B, the Sütterlin letter b
B is the 2nd letter of the German alphabet, representing a voiced bilabial plosive /b/, which undergoes final-obstruent devoicing (Auslautverhärtung) to voiceless /p/ at the end of syllables and words. In Sütterlinschrift, it was redesigned in 1911 by Ludwig Sütterlin with upright, geometric proportions for German schoolchildren.
In words
Liebe · love; dear
Brief · letter
Bruder · brother
Easy to confuse with
Looks like l (Sütterlin l)
The b closes its tall loop at the middle line with a short arm before it moves on; the l is a tall loop alone and leaves from the baseline.
Looks like h (Sütterlin h)
The h goes below the baseline in a loop; the b stays on the line and closes at the middle line with a short arm.
History
The letter B is the 2nd letter of the German alphabet. Phonetically, it represents a voiced bilabial plosive /b/, which undergoes final-obstruent devoicing (Auslautverhärtung) to voiceless /p/ at the end of syllables and words.
Sütterlin lowercase b regularizes the ascender loop into an upright vertical oval, dropping straight down to form a rounded lower bowl that finishes with a horizontal bar at the waistline. Capital B is written completely upright with two balanced, circular lobes connected to a straight central downstroke.
The letter b is indispensable in genealogical research, opening vital vocabulary such as 'geboren' (born), 'begraben' (buried), 'Braut' (bride), and 'Bürger' (citizen). Recognizing its distinctive mid-height connecting arm prevents confusion with neighboring tall looped characters like l and h.
B began as a house: the Proto-Sinaitic sign shows the plan of a house with an exit,[1] and the Phoenicians called the letter bet, house.[2] When the Greeks changed their writing direction, they mirrored beta too,[3] and the Romans, writing left to right as well, took the Greek beta over without further change.[4]
Sources
- [1] B — Wikipedia (German) — Proto-Sinaitic plan of a house (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [2] B — Wikipedia (German) — Phoenician bet, house (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [3] B — Wikipedia (German) — beta mirrored with the change of direction (accessed 2026-10-14)
- [4] B — Wikipedia (German) — Romans took beta unchanged (accessed 2026-10-14)