German Typing Test · Deutsch
Die Stadt verändert sich völlig, wenn die Nacht hereinbricht und die Neonlichter beginnen, sich in den vom Regen nassen Straßen zu spiegeln. Die Restaurants öffnen ihre Türen, und der Duft verschiedener Gewürze zieht auf den Bürgersteig, vermischt mit der Musik aus den nahegelegenen Cafés. Straßenverkäufer schieben geschickt ihre Wagen durch die Menge und bieten warme Snacks für jene an, die müde von der Arbeit nach Hause kommen. Touristen laufen mit Karten in der Hand umher, auf der Suche nach dem besten Ort zum Abendessen, während die Einheimischen mit sicherem Schritt vorangehen, da sie jede Ecke kennen. An den Straßenecken stimmen Straßenmusiker ihre Instrumente, bevor sie Melodien spielen, die kleine Gruppen von Neugierigen anziehen. Der Verkehr nimmt allmählich ab, und die Stadt, die tagsüber ununterbrochen zu laufen schien, nimmt einen langsameren, fast intimen Rhythmus an. In diesen nächtlichen Momenten kann man wirklich das lebendige Herz eines so großen und vielfältigen Ortes spüren.
Click the box and start typing to begin.
German requires capitalizing every noun mid-sentence, not just proper names — a rule unique among major world languages — and adds three umlauted vowels plus ß (eszett), a letter that genuinely distinguishes word meaning rather than serving as a stylistic variant of 'ss'.
This test measures how quickly and accurately you can type real German sentences, including its capitalization rules and full accented-letter set.
Every Noun Is Capitalized
Unlike English, German capitalizes every common noun regardless of its position in the sentence — der Tisch (the table), die Stadt (the city) — which means Shift-key usage happens far more often in ordinary German prose than in most other Latin-script languages. This is a defining feature of standard German orthography, not a stylistic choice, and a typing test should score it exactly.
SS Is Not the Same as 'ss'
SS (eszett or scharfes S) genuinely distinguishes words from their 'ss' counterparts in standard German spelling — Maße (measurements) versus Masse (mass) is the textbook example. Switzerland notably doesn't use ß at all in its German-language writing, substituting 'ss' throughout, so which convention is correct depends on the regional standard your source follows, and a typing test should reproduce the source exactly rather than normalizing to one convention.
Three Umlauted Vowels: Ä, Ö, Ü
Ä, ö, and ü represent genuinely distinct vowel sounds from a, o, and u, and dropping the umlaut changes the word — schon (already) versus schön (beautiful) is a common example. When ä, ö, ü aren't available, standard German fallback spelling replaces them with ae, oe, ue (and ß with ss), but this is a documented substitution convention for constrained input, not the preferred or default spelling.
The German QWERTZ Keyboard
The standard German keyboard layout is QWERTZ, swapping the Y and Z positions found on a US QWERTY layout, and provides dedicated keys for ä, ö, ü, and ß. Typists moving between English QWERTY and German QWERTZ often make Y/Z slip-ups even with substantial experience in both — this is a muscle-memory collision between layouts, not a language weakness.
What Is a Good German Typing Speed?
There is no published, verifiable universal benchmark for German typing speed. Use your own first clean result as a baseline, and for a specific exam or employer's requirement, rely on that source's actual published rule rather than a generic number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are so many words capitalized in German?
German capitalizes every common noun, not just proper names, regardless of its position in the sentence. This is standard German orthography, not a stylistic choice.
Is ß the same as writing 'ss'?
No, in standard German they can distinguish different words, such as Maße versus Masse. Switzerland doesn't use ß at all, substituting 'ss' throughout, so correct usage depends on the regional standard.
Does German use QWERTY or QWERTZ?
QWERTZ, which swaps the Y and Z positions found on a US QWERTY layout and provides dedicated keys for ä, ö, ü, and ß.
What is a good German typing speed?
There is no verified universal benchmark. Track your own progress over time and use a specific employer or exam's published requirement when one actually exists.
Wähle deine Zeit, beginne zu tippen und sieh sofort deine Geschwindigkeit und Genauigkeit.