How do I insert an umlaut on the u in ubuntu?

Question

I have already activated the compose key (left CTRL). According to all the forums I've read, I have to punch in Compose, followed by "u. This is what I get as a result: ´u'

I am really stuck here. Any help will be most appreciated.

Also look here for some solutions including Linux: http://german.stackexchange.com/questions/724/wie-schreibt-man-umlaute-und-scharfes-s-auf-nichtdeutschen-tastaturen — Takkat, Jun 05 '13 at 08:47
Adrian May is correct. These various steps are a bit ridiculous, and continue to change. Just Google " umlaut" and copy/paste. If you want it to be fast-access, keep a text file handy with all the various characters you use. — noogrub, Mar 27 '24 at 14:00

Simon · Answer 1 · 2013-06-05T10:02:25.400

66

UPDATED

I have worked it out.

Firstly, set your Compose Key to Right Alt (Alt Gr on my keyboard) so that it doesn't interfere with the short cuts for copy, paste and many other combinations.

then go to your document and

press the Alt Gr button
release it
then type in u
followed by "
which gives you a ü

Hope this helps

edited Jun 05 '13 at 10:02

answered Jun 05 '13 at 08:35

Simon

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To find out how to set the Compose Key, head over to the Ubuntu Documentation page – dsample Sep 21 '14 at 18:07
For those looking here, at the moment it is Compose then " then u. For this laptop compose is Shift and AltGr pressed down together so the actual key sequence is: Shift+AltGr then "u For my other machines it is just AltGr then "u – Max Murphy Dec 01 '19 at 13:45
I don't think it's a good idea to set the Compose Key to Right Alt, as this key (Alt Graph) is already set up for shortcuts (see my gist Typography symbols for Linux using AltGr & Compose keys) Better to use the right Windows key. – Jake Rayson Feb 10 '23 at 08:18

avimehenwal · Answer 2 · 2020-10-16T14:59:32.490

18

Update For OS: Ubuntu 16.04 x86_64

Alternate characters (like umlauts) are inserted using multiple keystrokes in conjunction with the compose key. In ubuntu 16.04, compose key binding is turned off by default which can be enabled from

System settings-> Keyboard-> Shortcuts tab-> Typing column-> Compose Key

If the value in front of compose key is Disabled, click the value and Press the key to bind from the keyboard. In my case, compose key is set to AltGr key. Now you system to ready to print all german umlauts as below

compose key + " + A = Ä

compose key + " + O = Ö

compose key + " + U = Ü

compose key + " + ss = ß

compose key + ss = ß

Bam you go!

edited Oct 16 '20 at 14:59

answered May 14 '17 at 09:25

avimehenwal

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for me, it is only compose key + ss to type ß – ihsan Aug 22 '19 at 10:52
For upper-case ß, use compose key + SS = ẞ – Zeta.Investigator Mar 17 '21 at 17:56

score 13 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 13 '19 at 10:55

13

I know this question specifies 13.04 but thought I would add a solution for 18.04.

I found the default on my machine without making any changes in preferences was the following (I am using a UK keyboard):

Alt Gr + [ followed by the character to add the umlaut to (i.e u)

answered Jul 13 '19 at 10:55

Michael Hall

241

the easiest for me so far! – syss Oct 04 '19 at 23:11
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This answer should be more highly rated! The compose-key stuff is a bit of a hack in my opinion and it's better to use what's built into the keyboard layout (although sadly, it's not very well documented). It's also worth noting that this particular solution is not limited to any specific distro or version - it will work on any Linux distrubution that is using a keyboard layout with an alt-gr key (i.e. any of the European ones). – Joel Cross Feb 16 '20 at 20:26
by far the simplest solution, excellent! – suspectus Jan 30 '21 at 18:06
I love you so much - this works on Manjaro too. Previously I could only get a capital I with an umlaut by pressing and holding Shift then AltGr, then pressing I, releasing AltGr, and pressing 2. Your method works so much more easily and for lowercase. – Adam Barnes Jul 13 '21 at 16:31

Dig · Answer 4 · 2016-05-27T10:24:51.830

8

I did it using Ubuntu 15.10 with a UK keyboard and EN-GB keyboard. I don't know what a Compose key is so didn't intentionally use one. Instead the following keystrokes put umlauts over ü and ö.

press the Shift+AltGr buttons
release them
then type in u or o
followed by "
which gives you a ü or ö.

Cheers

edited May 27 '16 at 10:24

answered May 27 '16 at 10:18

Dig

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Confirm works in uBuntu 18.04 LTS. Exact sequence is (1) Shift + AltGr (these can now be released), (2) Shift + 2 (for quotation marks and now Shift can be released), (3) whatever letter you want an umlaut on eg. u. – AlainD Sep 03 '19 at 15:16

score 6 · Answer 5 · edited Aug 05 '19 at 18:27

6

In Ubuntu 18.10 and newer the best option if you regularly need umlauts is to use gnome-tweaks to activate the compose key -- install with: sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

Activate the compose key: Start Tweaks and choose at Keyboard & Mouse -> Compose-Key to designate your compose key. AltGr or Right-Alt is standard.

Now you can type Umlaut as explained in other answers: AltGr+" then u will get you ü -- in general you can add any umlaut to letters that take an umlaut or diaeresis with AltGr+" followed by the letter.

edited Aug 05 '19 at 18:27

Amanda

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answered Jan 02 '19 at 14:51

Niklas

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To install Tweaks: sudo apt install gnome-tweaks.The default Compose key in uBuntu 18.04 was Scroll Lock. – AlainD Sep 04 '19 at 08:51

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 05 '13 at 08:46

3

First go in System settings > Personal > Keyboard Layout and add German layout:

enter image description here

Now, select German layaut and check Layout Chart to see where is 'u with umlaut':

enter image description here

answered Jun 05 '13 at 08:46

Radu Rădeanu

169,590

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Jul 11 '18 at 16:04

Another way is to use Ctrl.+Shift+U followed by the unicode characters, pointed out here:

And the other is typing the Unicode character's code point. To do this, press Ctrl+Shift+U, release all keys (you'll see an underlined u), type the code point desired, and then press Space or Enter to complete.

For example, a common one I use is referred to as “Smart Quotes” which are U+201C & U+201D respectively. So you would type 201C or 201D after releasing the initial keys, and complete the process with Space or Enter.

It works on Ubuntu 18.04, but I am not sure about older version.

NicoHood · Answer 8 · 2022-07-09T19:44:25.883

1

You can try this easy solution without any hacks or system file editing. It only uses Gnome builtin tools.

Open GNOME Tweak Tool and enable: Keyboard & Mouse → Show Extended Input Sources
Restart your Gnome session
Open GNOME Settings and go to Keyboard → Input Sources and add the new Keyboard Layout German (US).

The layout is a simple US Keyboard with Ä | Ü | Ö mapped to Alt GR+A | U | O and ß to Alt GR+S.

edited Jul 09 '22 at 19:44

answered Aug 13 '21 at 17:29

NicoHood

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It looks like you're linking to your own blog post here - if so please do mention in the post that it's yours - we have rather strict rules about "disclosing affiliation" for links (see this harshly worded page in the Help Center) – Zanna Aug 13 '21 at 17:41
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@Zanna It's not a first offense. – DavidPostill Aug 14 '21 at 08:02
Thanks for the note, I was not aware of that, sorry! I got an answer ban now, and I only have two answers left that I could improve. I'd like to contribute to another question, but I can't. I've removed my blog link, so would you please mind removing your downvote? Thanks :) – NicoHood Jul 09 '22 at 19:46

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 06 '16 at 12:23

1

For Afrikaans this also works for "deelteken e" and "kappie e" on Linux:

after having setup the compose key
press the AltGr button
release
then type in e
followed by ^ (shift + 6) or "
which gives you ê or ë

answered Jul 06 '16 at 12:23

Elizabeth Meyer

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score 0 · Answer 10 · edited Sep 06 '19 at 02:26

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I believe my one is the easiest procedure to follow. It worked for me for any version of Ubuntu. The steps are as follows:

Press ALT+CTRL+U simultaneously.
Release U and press 00 (zero twice)
Press F & C for printing ü.
Or press D & C for printing Ü.

I wish you good luck!

edited Sep 06 '19 at 02:26

zx485

2,426

answered Sep 05 '19 at 21:22

docjag

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How do I insert an umlaut on the u in ubuntu?

10 Answers10

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