{"id":346,"date":"2026-11-07T09:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T09:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/blog\/?p=346"},"modified":"2026-11-07T09:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T09:07:53","slug":"eszett-german-ss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/blog\/eszett-german-ss\/","title":{"rendered":"German \u00df Eszett: When to Write \u00df and When to Write ss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The German \u00df Eszett (also called <em>scharfes S<\/em>, &#8220;sharp s&#8221;) is a letter for a voiceless &#8220;s&#8221; sound, and Germans and Austrians still use it every day. The rule since the spelling reform: write \u00df after a long vowel or a diphthong (<em>Stra\u00dfe, gro\u00df, hei\u00dfen<\/em>) and ss after a short vowel (<em>Fluss, muss, dass<\/em>). Switzerland writes ss everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is \u00df?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00df is one letter, not two. Its name <em>Eszett<\/em> (&#8220;s-z&#8221;) comes from its history: it developed from a ligature of the old long s (\u017f) with a z or an s. Three facts to know:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Sound:<\/strong> always a voiceless [s], as in English &#8220;bus&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Position:<\/strong> it never starts a word. You find it inside or at the end: <em>Stra\u00dfe, Fu\u00df<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Case:<\/strong> the lowercase \u00df is everywhere; a capital \u1e9e also exists (more below).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00df is not one of the 26 letters of the basic alphabet. German teachers usually present it together with \u00e4, \u00f6 and \u00fc as the extra letters.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do Germans still use \u00df?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. In Germany and Austria, \u00df is part of standard spelling in schools, newspapers, official documents and job applications. The spelling reform (agreed in 1996, revised in 2006) reduced the number of words with \u00df but did not abolish it. What changed is mainly that \u00df after a short vowel became ss:<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Old spelling<\/th><th>Current spelling<\/th><th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>da\u00df<\/td><td>dass<\/td><td>that (conjunction)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>mu\u00df<\/td><td>muss<\/td><td>must<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Flu\u00df<\/td><td>Fluss<\/td><td>river<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Schlo\u00df<\/td><td>Schloss<\/td><td>castle, lock<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ku\u00df<\/td><td>Kuss<\/td><td>kiss<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will still see the old forms in older books, on traditional shop signs and in some people&#8217;s handwriting. Words with a long vowel kept their \u00df: <em>Stra\u00dfe, gro\u00df, Fu\u00df<\/em> were not affected.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The rule: \u00df after long vowels and diphthongs, ss after short vowels<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The official rule says: for the voiceless s after a long vowel or diphthong, write \u00df, as long as no other consonant follows in the word stem. After a short vowel, write ss, just as German doubles other consonants after short vowels (<em>Bett, Mitte, Fluss<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Sound before the s<\/th><th>Spelling<\/th><th>Examples<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Long vowel<\/td><td>\u00df<\/td><td>Stra\u00dfe, Fu\u00df, gro\u00df, Gru\u00df, s\u00fc\u00df, Ma\u00df, Spa\u00df<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Long <em>ie<\/em><\/td><td>\u00df<\/td><td>gie\u00dfen, schlie\u00dfen, flie\u00dfen, Grie\u00df<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Diphthong (<em>ei, ai, au, \u00e4u, eu<\/em>)<\/td><td>\u00df<\/td><td>hei\u00dfen, wei\u00df, drau\u00dfen, au\u00dfen, bei\u00dfen, Strau\u00df<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Short vowel<\/td><td>ss<\/td><td>Fluss, Kuss, muss, dass, Wasser, essen, besser<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The condition &#8220;no other consonant follows in the stem&#8221; explains words like <em>Obst<\/em> and <em>W\u00fcste<\/em>: long vowel, but a <em>t<\/em> follows, so a single s. Endings do not count, which is why you write <em>du hei\u00dft<\/em> and <em>am gr\u00f6\u00dften<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why <em>Haus<\/em> but <em>Fu\u00df<\/em>? A quick test<\/h3>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of a word, the s sounds the same in <em>Haus<\/em> and <em>Fu\u00df<\/em>. To decide, make a longer form of the word:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><em>Haus \u2192 H\u00e4user<\/em>: the s becomes voiced (a &#8220;z&#8221; sound), so write a single s.<\/li>\n\n<li><em>Fu\u00df \u2192 F\u00fc\u00dfe<\/em>: the s stays voiceless after a long vowel, so write \u00df.<\/li>\n\n<li><em>Bus \u2192 Busse<\/em>: short vowel, so the plural gets ss, while the singular keeps a single s (as do short words like <em>das, was, bis<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same works for <em>Glas \u2192 Gl\u00e4ser<\/em> (s) and <em>Gru\u00df \u2192 Gr\u00fc\u00dfe<\/em> (\u00df). Words ending in <em>-nis<\/em> follow the <em>Bus<\/em> pattern: <em>Ergebnis \u2192 Ergebnisse<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When the spelling changes inside a word family<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the rule follows the vowel length, the spelling can switch between \u00df and ss within one family of words. This is where most mistakes happen.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Stays the same<\/th><th>Switches between \u00df and ss<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Fu\u00df \u2013 F\u00fc\u00dfe (long, always \u00df)<\/td><td>wissen \u2013 ich wei\u00df \u2013 ich wusste<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Fluss \u2013 Fl\u00fcsse (short, always ss)<\/td><td>essen \u2013 ich a\u00df \u2013 gegessen<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Gru\u00df \u2013 gr\u00fc\u00dfen (long, always \u00df)<\/td><td>lassen \u2013 ich lie\u00df \u2013 gelassen<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Kuss \u2013 k\u00fcssen (short, always ss)<\/td><td>schlie\u00dfen \u2013 ich schloss \u2013 geschlossen<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>gro\u00df \u2013 gr\u00f6\u00dfer \u2013 am gr\u00f6\u00dften<\/td><td>flie\u00dfen \u2013 es floss \u2013 der Fluss<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Spa\u00df \u2013 Sp\u00e4\u00dfe<\/td><td>messen \u2013 ich ma\u00df \u2013 das Ma\u00df<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The official rules use exactly this kind of example: <em>flie\u00dfen, floss, Fluss, das Flo\u00df<\/em>. Long vowel, \u00df. Short vowel, ss.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The capital \u1e9e: officially allowed since 2017<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a long time, \u00df had no capital. In texts written in capital letters, you wrote SS: <em>STRASSE<\/em>. In June 2017 the Council for German Orthography (Rat f\u00fcr deutsche Rechtschreibung) changed the official rules. They now say: in capital letters you write SS, and using the capital letter \u1e9e is also possible.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Normal spelling<\/th><th>All caps (standard)<\/th><th>All caps (also allowed)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Stra\u00dfe<\/td><td>STRASSE<\/td><td>STRA\u1e9eE<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Gie\u00dfen<\/td><td>GIESSEN<\/td><td>GIE\u1e9eEN<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Wei\u00df (surname)<\/td><td>WEISS<\/td><td>WEI\u1e9e<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The council pointed in particular to the correct spelling of names in passports and ID cards. The surnames <em>Wei\u00df<\/em> and <em>Weiss<\/em> are different names, but in all caps with SS they look identical; <em>WEI\u1e9e<\/em> keeps the difference. The 2024 edition of the official rules did not change this point. SS remains the standard and is never wrong. The capital has its own Unicode code point, U+1E9E.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Switzerland and Liechtenstein: always ss<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The official rules allow Switzerland to always write ss, and Swiss schools, media and authorities do so: <em>Strasse, gross, Fuss, heissen, Gr\u00fcsse<\/em>. Liechtenstein follows the Swiss practice. The usual explanation is historical: Swiss typewriters needed room for French and Italian letters such as \u00e9, \u00e0 and \u00e7, and \u00df was left off the keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you write for Swiss readers, for example a job application in Zurich, use ss throughout. Mixing both systems in one text looks wrong in Germany and in Switzerland. More regional differences are in <a href=\"\/blog\/swiss-german-vs-standard-german\/\">Swiss German vs Standard German<\/a>. Austria writes \u00df like Germany, with a few word variants of its own (for example <em>Gescho\u00df<\/em>, floor, alongside <em>Geschoss<\/em>, because many Austrians pronounce the o long); see <a href=\"\/blog\/austrian-german-differences\/\">Austrian German differences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rules also say: if \u00df is not available, write ss. That is the correct fallback, for example in email addresses or old systems.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Practise your German out loud with SipLingo, free to try on iPhone and Android:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"siplingo-store-badges\" style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center;align-items:center;gap:12px;margin:24px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/app\/id6783970183\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/app_store.png\" alt=\"Download SipLingo on the App Store\" style=\"height:52px;width:auto;\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=ch.zgdevelopment.siplingo&amp;referrer=utm_source%3Dblog%26utm_medium%3Dpost%26utm_campaign%3Deszett-german-ss%26utm_content%3Dbadge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/play_store.png\" alt=\"Get SipLingo on Google Play\" style=\"height:52px;width:auto;\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to type the German \u00df Eszett on any keyboard<\/h2>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Device<\/th><th>How<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>German keyboard<\/td><td>Dedicated \u00df key, to the right of the 0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Windows, any layout<\/td><td>Hold Alt and type 0223 on the numeric keypad<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Windows, US-International layout<\/td><td>Right Alt + S<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Mac (US or UK layout)<\/td><td>Option + S<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>iPhone and most Android keyboards<\/td><td>Long-press the S key<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>HTML<\/td><td><code>&amp;szlig;<\/code><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Capital \u1e9e<\/td><td>Most keyboards have no key; copy it, or simply write SS<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If none of this works, write ss. <em>Strasse<\/em> is understood everywhere and is official in Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00df is not \u03b2<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Greek letter \u03b2 (beta) looks similar in some fonts, but it is a different letter. <em>Stra\u03b2e<\/em> with a beta is a typo that sometimes appears on menus and signs abroad. Also avoid writing a capital B: <em>StraBe<\/em> is wrong too.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">das or dass?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most frequent ss word causes the most frequent spelling mistake. <em>Dass<\/em> is a conjunction (&#8220;that&#8221;) and sends the verb to the end: <em>Ich wei\u00df, dass du m\u00fcde bist.<\/em> <em>Das<\/em> is an article or pronoun: <em>Das Buch, das ich lese, ist spannend.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Quick test: if you can replace the word with <em>dieses<\/em> or <em>welches<\/em>, write <em>das<\/em>. If not, write <em>dass<\/em>. <em>Das<\/em> as a relative pronoun is covered in <a href=\"\/blog\/german-relative-clauses\/\">German relative clauses<\/a>, and the verb-final word order after <em>dass<\/em> in <a href=\"\/blog\/german-word-order-rules\/\">German word order rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to pronounce \u00df<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00df always sounds like a sharp, voiceless s. It matters because a single s between vowels is voiced in standard German, so \u00df and s can separate words:<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>With s (voiced)<\/th><th>With \u00df (voiceless)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>reisen (to travel)<\/td><td>rei\u00dfen (to tear)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>weise (wise)<\/td><td>wei\u00dfe (white, as in <em>die wei\u00dfe Wand<\/em>)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And \u00df vs ss separates words by vowel length: <em>in Ma\u00dfen<\/em> (in moderation, long a) vs <em>in Massen<\/em> (in huge amounts, short a), <em>Bu\u00dfe<\/em> (penance) vs <em>Busse<\/em> (buses). In southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland the single s is often voiceless too, so the reisen\/rei\u00dfen contrast is clearer in northern and standard pronunciation. The vowels themselves are explained in <a href=\"\/blog\/pronounce-umlauts-german\/\">how to pronounce \u00e4, \u00f6, \u00fc and \u00df<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spelling rules are one half; the other half is saying the long and short vowels correctly. In SipLingo you speak in everyday scenarios and get a score for word accuracy and intonation, and you can tap any word to hear its pronunciation and translation. <a href=\"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/download?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=post&amp;utm_campaign=eszett-german-ss&amp;utm_content=inline\">Practise your pronunciation in conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">20 common words with \u00df and ss<\/h2>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Word<\/th><th>Meaning<\/th><th>Why<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>die Stra\u00dfe<\/td><td>street<\/td><td>long a<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>gro\u00df<\/td><td>big, tall<\/td><td>long o<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>hei\u00dfen<\/td><td>to be called<\/td><td>diphthong ei<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>der Fu\u00df<\/td><td>foot<\/td><td>long u<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>wei\u00df<\/td><td>white \/ (I) know<\/td><td>diphthong ei<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>drau\u00dfen<\/td><td>outside<\/td><td>diphthong au<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>die Gr\u00fc\u00dfe<\/td><td>greetings<\/td><td>long \u00fc<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>s\u00fc\u00df<\/td><td>sweet<\/td><td>long \u00fc<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>der Spa\u00df<\/td><td>fun<\/td><td>long a<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>schlie\u00dfen<\/td><td>to close<\/td><td>long ie<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>au\u00dferdem<\/td><td>besides<\/td><td>diphthong au<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>blo\u00df<\/td><td>only, merely<\/td><td>long o<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>der Fluss<\/td><td>river<\/td><td>short u<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>dass<\/td><td>that (conjunction)<\/td><td>short a<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>muss<\/td><td>must<\/td><td>short u<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>das Wasser<\/td><td>water<\/td><td>short a<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>essen<\/td><td>to eat<\/td><td>short e<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>besser<\/td><td>better<\/td><td>short e<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>die Adresse<\/td><td>address<\/td><td>short e<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>vergessen<\/td><td>to forget<\/td><td>short e<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One you will write all the time: <em>Viele Gr\u00fc\u00dfe<\/em> at the end of an email (in Switzerland: <em>Viele Gr\u00fcsse<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In short, the German \u00df Eszett comes down to one question: is the sound before it long (a long vowel or a diphthong) or short?<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rules checked in October 2026 against the official spelling rules of the Rat f\u00fcr deutsche Rechtschreibung (Amtliches Regelwerk) and the council&#8217;s 2017 press release on the capital \u1e9e.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Official sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the official details and the latest updates, see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.duden.de\/sprachwissen\/rechtschreibregeln\/doppel-s-und-scharfes-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duden: Duden: s, ss and \u00df spelling rules<\/a> \u2013 Official rule: \u00df after long vowels\/diphthongs, ss after short vowels<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Do Germans still use \u00df?<\/strong><br\/>\nYes. \u00df is standard in Germany and Austria and is taught in every school. Only Switzerland and Liechtenstein write ss instead.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What is an Eszett?<\/strong><br\/>\nThe Eszett (\u00df), also called <em>scharfes S<\/em>, is a German letter for a voiceless s sound after a long vowel or diphthong, as in <em>Stra\u00dfe<\/em> or <em>hei\u00dfen<\/em>. Its name comes from the letters s and z.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Is it \u00df or \u03b2?<\/strong><br\/>\nAlways \u00df. The Greek \u03b2 (beta) only looks similar in some fonts and is wrong in German words: write <em>Stra\u00dfe<\/em>, not <em>Stra\u03b2e<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When do you use \u00df or ss (Wann schreibt man \u00df oder ss)?<\/strong><br\/>\nWrite \u00df after a long vowel or diphthong (<em>Fu\u00df, gro\u00df, hei\u00dfen<\/em>) and ss after a short vowel (<em>Fluss, muss, dass<\/em>). In all caps, write SS or, since 2017, the capital \u1e9e.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why don&#8217;t the Swiss use \u00df?<\/strong><br\/>\nSwiss spelling replaced \u00df with ss decades ago, and the official rules allow it. The usual explanation is that Swiss typewriters needed space for French and Italian letters.<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Get the long and short vowels right when you speak.<\/strong> SipLingo scores your word accuracy and intonation in real conversations, with corrections in your own language.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/download?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=post&amp;utm_campaign=eszett-german-ss&amp;utm_content=footer\">Start free \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, Germans still use \u00df. Write \u00df after a long vowel or diphthong (Stra\u00dfe, hei\u00dfen) and ss after a short one (Fluss, dass). Switzerland always writes ss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning-german"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u00df or ss? The German Eszett Rule Explained (+20 Words)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yes, Germans still use \u00df. Write \u00df after a long vowel or diphthong (Stra\u00dfe, hei\u00dfen) and ss after a short one (Fluss, dass). Switzerland always writes ss.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siplingo.com\/blog\/eszett-german-ss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00df or ss? The German Eszett Rule Explained (+20 Words)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yes, Germans still use \u00df. Write \u00df after a long vowel or diphthong (Stra\u00dfe, hei\u00dfen) and ss after a short one (Fluss, dass). 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