How to Type Accents on a Keyboard: Windows, Mac and Phone

On a Mac, hold down a letter key and pick the accented version from the pop-up menu. On Windows, the quickest built-in options are the emoji and symbol panel (Windows key + full stop), alt codes typed on a number pad, or switching to the US-International keyboard layout so that an apostrophe followed by a letter produces an accent. On phones, press and hold the letter. If you write in another language every day, adding that language's keyboard layout beats all the shortcuts.

Why it is worth getting right

Accents change meaning and spelling, and names typed without them can look careless on a form or a letter. Anyone who emails colleagues abroad, fills in official paperwork in another country or simply has an accented surname will reach for these keys sooner or later. Paperwork in particular tends to be strict about names matching exactly, which is one reason the difference between sworn and certified translations matters to people who move countries.

Windows: four ways to type accents

1. The emoji and symbol panel

Press the Windows key and the full stop together. The panel that opens is best known for emoji, but it also has a symbols section with Latin letters carrying accents. It is slow for regular writing, yet perfect for the occasional name.

2. Alt codes

Turn on Num Lock, hold the Alt key and type a four-digit code on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. The digits along the top row will not work, which catches out most laptop users.

Character	Alt code	Character	Alt code
á	0225	ñ	0241
é	0233	ü	0252
í	0237	ö	0246
ó	0243	ç	0231
ú	0250	à	0224

For capital letters, the codes differ, and the panel above or a layout switch is usually easier.

3. The US-International layout

Add the "United States-International" keyboard in your language and keyboard settings. Once active, some keys become "dead keys" that wait for the next letter:

• apostrophe then e gives é
• backtick then a gives à
• quotation mark then u gives ü
• tilde then n gives ñ
• caret then e gives ê

To type a plain apostrophe or quotation mark, press the key and then the space bar. It takes a day or two to get used to, but it is the fastest method for regular use of Spanish, French, German or Portuguese.

4. Shortcuts inside Microsoft Word

Word has its own combinations: Ctrl plus apostrophe, then a vowel, adds an acute accent; Ctrl plus backtick adds a grave; Ctrl, Shift and colon add an umlaut; Ctrl, Shift and tilde, then n, gives ñ. These only work inside Office apps.

Mac: press and hold, or use Option

Hold a letter such as e for a moment and a small menu appears with numbered variants. Press the number or click the one you want. For faster typing, the Option key combinations work in almost every app:

1. Option + e, then the letter: acute (é)
2. Option + backtick, then the letter: grave (è)
3. Option + u, then the letter: umlaut (ü)
4. Option + n, then the letter: tilde (ñ)
5. Option + i, then the letter: circumflex (ê)
6. Option + c: cedilla (ç) in one step

If holding a key repeats the letter instead of showing the menu, check the key-repeat settings under Keyboard in System Settings.

Phones and tablets

On both iPhone and Android, press and hold a letter on the on-screen keyboard and slide to the accented version. Adding a second keyboard language also brings in its autocorrect, so names and common words get their accents automatically.

Languages with letters beyond the usual accents

Turkish, Polish, Czech and many others use letters such as ş, ğ, ı, ł or ř that are not covered by the common alt codes. For these, adding the language's own keyboard layout is far easier than hunting through symbol menus. Windows lets you switch layouts with the Windows key and the space bar; on a Mac, add an input source under Keyboard settings and switch from the menu bar. A cheap set of keyboard stickers can help while you learn where everything sits.

Setting it up for work

If accents are part of your daily writing, make the choice once and stick with it on every device. Mixing methods between a work laptop and a home computer is a common source of typos. Building it into your desk setup, along with the other basics in how to set up a home office that works, saves friction later, and it is one of the small checks worth doing before working remotely from another country.

Common questions

Why do my alt codes produce the wrong character?

Usually because the number row was used instead of the keypad, Num Lock was off, or the leading zero was left out, which points to an older character set.

Can I type accents on a laptop without a number pad?

Yes. The symbol panel, the US-International layout or a second language layout all work without a keypad.

Should accented names appear on a CV or cover letter?

Use the spelling that matches your official documents. Our guide to writing a cover letter that gets read covers the rest of the details hiring managers notice.