R, the Sütterlin letter r

History

The letter R is the 18th letter of the German alphabet. Phonetically, it represents a rhotic consonant, realized historically as an alveolar trill [r] or uvular fricative [ʁ], and vocalized as [ɐ] in syllable codas.

Sütterlin lowercase r simplifies the complex historical ductus into a clear, upright stroke with a shoulder curve that connects smoothly to adjacent letters. Capital R features an upright stem, a rounded top bowl, and a diagonal supporting leg.

The letter r is frequent in administrative headings: 'Regierung' (government), 'Rathaus' (town hall), 'Religion' (religion), and 'Recht' (law). Its unique Kurrent ductus is one of the first shapes students of paleography must learn.

R began as the profile of a human head,^[1] named resh, head, in Phoenician.^[2] Greek rho was sometimes written with a short stub under its bowl,^[3] and the Romans took the version with the stub so that it could be told from P.^[4] The stub grew over time until, by Roman antiquity, it reached the baseline.^[5]