as if to whistle. To type it: Alt+0252 (ü) or Alt+0220 (Ü) on Windows, Option+u, then u on Mac, or long-press u on your phone. If you can’t type it, write ue.
Copy and paste: ü Ü
What is ü?
Ü is one of three German umlauts, along with ä and ö. The two dots (the Umlaut) show that the vowel’s sound has shifted. Historically, ü was written as a u with a small e above it, which later shrank to two dots. That’s why ue is still the official replacement when you can’t type ü.
It’s not decoration: ü changes meaning. Mutter (mother) vs Mütter (mothers), drucken (to print) vs drücken (to press), fuhr (drove) vs für (for). Read more in our German alphabet and pronunciation guide.
How to pronounce ü
Long ü
Long ü is the sound in über, Tür and müde. Try this:
- Say a long “ee”, as in “see”: iiiii.
- Keep your tongue exactly where it is.
- Now push your lips forward into a tight circle, as if you’re about to whistle.
- The sound that comes out is ü.
If you speak French, it’s the u in tu. If you know Mandarin, it’s the ü in nǚ.
Short ü
Short ü appears before two consonants: Müll (trash), Glück (luck), fünf (five). Start from the short “i” in “bit” and round your lips the same way. It’s shorter and a little more relaxed than long ü.
Mouth position
| Sound | Tongue | Lips |
|---|---|---|
| ee (as in “see”) | High and forward | Spread, smiling |
| ü | High and forward | Tightly rounded |
| oo (as in “food”) | High and back | Rounded |
Ü is literally “ee with oo lips”. The most common mistake is moving the tongue back, which turns ü into a plain u. Use a mirror: if your lips aren’t pushed forward, it isn’t ü yet.
Why you can’t hear it at first
Your ear sorts sounds into the categories you already know, so at first ü sounds like “oo” or “ee”. Listening to minimal pairs like Mutter / Mütter and fuhr / für trains a new category. Ten minutes a day for a week makes a real difference.
Common words with ü
| German | English | Long or short |
|---|---|---|
| über | over, about | Long |
| für | for | Long |
| die Tür, die Türen | door | Long |
| müde | tired | Long |
| grün | green | Long |
| die Küche, die Küchen | kitchen | Short |
| fünf | five | Short |
| das Glück | luck, happiness | Short |
| müssen | must | Short |
| München | Munich | Short |
| Tschüss | bye | Short |
| natürlich | of course | Long |
How to type ü
Windows
- ü: hold Alt and type 0252 on the number pad
- Ü: hold Alt and type 0220
- Or add the German (QWERTZ) or United States-International keyboard in Settings › Time & language › Language. With US-International, type ” then u.
Mac
- Press Option+u, release, then press u for ü (or Shift+u for Ü).
- Or press and hold the u key and choose ü from the menu.
Phone (iPhone and Android)
Press and hold the u key until a menu appears, then slide to ü. Adding a German keyboard also gives you autocorrect in German.
For web and code
| Format | ü | Ü |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity | ü | Ü |
| Unicode | U+00FC | U+00DC |
Writing “ue” instead of ü
When ü isn’t available, Germans write ue: Muenchen, fuer, Mueller. This is correct and common in email addresses, domain names and passports’ machine-readable zone. Never just drop the dots: fur isn’t a German word, and Muller looks like a different surname.
Quick quiz
1. Which sound do you start from to make ü?
“ee”, as in “see”. Then round your lips.
2. How do you write München without an umlaut?
Muenchen
3. What is the Windows Alt code for lowercase ü?
Alt+0252
4. Is the ü in “fünf” long or short?
Short (two consonants follow).
5. What’s the difference between Mutter and Mütter?
Mutter = mother, Mütter = mothers.
FAQs
What sound does ü make?
A rounded “ee” sound: say “ee” and round your lips tightly. English has no equivalent; French u (as in tu) is the same sound.
Is ü a separate letter in German?
Yes. It counts as its own letter, called “üh”. In dictionaries it’s usually sorted together with u.
How do you type a capital Ü?
Alt+0220 on Windows, Option+u then Shift+u on Mac, or long-press Shift+U on a phone.
Can I write ue instead of ü?
Yes, ue is the accepted replacement when ü isn’t available, for example in URLs and email addresses.
Which other languages use ü?
Turkish, Hungarian, Estonian and Azerbaijani use ü as a letter. Spanish uses ü in words like pingüino to show the u is pronounced, and Mandarin Pinyin uses ü for the same rounded “ee” sound as German.
Remember the formula: “ee” + whistling lips = ü. Practice with über, für, müde and fünf, and use Alt+0252 or Option+u to type it. Next, meet the other umlauts and the ß in the German alphabet lesson.
Sources and further reading: the letter Ü on Wikipedia and German orthography.
Keep learning → The German alphabet: letters, pronunciation and umlauts
