Font for First Graders
Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift — German handwriting chart to print
A reference chart of every letter in the Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift: capitals, lower case, umlauts, ß and the digits. Not a worksheet — this is the model, for looking up what a letter is meant to look like.
What is Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift?
The VA ("simplified starting script") was introduced in Germany in 1969 to replace the older Lateinische Ausgangsschrift, and is now the joined-up handwriting taught in most German states. It has far fewer loops and reversals: letters join at the baseline rather than looping above it, which makes the movement much easier for a child to learn.
Who needs the chart
- Anyone teaching German handwriting outside Germany, where the model is hard to find.
- Parents who learned the older Lateinische Ausgangsschrift and no longer remember the forms.
- Capitals especially — several differ sharply from the printed letters.
For practising the letters
This sheet shows the shapes; there is nothing to write on. For tracing and practice you want letter practice sheets or ruled guide lines.
How do I print it at the right size?
Printers shrink the page slightly by default, which makes every measurement on the sheet wrong. Turn scaling off and the spacing comes out exactly as you set it.
- Scale: 100% / Actual size
- Turn off "Fit to page"
- Paper: white 80 gsm
- Colour: black and white for crisp lines
Do I need Word for this?
No. A grid or ruling drawn as a table in Word changes size when it prints, because Word scales the page to your printer margins — so the spacing you set is not the spacing you get. The PDF here is fixed at the size you chose, which is the whole point of downloading one.
Can I put the grid inside a Word document?
Yes — download it as a transparent PNG and insert it as a picture or page background. Word, Google Docs and Slides all take it, and the spacing stays exactly as you set it here.
