German Scripts

Have you ever struggled to make out German handwritten scripts or printed type? There is a lot of variety in the styles of both printed and handwritten texts. The only real way to be sure of how a word is spelled is to compare the forms with a known word in the same style.

The printed form is often called "Fraktur" or "Gothic". It can range from very decorative and elaborate to fairly simple.

One popular cursive form by the Berlin graphic artist Ludwig Sütterlin (1865-1917) was promoted in German schools until around 1940.

Note that the cursive lowercase "s" has both a "long" form and a "round" form used at the end of words or at the end of the first part of a compound word.

The "ß" is composed of a long "s" and a "z", and is used to represent the combination of ss, sz or sr.

Umlaut vowels (with two dots above) are often represented in cursive script with two short strokes. (Compare the cursive lowercase e.)

Also note the curved stroke above the lowercase "u" to differentiate it from lowercase "n".

The TrueType fonts used in the chart to the right are Becker Fraktur and Sütterlin.