How to Type in German — Umlauts and ß Made Easy
German is the most-spoken native language in the European Union, with ~95 million native speakers across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and parts of Belgium and Italy. Typing in German requires four special characters not on the English keyboard: ä, ö, ü (umlauts) and ß (eszett or scharfes S). This guide explains the German QWERTZ layout, how each special character is positioned, and how to reach fluent German touch typing speed.
The German QWERTZ layout — what's different from QWERTY
The German QWERTZ-DE keyboard differs from QWERTY-US in five key ways:
- Y and Z are swapped — Z is on the top row (where Y is in QWERTY), Y is on the bottom row. This is why it's called QWERTZ instead of QWERTY.
- Ä, Ö, Ü — three dedicated umlaut keys on the right side
- ß — dedicated key for the eszett (sharp S)
- Punctuation rearranged —
;moved,<>swapped,@on AltGr+Q - Different Enter shape — tall instead of L-shaped
Practice the German layout at /de/qwertz_de/.
Why is Z swapped to the top row?
In German, Z is much more common than Y. The letter Z appears in everyday words like "zwei" (two), "ganz" (whole), "Zeit" (time). The letter Y is rare, mostly in loanwords like "Hobby" or "Yacht".
When German typists adopted QWERTY in the late 19th century, they swapped Y and Z so the more common Z would sit in a more easily reachable position — top row, right index inner reach. This is why the German layout is called QWERTZ.
The QWERTZ design influenced several other Central European layouts: Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian (some variants), and Croatian all use QWERTZ-style arrangements with their own regional modifications. See QWERTZ-DE vs QWERTZ-HU for the Hungarian comparison.
Where each German character lives
| Character | Position | Finger |
|---|---|---|
ä | Right of L (where ' is on US) | Right pinky |
Ä | Shift + above | Right pinky |
ö | Right of K (where ; is on US) | Right pinky |
Ö | Shift + above | Right pinky |
ü | Right of P (where [ is on US) | Right pinky |
Ü | Shift + above | Right pinky |
ß | Right of 0 (where - is on US) | Right pinky |
Z | Top row, position 6 | Right index inner reach |
Y | Bottom row, leftmost | Left pinky |
Note that all three umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and ß are on the right side of the keyboard, primarily controlled by the right pinky. This is the toughest finger for German typists — strong pinky discipline is essential.
The most common German typing words
Frequent words to drill:
- der, die, das, ist, und, mit — articles and conjunctions (super common)
- schön, möglich, müssen, dürfen, können — umlaut-heavy words
- Fußball, Maß, groß, weiß — ß-using words
- Straße, Größe, heiß — Germany still uses ß (Switzerland uses "ss" instead)
- zwei, zwischen, ziemlich — Z-words (note Z position on QWERTZ)
- vergessen, gesehen, geschehen — words with double consonants
Building muscle memory for right-pinky umlauts is the single biggest unlock for fast German typing. Spend extra drill time on ä/ö/ü/ß as a group.
Capital ß — newer addition
Until 2017, German had no official uppercase ß — proper-case words used "SS" instead (FUSSBALL, STRASSE). In 2017, the Council for German Orthography officially recognized ẞ (capital ß) and modern German keyboards include it via AltGr or a dead key combination.
In practice, lowercase ß is still much more common. The capital ẞ is rare in everyday text.
Switzerland uses a different layout
Swiss-German users use a unique QWERTZ-CH layout that includes:
- French accents (é, à, è) — because Switzerland is multilingual
- No ß (Switzerland writes "ss" instead)
- Slightly different symbol positions
See /qwertz_ch/ to practice Swiss-German.
A 30-day German touch typing plan
Same structure as the general 30-day plan, with German-specific drills:
- Week 1: Home row standard (a s d f g h j k l ö + ä). Note ä and ö on the right pinky.
- Week 2: Top row including Z (in the QWERTY-Y position). Bottom row including Y (in QWERTY-Z position).
- Week 3: Numbers + ß + ü + symbols.
- Week 4: Real German text — newspapers, books, emails. Focus on umlaut words and ß.
Target after 30 days: 50–60 WPM in real German text. German typists typically reach speeds 5–10% lower than English typists because of the umlaut overhead — but trained German typists easily exceed 80 WPM.
Common challenges and how to fix them
1. Y/Z confusion
The first 2–3 days, you'll constantly type the wrong one (typing "Zes" when you mean "Yes" or vice versa). This goes away after a week of practice. Don't switch back to QWERTY to avoid the confusion — stick with QWERTZ and let muscle memory adjust.
2. Right pinky fatigue
The right pinky carries ä, ö, ü, ß, plus normal pinky duties (P, ;, ', Enter). After 30 minutes of typing German, the pinky tires. Build pinky strength gradually; consider an ergonomic keyboard for serious German typists.
3. Switching between German and English
Many German speakers work in English daily. Switching keyboards (QWERTZ ↔ QWERTY) twice a day is jarring. Two options:
- Stick with QWERTZ-DE always — accept the friction when typing English
- Use US-International — QWERTY layout with AltGr dead keys for German accents (slower for native German but works for bilingual users)
See Touch typing for bilingual users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I type German on a US QWERTY keyboard?
Yes — install US-International layout, which adds AltGr dead-keys for German accents: AltGr+P for ä, AltGr+; for ö, AltGr+Y for ü, AltGr+S for ß. Slower than native QWERTZ-DE but works as a temporary solution.
Should I learn QWERTZ-DE or use a Dvorak/Colemak variant?
For German, stick with QWERTZ-DE. It's the standard in Germany, Austria, and most of the German-speaking world. Alternative layouts have minimal adoption in German contexts.
How do I type ß in lowercase vs uppercase?
Lowercase: dedicated key (right of 0). Uppercase: in 2017, ẞ (capital ß) was officially recognized; type Shift+AltGr+ß on modern Windows German keyboards. In practice, most writers use "SS" for legacy uppercase ß words.
Is German typing slower than English typing?
By ~5–10% on average. The umlauts and right-pinky workload create a small overhead. But fluent German typists routinely reach 70–80 WPM, which is comparable to English.
What about Austrian and Swiss-German keyboards?
Austrians use QWERTZ-DE (the German standard). Swiss-Germans use QWERTZ-CH, which is multilingual with French accents and no ß.
Should I avoid umlaut shortcuts like "ae", "oe", "ue", "ss"?
In formal German writing, always use the proper umlauts (ä, ö, ü, ß). The ASCII workarounds (ae, oe, ue, ss) are acceptable only in URLs, email addresses, or when umlauts aren't available. In your touch typing practice, drill the real characters.
Do German numbers and symbols have different positions?
Yes — the number row symbols differ (!, ", §, $, %, &, /, (, ), =). Most punctuation symbols are in different positions vs QWERTY. The number digits themselves are in standard positions.
Start German touch typing today
Start Lesson 1 on Typing Hero App in German — 19 progressive lessons designed for QWERTZ-DE, including umlauts (ä ö ü) on the home/upper area and ß as a dedicated key.
For more: QWERTZ-DE layout deep-dive, QWERTZ vs QWERTY comparison, Best keyboard for typing in German.