How to write an "ß"?

Question

What is the proper way to write an Eszett on paper with a pen? In English we are told to start letters at the top, but the ß only has ends at the bottom, so what is the proper way to draw the letter?

score 35 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 17 '20 at 08:52

35

In German there is not a single "proper" way to write letters in handwriting. There are regional variations (see here for details).

For schools in Germany there are federal regulations that define how pupils learn to write. Most widely used are the "Lateinische Ausgangsschrift" and the "Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift". In these the letter 'ß' is written as follows:

"Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift":

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"Lateinische Ausgangsschrift":

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edited Jun 17 '20 at 08:52

Community

1

answered Jul 13 '11 at 07:12

Takkat

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What is the english word for 'Unterlänge'? Upvoting for the underlength! :) – user unknown Jul 14 '11 at 01:48
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If "Unterlänge" means the part of a letter which extends below the line, you use "descender" in English. – Stovner Jul 14 '11 at 08:15
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Maybe it's worth noting that ß does not have an uppercase form. Instead it's substituted with SZ. Edit: Whoops, obviously I'm not up-to-date about that. – Bobby Jul 15 '11 at 14:31
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@Bobby Using SZ must be really old style. 40 years ago I already learned to use SS instead. Just as ss is used in lower case if you don't have a ß on your ancient typewriter. – Gerhardh May 24 '17 at 19:06
@Takkat, in addition to regional variations even the way I learned to write some letters 40 years ago is different from what pupils learn nowadays in the same region. – Gerhardh May 24 '17 at 19:07

score 25 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 13 '11 at 07:12

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A picture is worth a thousand words:

scharfes S ß how to write

answered Jul 13 '11 at 07:12

splattne

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I hate it when my customers say that, because it means they didn't understand what I wrote. But +1 for the answer ;) – OregonGhost Jul 13 '11 at 08:39
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@OregonGhost I don't get it. Could you draw a diagram please? ;-) – splattne Jul 13 '11 at 08:40
Yes, and I will make it direktorensicher. – OregonGhost Jul 13 '11 at 08:44
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The first one looks like a capital B, no 'Unterlänge'. No + from me. :( – user unknown Jul 14 '11 at 01:51
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@user_unknown: The first word is written in blockletters ("Druckschrift"). No "Unterlänge" required in a blockletter ß. – splattne Jul 14 '11 at 06:08
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@userunknown: I suggest the addition of a writing sample of the word Buße, to indicate the contrast between B and ß ;) – O. R. Mapper Mar 20 '15 at 10:44

user unknown · Answer 3 · 2011-07-14T01:53:07.070

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   ^
  |  \
  |   )
/||  <,
 ||   )
.||..'..............the line...
 ||
 \/

Somehow like that. It depends - as always - how the previous letter ended, and what the next letter is.

edited Jul 14 '11 at 01:53

answered Jul 13 '11 at 01:01

user unknown

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mbx · Answer 4 · 2011-07-14T10:29:46.117

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I just write it like my greek beta

2--
|  \
|   )
|  3
|  \
|   )
|  4
1

There are some people writing it with an upstroke (quite similar to user unknowns proposal) like that: ß (sz) stroke order taken from WikiBooks German

Other variants, which are no more/not yet teached in Germany, are from the Schulausgangsschrift (left) and the proposed Grundschrift (right)

ß (sz) Schulausgangsschrift and Grundschrift

edited Jul 14 '11 at 10:29

answered Jul 13 '11 at 01:49

mbx

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How to write an "ß"?

4 Answers4

"Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift":

"Lateinische Ausgangsschrift":

Linked