The umlaut "Ö" in German In Standard German

"Ö" is a vowel in the German alphabet. It is an umlaut form of "o" and plays an important role in distinguishing meaning and pronunciation in German.

Uppercase Form	Ö
Lowercase Form	ö
Name	O-Umlaut
Common Sounds	/øː/, /ø/, /œ/

Pronouncing "Ö"

The pronunciation of "ö" depends on syllable structure, stress, and word formation. It can be long /øː/, short /ø/, or more open /œ/.

"Ö" as /øː/

You pronounce "ö" long when it comes before only one consonant or when another form of the same word shows that the vowel is stretched.

Example

Söhne → /ˈzøːnə/

sons

schön → /ʃøːn/

beautiful

"Ö" as /ø/

You pronounce "ö" with a medium length when it is not strongly stressed or when the word becomes longer through prefixes or endings, which makes the vowel less prominent.

Example

Ökologie → /ˌøkoˈloːɡiː/

ecology

möblieren → /møˈbliːʁən/

furnish

"Ö" as /œ/

The letter "ö" is pronounced /œ/, especially before clusters of consonants or double consonants.

Example

Hölle → /ˈhœlə/

hell

können → /ˈkœnən/

to be able to

"Ö" in Letter Combinations

The letter "Ö" also appears in fixed letter combinations that signal predictable pronunciations.

"öu"

This combination is found mainly in words of Greek origin. It typically marks a long front rounded vowel /øː/.

Example

Epopöe → /epoˈpøː/

epic poem

"öh"

This spelling is used in native German words and consistently represents a long /øː/ sound.

Example

Höhe → /ˈhøːə/

height

löhnen → /ˈløːnən/

to pay wages

"O" and "Ö"

It is important to distinguish between "o" and "ö". The umlaut changes both pronunciation and meaning, often affecting grammatical forms.