Meaning & use
ü
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablespecialist
The letter u with two dots above it, representing a front rounded vowel in German or a separate pronunciation mark in some other languages.
Grammar: Countable when naming characters or instances; English speakers often describe it as u with an umlaut.
Patterns
- German ü
- type ü
- ü in a word
German über begins with ü, a rounded front vowel.
In English, naïve uses a diaeresis rather than the German sound change shown by ü.
To type ü on many keyboards, hold the U key and choose the dotted form.
Common combinations
- German umlaut ü
- The German word grün contains the umlaut ü.
- type ü
- Select the keyboard layout that lets you type ü easily.
- letter ü
- The exercise asks learners to pronounce the letter ü after ch.
Synonyms and how they differ
- umlaut
- Umlaut names the two-dot mark and the German sound change; ü is the resulting letter in words such as über.
- diaeresis
- Diaeresis is the two-dot mark when it shows separate vowel sounds, as in naïve, not the German umlaut sound change.
Commonly confused: ü or umlaut? ü or diaeresis?
ü vs umlaut
Umlaut is the mark or sound alteration; ü is the letter that contains it in German spelling.
ü vs diaeresis
Diaeresis shows that two vowels are pronounced separately; German ü changes the vowel quality itself.
Practice
What does ü usually signal in German spelling?
Choose one answer.
In German, the two dots form an umlaut that changes the u sound, as in ü versus u. It is not normally just a plural marker or silence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ü”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.