umlaut
um·laut/ˈʊm.laʊt/noun, verb
umlaut is spelled U-M-L-A-U-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (um·laut). It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, umlaut means “An assimilatory process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vocoid that is separated by one or more consonants” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of umlaut is umlauts or umlaute.
How many letters and syllables are in umlaut?
| Letters | 6: U-M-L-A-U-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: um·laut |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is umlaut?
Umlaut appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce umlaut?
- UK /ˈʊm.laʊt/
- UK /ˈʌmlaʊt/
- US /ˈʊm.laʊt/
Umlaut has 2 syllables, split um·laut in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-umlaut.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with umlaut?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as umlaut (/ʊmlaʊt/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mutual.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of umlaut
- umlauts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- umlaute plural
- umlauting participle, present
- umlauted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does umlaut mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An assimilatory process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vocoid that is separated by one or more consonants.
- 2
The umlaut process (as above) that occurred historically in Germanic languages whereby back vowels became front vowels when followed by syllable containing a front vocoid (e.g. Germanic lūsiz > Old English lȳs(i) > Modern English lice).
- 3
A vowel so assimilated.
- 4
The diacritical mark ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel when it indicates a (rounded) front vowel
- 5
informalSynonym of diaeresis.
"Naïve" takes an umlaut because it is pronounced as two syllables.
verb
- 1
To place an umlaut over (a vowel).
- 2
To modify (a word) so that an umlaut is required in it.
an umlauting vowel
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Umlaut in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | métaphonie , tréma |
| German | Umlaut , Umlautzeichen , Halbdoppellaut, umgelauteter Vokal |
| Portuguese | umlaut, metafonia , trema |
| Spanish | metafonía , diéresis |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does umlaut come from?
Borrowed from German Umlaut in the 19ᵗʰ century, from um- or um (“around, re-, trans-”) + Laut (“sound”), from Old High German hlūt. More at loud.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).