P, the German Kurrent letter p
P is the 16th letter of the German alphabet, representing a voiceless bilabial plosive /p/, found in Germanic words and loanwords. In German Kurrent handwriting, it has a distinct historical ductus taught across German-speaking Europe until 1941.
In words
Pfarrer · pastor
History
The letter P occupies the 16th position in the German alphabet. Phonetically, it represents a voiceless bilabial plosive /p/, found in Germanic words and loanwords.
Lowercase p in Kurrent is a two-zone letter beginning at the top of the middle zone, plunging straight down below the baseline into a descender, and returning to form a rounded loop or counter on the right side. Capital P has a tall vertical stem and a wide, curved upper lobe.
In historical German church registers, p appears in clerical titles and religious roles such as 'Pfarrer' (pastor), 'Pate' (godparent), 'Pfarrei' (parish), and 'Proklamation' (banns of marriage). Its descender makes it readily visible.
P is uncommon in German: the 21st most frequent letter, at about 0.8% of all letters, far below its share in other European languages.[1] In some southern and eastern German dialects the voiceless consonants are not aspirated, so p is spoken much like b and the two are hard to tell apart by ear.[2]
Sources
- [1] P — Wikipedia (German) — 21st most frequent, 0.79%, higher in other European languages (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [2] P — Wikipedia (German) — unaspirated p sounds like b in some southern and eastern dialects (accessed 2026-10-14)