Most European languages have two small dots over some letters, usually the vowels. This system is a kind of diacritical mark used to guide pronunciation or syllabication.
While it’s particular to the German language, the two dots are also evident in other languages like French and Spanish. In the German language, umlauts mean “around sound” or “changed sound”.
It’s mostly used to guide speakers of the pronunciation of the umlauted word. In other languages, umlauts represent diaeresis to imply syllabication between vowel letters.

If you’re wondering how Germans type their mysterious umlauts, then we have good news for you. MS Word allows you to type an umlaut without changing your keyboard or installing a separate program. In this guide, we’ll share with you different methods to type an umlaut without having to lift a finger.
Now, there are about four ways to type an umlaut in MS Word.
4 Ways to Type an Umlaut in MS Word
- Using shortcut keys
- Using ASCII codes
- Using an online German keyboard simulator
- Using the Symbol Dialogue box
There’s nothing more convenient than having to press a combination of keyboard keys to insert special characters like an umlaut. Using the first two methods, we’ll show you how to type an umlaut with a few strokes on your keyboard keys. On the other hand, if you need to type longer texts involving umlauts, you may use a foreign keyboard simulator online. This way, you can get the job done faster. Lastly, the fourth method utilizes Word’s plethora of symbols found in the Symbol Dialogue box.
Overall, you’ll find all four methods to be equally reliable when you need to type an umlaut in MS Word. After all, Microsoft has made it possible to easily insert umlaut and other characters in your documents.
Let’s dive right in!




