Sharp S (Eszett) (ß)
The sharp s (eszett) ß is Unicode U+00DF, the German ligature letter Eszett representing an unvoiced s sound. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 0223 on Windows or Option + S on a Mac.
- Unicode
U+00DF- HTML
ß- Windows
Alt + 0223- Mac
Option + S
How to type the sharp s (eszett) (ß)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ß yourself, use the method for your device below. On Windows the alt code is Alt + 0223. On a Mac it is Option + S.
Windows
- Hold Alt and type 0223 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Num Lock must be on. This uses the Windows-1252 code page, so it works in almost every Windows app.
- Hold Alt and type 225 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
- In Word or Outlook, type 00DF and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
- Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Latin Small Letter Sharp S, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.
Mac
- Press Option+S. On the standard US and US-International layouts.
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for sharp s and double-click it.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type df, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
- Press your Compose key, then s s. Needs a Compose key set in your keyboard settings.
iPhone & iPad
- Touch and hold the s key on your iPhone or iPad keyboard, then slide your finger to ß.
- Copy ß from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;shar. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- In Gboard, touch and hold the s key, then drag your finger to ß in the pop-up accent list.
- Copy ß here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 00DF, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 00DF in “Character code” and click Insert.
- On a Mac, Option+S works in Word too.
Google Docs
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “sharp s” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(223)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
ßorßin your HTML.
What does ß mean?
The sharp s ß (capital ẞ, Unicode name LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S) is a distinctive letter of the German alphabet, called the Eszett (literally “s-z”) or scharfes S (sharp s). It represents an unvoiced alveolar sibilant /s/ sound, identical to the English sound in sand or hiss. In modern standard German orthography used in Germany and Austria, ß is written exclusively after long vowels and diphthongs (as in Straße, groß, weiß, Fuß), contrasting with the double ss written after short vowels (as in Schloss, Fluss, dass).
The letter originated in medieval and early modern printing as a typographic ligature combining the historical “long s” (ſ) with either a round “s” or a Gothic cursive “z” (ʒ). In traditional German Fraktur blackletter fonts, printers set the combination ſʒ as a single unified glyph. Switzerland and Liechtenstein abolished ß in the 1930s, replacing all occurrences with ss (e.g. Strasse), but Germany and Austria maintain the strict phonetic distinction. In 2017, the Council for German Orthography officially recognized the capital letter ẞ (U+1E9E) for all-caps typesetting.
A very common misconception among non-German speakers is confusing ß with the Greek lowercase letter beta (β, U+03B2). While both glyphs share a looping silhouette with a descender, they belong to different writing systems: ß is a Latin consonant pronounced as an “s”, whereas β is a Greek consonant pronounced as a “b” or “v”. To type ß on Windows, hold Alt and type 0223 (or Alt + 225). On a Mac, press Option + S. On mobile, hold down the S key.
Common uses
- German street and address labels: Goethestraße (Goethe Street)
- Common German adjectives and nouns: groß (big), weiß (white), Spaß (fun)
- Pronunciation contrast in German verbs: er reiste (he traveled) vs er reißt (he tears)
- Typesetting German legal, academic, and literary publications
Sharp S (Eszett) codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces ß. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+00DF | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ß | |
| HTML decimal | ß | |
| HTML hex | ß | |
| CSS content | content: "\DF"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u00DF" | |
| Python | "\u00DF" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u00DF" | |
| LaTeX | \ss | |
| UTF-8 bytes | C3 9F | |
| UTF-16 | 00DF | |
| URL encoded | %C3%9F | |
| Windows Alt code | Alt + 0223 | |
| Alt code (CP437) | Alt + 225 | |
| Mac shortcut | Option + S |
ß vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to ß but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Greek BetaU+03B2 | Greek small letter beta (U+03B2), a Greek letter with a lower descender. | |
Capital Sharp SU+1E9E | Latin capital letter sharp s (U+1E9E), the uppercase form of Eszett. | |
Capital BU+0042 | Latin capital letter B, with two closed loops on the right side. |
Symbols similar to ß
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes.
ß character properties
- Official Unicode name
- LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S
- Also known as
- eszett, scharfes s, german double s, sharp s symbol
- Code point
- U+00DF
- Unicode block
- Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
- General category
- Lowercase letter (Ll)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ß and the Greek letter beta (β)?
ß is the German letter Eszett and makes an "s" sound. β is the Greek letter beta and makes a "b" or "v" sound. They are unrelated characters.
Why does Swiss German not use ß?
Switzerland eliminated ß from schools and publishing in the 1930s to simplify keyboard layouts and printing, using "ss" exclusively instead.
What is the alt code for the sharp s (eszett)?
On Windows, hold Alt and type 0223 on the numeric keypad to get ß. The shorter code Alt + 225 also works in most desktop apps. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 00DF then Alt + X in Word.
How do I type the sharp s (eszett) on a Mac?
Press Option + S. It works in every app on the US keyboard layout. You can also open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search for it.
What is the HTML code for the sharp s (eszett)?
Use the named entity ß or the numeric reference ß (hex ß). All three display ß in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the sharp s (eszett)?
ß is U+00DF, officially named LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S, in the Latin-1 Supplement block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).