Common questions

Is ss the same as ss?

Is ss the same as ss?

The letter ß is called Eszett, literally meaning s z. However, when the letter is not available (or when a word is in all caps), ß is almost always substituted by the digraph ss rather than sz (e.g. STRASSE rather than STRASZE).

What is Double ss in German?

ß
Why Does ß Mean “Double S” in German? In German, the letter ß is known as the eszett or scharfes (sharp) S. It’s a special character, similar to the German umlaut you’re probably used to seeing by now. But unlike those two dots above a, o or u, the eszett is written as a capital B-shaped character with a tail: ß.

What is the double ss called?

eszett
In German, the ß character is called eszett. It’s used in “Straße,” the word for street, and in the expletive “Scheiße.” It’s often transliterated as “ss,” and strangely enough, it’s never had an official uppercase counterpart.

How do you type eszett?

How to type Umlaut (Ü) and Eszett ß on American keyboards

  1. ä : Alt + 0228.
  2. ö : Alt + 0246.
  3. ü : Alt + 0252.
  4. ß : Alt + 0223 or Alt + 225.
  5. Ä : Alt + 0196.
  6. Ö : Alt + 0214.
  7. Ü : Alt + 0220.

What’s the difference between ss and ß?

In Swiss Standard German, ⟨ss⟩ usually replaces every ⟨ß⟩. There are very few instances where the difference between spelling ⟨ß⟩ and ⟨ss⟩ affects the meaning of a word, and these can usually be told apart by context.

What is SS called in German?

SS, abbreviation of Schutzstaffel (German: “Protective Echelon”), the black-uniformed elite corps and self-described “political soldiers” of the Nazi Party.

How do you write Double S?

Use a Keyboard Shortcut Press and hold down the “Alt” key and use your keypad to type the numbers “21” or “0167” (without quotation marks). Release the “Alt” key to insert the symbol. This works only with a keypad, so you can’t use this shortcut with computers that don’t have one, such as laptops.

How do you type German ß on keyboard?

“s-zet” (ß): Hold down “control” and press the ampersand (&) (i.e. Shift + 7) [Nothing will appear on your screen when you press this combination of keys]. Then release all three keys you just pressed and type the letter s. The “s-zet” (ß) should now appear.

Can I replace ß with SS?

It is acceptable, because it is also common to use “SS” for words written in up-case letters, as there is no capital “ß” in the official orthography rules, so the up-case version of “Straße” ist “STRASSE” (sometimes you see things like “STRAßE” which is just a horribly incorrect spelling).

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