ss
German, symbol
ss is spelled S-S (2 letters) and appears 26 times per million words in written German, the 3,188th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ss is a German symbol meaning “Sometimes used to replace the letter ß, especially when this key or character is not available. It was also the only official way of…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, SS is a different word: “abbreviation of Schutzstaffel”.
What does ss mean in English?
symbol
- 1
Sometimes used to replace the letter ß, especially when this key or character is not available. It was also the only official way of writing a capital ß, until ẞ was officially adopted by the Council for German Orthography in June 2017.
- 2
SwitzerlandSwitzerland and Liechtenstein standard spelling of ß
symbol
- 1
One of the official capital forms of ß (the other one is ẞ), or ss used in Swiss and Liechtenstein German, or once ſs (in Antiqua)
noun
- 1
feminineabbreviation of Schutzstaffel
- 2
feminineabbreviation of Schwangerschaft
noun
- 1
neuterabbreviation of Sommersemester
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
abbreviation: 1. Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 2. Strong Safety
abbreviation: 1. Schutzstaffel 2. Schwangerschaft
abbreviation: 1. Südsudan
abbreviation: 1. Sommersemester
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of ss
- SZ uppercase
- ß lowercase
- ss lowercase
- SS. alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to ss
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ss in German?
ss appears 26 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).