what is the strange b letter in german
In German orthography, the grapheme ß, called Eszett (IPA: (ɛsˈtsɛt)) or scharfes S (IPA: (ˈʃaɐ̯fəs ˈʔɛs), (ˈʃaːfəs ˈʔɛs)), in English "sharp S", represents the(s) phoneme in Standard German, specifically when following long vowels and diphthongs, while ss is used after short vowels. The name Eszett represents the German pronunciation of the two letters S and Z.