How do you do accents in word

In Word and Outlook, you can use accent marks (or diacritical marks) in a document, such as an acute accent, cedilla, circumflex, diaeresis or umlaut, grave accent, or tilde.

• For keyboard shortcuts in which you press two or more keys simultaneously, the keys to press are separated by a plus sign (+) in the tables. For example, to type a copyright symbol © , hold down the Alt key and type 0169.

• For keyboard shortcuts in which you press one key immediately followed by another key, the keys to press are separated by a comma (,). For example, for è you would press Ctrl + ` , release and then type e.

• To type a lowercase character by using a key combination that includes the SHIFT key, hold down the CTRL+SHIFT+symbol keys simultaneously, and then release them before you type the letter. For example, to type a ô, hold down CTRL, SHIFT and ^, release and type o.

To insert this	Press
à, è, ì, ò, ù, À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù	CTRL+` (ACCENT GRAVE), the letter
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý	CTRL+’ (APOSTROPHE), the letter
â, ê, î, ô, û Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û	CTRL+SHIFT+^ (CARET), the letter
ã, ñ, õ Ã, Ñ, Õ	CTRL+SHIFT+~ (TILDE), the letter
ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ, Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ	CTRL+SHIFT+: (COLON), the letter
å, Å	CTRL+SHIFT+@, a or A
æ, Æ	CTRL+SHIFT+&, a or A
œ, Œ	CTRL+SHIFT+&, o or O
ç, Ç	CTRL+, (COMMA), c or C
ð, Ð	CTRL+’ (APOSTROPHE), d or D
ø, Ø	CTRL+/, o or O
¿	ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+?
¡	ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+!
ß	CTRL+SHIFT+&, s
The Unicode character for the specified Unicode (hexadecimal) character code	The character code, ALT+X For example, to insert the euro currency symbol , type 20AC, and then hold down the ALT key and press X.
The ANSI character for the specified ANSI (decimal) character code	ALT+the character code (on the numeric keypad) Make sure that NUM LOCK is on before you type the character code. For example, to insert the euro currency symbol, hold down the ALT key and press 0128 on the numeric keypad. For more info on using Unicode and ASCII characters, see Insert ASCII or Unicode character codes.
To insert this macron character: Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū	Press this: Alt+0256 Alt+0257 Alt+0274 Alt+0275 Alt+0298 Alt+0299 Alt+0332 Alt+0333 Alt+0362 Alt+0363

Notes: 

• If you’re working on a laptop without a separate numeric keyboard, you can add most accented characters using the Insert > Symbol > More Symbols command in Word. For more info, see Insert a symbol in Word.

• If you plan to type in other languages often you should consider switching your keyboard layout to that language. For more info see Switch between languages using the Language bar.

In Word, you can use accent marks (or diacritical marks) in a document, such as an acute accent, cedilla, circumflex, diaeresis or umlaut, grave accent, or tilde.
Keyboard shortcuts to add language accent marks in Word.

To insert this	Press
à, è, ì, ò, ù, À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù	CTRL+` (ACCENT GRAVE), the letter
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý	CTRL+’ (APOSTROPHE), the letter

How do you type accents?

Insert Accented Letters with Keyboard Shortcuts
You’ll use the Ctrl or Shift key along with the accent key on your keyboard, followed by a quick press of the letter. For example, to get the á character, you’d press Ctrl+’ (apostrophe), release those keys, and then quickly press the A key.

How do I type é on my keyboard?

é: Press Ctrl and type “‘” (apostrophe). Release both keys and type “e”. à-è-ù: Press Ctrl and type “`” key (left-hand side, top of the keyboard).
These accents are:

1. L’accent aigu (é)
2. L’accent grave (à, è, ù)
3. L’accent circonflexe or “chapeau” (â, ê, î, ô, û)
4. La cédille (ç)
5. Le tréma (ë, ï, ü)

How do I turn on my accent?

Press Control + ‘, then the letter to add an acute accent.
Hold Control, then tap the apostrophe key. You can find the apostrophe next to the enter key. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter to accent.

Is it possible to develop a accent?

Research has shown that accents become permanent around the age of 12 years old. That being said, it is possible for accents to change over time or for adults to develop a subtle accent after living in a foreign country for an extended period of time.

What is the Alt code for é?

Alt 0233
ALT Key Code Shortcuts and How To Make Symbols With Keyboard

Alt Codes	Symbol	Description
Alt 0233	é	e acute
Alt 0234	ê	e circumflex
Alt 0235	ë	e umlaut
Alt 0236	ì	i grave

What is grave accent on keyboard?

In English, grave accent marks are used with the following uppercase and lowercase vowels: À, à, È, è, Ì, ì, Ò, ò, Ù, and ù. There are several ways to type a grave accent on a Mac keyboard.

How do you type accents on a PC?

PC Laptop

1. Hold down your Shift key and press the NumLock key (usually located in the top right corner of the keyboard).
2. Add the accent by holding down the Alt and Fn (function) keys and then use the secondary numeric keypad to type the numeric sequence code (Alt-code).

How do I type é on my keyboard Chromebook?

With the International layout, you can type ‘ followed by e and get é. If you want to type ‘ you need to press the key and then use the space bar.

How do you type French accents on a keyboard?

Windows: International Keyboard

1. To type accent grave (à, è, etc), type ` (to the left of 1) then the vowel.
2. Accent aigu (é), type ‘ (single quote) then e.
3. Cédille (ç), type ‘ then c.
4. Circonflexe (ê), type ^ (shift + 6) then e.
5. Tréma (ö), type ” (shift + ‘) then o.

How do I type an O with an accent?

Accented characters and shortcuts
Example 1: To type the letter ó, hold down the Control key, then press the apostrophe key. Release both keys and type o. The accented letter should appear.

How do I type the N with an accent?

So, in your word processor, you should press and hold Alt until you finish typing the number 164 in the number pad to get the ñ to appear. To insert an upper case eñe, or Ñ, hold Alt and type 165.

Why are accents not working on Mac?

Try going to system preferences/keyboard/input sources and adding Spanish or French and restarting. You can also easily make accents via the standard option key shortcuts. To type an accented or alternate version of a character, hold a key down until its alternate characters are displayed.

Can your accent change at 18?

Research shows that if you start learning a language later in life (after the age of seven or later as an adult), you might become fluent but you won’t be able to change your accent. You’ll have more chance of changing your native accent in your native language, but even that will be difficult.

What age do you learn your accent?

Comparing the two results, it is estimated that children start to recognize different accents at the age of 5 and start to develop their own accents. For that reason, it is recommended to increase children’s exposure to different accents between age 5 to 7 for them to develop an unique accent that fits themselves.

Can your accent change in your 20s?

Though it’s likely your accent won’t change drastically once you’ve hit your 20s, it can be influenced by the changing environment around you.Your accent is also prone to picking up external influences, though these changes are typically more subconscious and subtle.

What is Ē?

ē (singular lē) (plural only) who; that; which.

How do I type an accented e in Gmail?

This will cause Gmail to reload. Once this happens, if you press the letter “e” three times, the “eee” will change to an accented e. If that wasn’t the accent you wanted, press e two more times and the éee will change to a different accented e. Just keep typing e until the sort of e you want appears.

What is L accent AIGU?

1. The Aigu Accent (L’accent aigu) The aigu accent is placed above the e vowel and changes the sound to ay. The aigu points upward and to the right. It is very commonly used, and an example of its use would be in médecin (may-deh-sehn, meaning doctor).

How do I type Spanish accents?

Most new mobile phones, across both Apple and Android operating systems, will allow you to type an accented letter simply by long-pressing on the letter on the keypad. The various options for that letter will appear in a small box, and you can make a selection.

What is È character?

“È” is a letter. The letter E with a grave accent.È means “is” in modern Italian [ɛ], e.g. il cane è piccolo meaning “the dog is small”. It is derived from Latin ĕst and is accented to distinguish it from the conjunction e meaning “and”. È is also used to mark a stressed [ɛ] at the end of a word only, as in caffè.

Simple ways to create accents

Updated on November 26, 2022

What to Know

• In Microsoft Word, select Insert tab > Symbol > More Symbols > choose accent > Insert > Close.
• You can also add accents in Word using keyboard shortcuts.
• On a Mac, hold down key for letter you want to accent. A small window will appear. Choose corresponding number.

This article explains how to add accents in Microsoft Word using the menu bar or keyboard shortcuts. It also covers how to add accents if you’re using a Mac.

How to Add Accents in Word Using the Menu Bar

It’s easy to add accents in Word using the menu bar. Here’s how to do it in Word 2016, which comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription. If you have an older version of Word, that’s fine too; the process is similar for Word 2013, Word 2010, and Word 2007.

If you are using an unusual font in Word, you may not be able to add an accent using that particular font. In that case, your best bet is to switch to one of the standard fonts.

1. Open Microsoft Word.

2. Select the Insert tab on the menu bar.

3. Select the Symbol option, which you’ll find on the right-hand side of your screen next to the Omega symbol (Ω).

4. A drop-down menu will appear. Select More Symbols.

5. The Symbols dialog box will open. If you need one of the more common accents, you should see it as you scroll down the list of letters.

   If you don’t immediately see the accent you want, make sure you’re viewing the Symbols tab and the Font drop-down menu is set to Normal Text.

6. Choose the accent you want, select the Insert button, then select Close.

   To access an even larger library of accents, select Latin Extended-A in the Subset drop-down menu at the right-hand side of your screen.

7. You’re done!

How to Add Accents in Word Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Of course, using the menu isn’t the only way to add accents in Word. Some people prefer the convenience of a handy keyboard shortcut. Here’s how to put an accent over a letter using a keyboard shortcut.

Microsoft Word allows you to use keyboard shortcuts you create accents as you’re typing, which is often a lot faster than digging into the menu.

• If you need to call up the «á» character featuring an acute accent, for example, all you need to do is press Ctrl+’ (apostrophe), lift your fingers from the keys, then quickly press the A key. You can do the same thing to create an «ù,» too; press Ctrl+’ (apostrophe), release your fingers, then quickly press the U key.
• To flip it around and create an accent grave on a character, say for the letter «é,» all you have to do is press Ctrl+`(accent grave). The same process is repeatable for any letter you need. To add an accent to an uppercase letter, just enable caps lock on your keyboard before using the shortcut.

Once you’ve gotten the knack for this, you’ll realize these shortcuts follow a pattern and you can easily adapt them on the fly to create the accent you want. Microsoft has a handy table showing some of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts.

These keyboard shortcuts are best for Windows users. If you’re on a Mac, there’s an even simpler way to get it done.

How to Add Accents in Word on a Mac

If you’re using a Mac, you have a very straightforward option for creating accents using the keyboard.

1. Hold down the key for the letter you want to have an accent. For example, press and hold down the letter e if you want to put an acute accent on it, as in the word «café.»

2. A small window will appear above the text you’re typing. You’ll notice each accent has a number.

3. Choose the number corresponding to the accent you want and it will be inserted into your text.

Now that you know how to add accents in Word, you’ll be über talented at including them anytime you like.

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How do I get letters with accent marks in Microsoft Word?

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Select the Insert tab on the Ribbon or click Insert in the menu bar.
3. On the Insert tab or the Insert drop-down, select the Symbol option.
4. Select the desired accented character or symbol from the list of symbols.

Furthermore, How do I make the letters on my keyboard weird?

1. Ensure that the Num Lock key has been pressed, to activate the numeric key section of the keyboard.
2. Press the Alt key, and hold it down.
3. While the Alt key is pressed, type the sequence of numbers (on the numeric keypad) from the Alt code in the above table.
4. Release the Alt key, and the character will appear.

Simply so What is the Alt code for accent E?

It is easy to make a letter with an acute, tilde or umlaut accent using the ALT key shortcuts on your keyboard. Here is a list of the most used international ALT code accents.
…
ALT key accents in UPPER CASE.

Alt Codes	Symbol	Description
Alt 0200	È	E grave
Alt 0201	É	E acute
Alt 0202	Ê	E circumflex
Alt 0203	Ë	E umlaut

• 13 août 2013

Also, How do you write accents? Here are some tips to consider when giving your characters accents:

1. Make sure your character’s speech isn’t distracting. …
2. Research slang and colloquialisms. …
3. Use pieces of other languages. …
4. Don’t stereotype. …
5. Recognize that character speech is determined by context.

How do I type Spanish accents in Word?

Typing Spanish Accents

1. á (lower case a, acute accent) = Press Ctrl + ‘ (apostrophe), then the letter a. é (lower case e, acute accent) = Press Ctrl + ‘ (apostrophe), then the letter e. …
2. Á (upper case A, acute accent) = Press Ctrl + ‘ (apostrophe), then Shift + a. …
3. ¿ (inverted question mark) = Press Alt + Ctrl + Shift + ? (

How do you type Alt codes? To use an Alt code, press and hold down the Alt key and type the code using the numeric key pad on the right side of your keyboard. If you do not have a numeric keypad, copy and paste the symbols from this page, or go back try another typing method.

How do you type special characters?

Inserting ASCII characters

To insert an ASCII character, press and hold down ALT while typing the character code. For example, to insert the degree (º) symbol, press and hold down ALT while typing 0176 on the numeric keypad. You must use the numeric keypad to type the numbers, and not the keyboard.

How do you type accents on Windows?

Method 2: Type accented characters using their Alt codes

1. Move your mouse cursor to where you want to type the accented character.
2. Make sure your Num Lock is turned on. …
3. Press and hold the Alt key on your keyboard.
4. With the Alt key still held, type the Alt code for the accented character you want. …
5. Let go of the Alt key.

How do I get the accent over the e?

To type the letter “é” on a PC, press and hold the ALT key and type 0233. In Microsoft Word, press CTRL + ‘, followed by the letter “e”. This should make the letter “é” appear in your document.

How do you do alt codes with accents?

To type Spanish accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then type the three or four digits listed here on the numeric keypad. Release the ALT key and the accented letter or special character will appear.

How do I type French accents in Word?

Here’s the easiest way to type French accents on Word

1. Hold down the “CTRL” key and keep it held down.
2. Tap and release the punctuation mark which looks the most like the accent you need.
3. Tap and release the letter which will have the accent.
4. Let go of the “CTRL” key.

How do you describe an accent?

Here are some adjectives for accent: slight spanish, slight french, slight british, lilting cajun, broad colorful, inner rhythmic, slight foreign, crisp british, slight irish, slight southern, rhythmic polish, slightly foreign, slight german, hideously rich, powerful jamaican, breathy fake, slight polish, absurd …

How do you write accents on a PC?

PC Laptop

1. Hold down your Shift key and press the NumLock key (usually located in the top right corner of the keyboard). …
2. Add the accent by holding down the Alt and Fn (function) keys and then use the secondary numeric keypad to type the numeric sequence code (Alt-code).

What are the Alt keys for Spanish accents?

You can reference the following codes to specify the letters you would like to input:

• á = Alt + 0225.
• Á = Alt + 0193.
• é = Alt + 0233.
• É = Alt + 0201.
• í = Alt + 0237.
• Í = Alt + 0205.
• ó = Alt + 0243.
• Ó = Alt + 0211.

How do you type Spanish accents on a PC?

On a PC

1. For accented vowels, press Ctrl + ‘, then the vowel you want to accent.
2. For the Spanish ñ, press Ctrl + ~, then the n key.

How do you type ͡ ͜ʖ ͡?

How to Type Lenny ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) faces?

1. Press (Shift+9) (
2. Press Spacebar …
3. Press (ALT+ 865) ͡
4. Press (ALT+ 248) °
5. Press Spacebar …
6. Press (ALT+ 860) ͜
7. Press (ALT+ 662) ʖ
8. Press Spacebar …

How do you type Alt codes without a numeric keypad?

USING ALT CODES ON LAPTOP WITHOUT NUM LOCK

1. Open Character Map by clicking the Start button, clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools, and then clicking Character Map.
2. In the Font list, type or select the font you want to use.
3. Click the special character you want to insert into the document.

What is the Alt code for infinity?

How to type infinity symbol on keyboard

Platform	Key type	Description
PC windows	Alt+236	Hold the ALT key and type 236 on the num-lock keypad.
Macintosh	Option+5	Hold the Option key and press 5
Microsoft word	Insert > Symbol > ∞	Menu selection: Insert > Symbol > ∞
Alt+236	Hold the ALT key and type 236 on the num-lock keypad.

How do you type special characters in Word?

Special characters like em dashes or section marks (§)

1. Click or tap where you want to insert the special character.
2. Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols.
3. Go to Special Characters.
4. Double-click the character that you want to insert. …
5. Select Close.

How do you show special characters in Word?

As with most things in Word, you can use either a keyboard shortcut or the mouse to see the hidden formatting characters.

1. Keyboard, hit Control+Shift+8.
2. Mouse, simply click the Show/Hide button on the Home tab.

How do I get symbols on my phone keyboard?

Typing special characters

You can type special characters in just about any app using the standard Android keyboard. To get to the special characters, simply press and hold the key associated with that special character until a pop-up picker appears.

How do I type accents on Windows 10?

Entering an accent character is far easier on this keyboard. To enable it, right-click the taskbar and select Show touch keyboard button. This will add a keyboard button to the system tray. Click it to bring up the keyboard and then click and hold on a character to get the accent versions of it.

How do you type an A with an accent?

You’ll use the Ctrl or Shift key along with the accent key on your keyboard, followed by a quick press of the letter. For example, to get the á character, you’d press Ctrl+’ (apostrophe), release those keys, and then quickly press the A key.

Last Updated: April 20, 2022 | Author: howto-Trust

Contents

• 1 How do I type é on my keyboard?
• 2 How do I put an accent over a letter in Word?
• 3 How do you put accents above a letter when typing?
• 4 What is the Alt code for é in Word?
• 5 How do you get an é on word?
• 6 How do you put accents over letters in Windows 10?
• 7 How do I type é on my keyboard Windows 10?
• 8 What is the Alt code for é e with an accent?
• 9 How do I type an e with an accent mark?
• 10 How do you type accent AIGU on Windows?
• 11 How do you type Greek accents on a keyboard?
• 12 How do you add accents on Windows?
• 13 How do I type French accents in Word?
• 14 How do you type Spanish accents on Windows?

How do I type é on my keyboard?

é: Press Ctrl and type “‘” (apostrophe). Release both keys and type “e”. à-è-ù: Press Ctrl and type “`” key (left-hand side, top of the keyboard).
…
These accents are:

1. L’accent aigu (é)
2. L’accent grave (à, è, ù)
3. L’accent circonflexe or “chapeau” (â, ê, î, ô, û)
4. La cédille (ç)
5. Le tréma (ë, ï, ü)

How do I put an accent over a letter in Word?

How do I get letters with accent marks in Microsoft Word?

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Select the Insert tab on the Ribbon or click Insert in the menu bar.
3. On the Insert tab or the Insert drop-down, select the Symbol option.
4. Select the desired accented character or symbol from the list of symbols.

How do you put accents above a letter when typing?

Open a document in Microsoft Word. Press “Ctrl” plus the apostrophe key and then the letter to insert an acute accent. Press “Ctrl” plus the grave accent key and then the letter to insert a grave accent.

What is the Alt code for é in Word?

French

Character	ALT Code	ALT Code
È	0200	0140
è	0232	0156
É	0201	0217
é	0233	0249

How do you get an é on word?

For example, for è you would press Ctrl + ` , release and then type e.
…
Keyboard shortcuts to add language accent marks in Word.

To insert this	Press
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý	CTRL+’ (APOSTROPHE), the letter
â, ê, î, ô, û Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û	CTRL+SHIFT+^ (CARET), the letter

How do you put accents over letters in Windows 10?

When you open Microsoft Word, head over to the Insert tab on the Ribbon and select Insert. Then on the drop-down menu, choose the Symbol option and click on the accented character or symbol that you need from the list.

How do I type é on my keyboard Windows 10?

What is the Alt code for é e with an accent?

List of Alt Codes for entering characters with accents

Uppercase	Lowercase
Alt Codes	Symbol	Description
Alt 0201	É	e acute
Alt 0202	Ê	e circumflex
Alt 0203	Ë	e umlaut

How do I type an e with an accent mark?

To type the letter “é” on a PC, press and hold the ALT key and type 0233. In Microsoft Word, press CTRL + ‘, followed by the letter “e”. This should make the letter “é” appear in your document.

How do you type accent AIGU on Windows?

Windows: International Keyboard

To type accent grave (à, è, etc), type ` (to the left of 1) then the vowel. Accent aigu (é), type ‘ (single quote) then e.

How do you type Greek accents on a keyboard?

To type characters with accents, you first type the key for the accent, then the key for the letter. For example, the q gives an acute accent, so typing q a will give ά.
…
Accents and Breathing.

Accent	Key	Result
smooth breathing	‘	ἀ
smooth+acute	/	ἄ
smooth+grave		ἂ
smooth+circumflex	=	ἆ

Apr 13, 2021

How do you add accents on Windows?

Method 2: Type accented characters using their Alt codes

1. Move your mouse cursor to where you want to type the accented character.
2. Make sure your Num Lock is turned on. …
3. Press and hold the Alt key on your keyboard.
4. With the Alt key still held, type the Alt code for the accented character you want. …
5. Let go of the Alt key.

How do I type French accents in Word?

Here’s the easiest way to type French accents on Word

1. Hold down the “CTRL” key and keep it held down.
2. Tap and release the punctuation mark which looks the most like the accent you need.
3. Tap and release the letter which will have the accent.
4. Let go of the “CTRL” key.

How do you type Spanish accents on Windows?

If you have the U.S. international keyboard installed, you can type Spanish accents on Windows by simply typing an apostrophe followed by the vowel you want to accent. ¡ = alt + ! ¿ = alt + ? You can install this keyboard by searching language settings > options > add a keyboard > United-States International.

Updated: 12/31/2020 by

For users who do not have specialized keyboards, letters with accent marks may only be created using shortcut keys or through the menu bar.

Inserting accented letters with the menu bar or Ribbon

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Select the Insert tab on the Ribbon or click Insert in the menu bar.
3. On the Insert tab or the Insert drop-down, select the Symbol option.
4. Select the desired accented character or symbol from the list of symbols. You can scroll through the entire list or select from the Subset drop-down list to view a specific type of symbols.

Note

In Word 2003 and earlier versions, you can click the More Symbols option to see a larger list of available symbols to insert.

1. After selecting the desired accented letter or symbol, click the Insert button.

Tip

If you insert an accented character using the steps above, once a character is inserted, you can copy that character and paste it anywhere else in the document.

Use keyboard shortcuts

Microsoft Word users can also utilize the following combinations of keys to add accent marks to their letters. For example, to get the à character, you’d press and hold Ctrl, and press ` (the tilde key). Then, release both keys and quickly press A.

Note

You must press the letter key quickly after releasing the shortcut keys. Otherwise, the non-accented letter is created.

Tip

To get uppercase accent letters, turn on Caps Lock before using the shortcut keys. Alternatively, after pressing the shortcut keys together, release all but Shift, then press the desired letter to create an uppercase accent letter. This Shift option only works for those shortcuts utilizing Shift, as listed below.

Desired Symbol	Shortcut Key Combination
à, è, ì, ò, ù, À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù	Ctrl+` (accent grave), the letter
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý, Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý	Ctrl+' (apostrophe), the letter
â, ê, î, ô, û, Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û	Ctrl+Shift+^ (caret), the letter
ã, ñ, õ, Ã, Ñ, Õ	Ctrl+Shift+~ (tilde), the letter
ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ, Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ	Ctrl+Shift+: (colon), the letter
å, Å	Ctrl+Shift+@ (At), a or A
æ, Æ	Ctrl+Shift+& (ampersand), a or A
œ, Œ	Ctrl+Shift+& (ampersand), o or O
ç, Ç	Ctrl+, (comma), c or C
ð, Ð	Ctrl+' (apostrophe), d or D
ø, Ø	Ctrl+/, o or O
¿	Alt+Ctrl+Shift+?
¡	Alt+Ctrl+Shift+!
ß	Ctrl+Shift+&, s

Use third-party program

• How to insert accent marks and special characters.

Type accented characters accent, grave, circumflex, tilde, umlaut, dieresis or cedilla in Microsoft Word and Outlook when they aren’t on the keyboard such as á ã à ä Ç ç ē é ê è ë â ê î ô û and many more.

Typing accented letters can be a chore and a mystery, especially for those of us unaccustomed to languages with the ‘extra’ letters. The keyboards don’t show accented letters and it’s not obvious how to type them.

Office and Windows let you enter almost any character, if you know the magic spell.

It’s good to get a name or word exactly right, if only as a courtesy to the reader.

Copying

The real easy way, especially with names, is to copy the word (with accented characters) from some source document or incoming email.

This ensures you get it right and saves having to work out the keyboard shortcuts to make an accent letter.

Autocorrect

Sometimes you don’t have to do anything! Office may add some accented characters for you automatically using the in-built AutoCorrect list.

In English language versions of Office you’ll probably see some of these:

Type cafe and Office will change it to café

same with fiance becoming fiancé

Shortcuts

Common accents have shortcuts in Office generally (Word and Outlook which uses Word as its email editor).

The shortcuts have been there for a long time and the main four are quite logical. An easy way to remember them is … you hold the Ctrl and Shift keys down while pressing the character that represents the type of accent you want.

Ctrl and Shift plus ^ (caret, usually above the 6 key) then the letter ‘a’ will produce an a with caret above it eg â .

Ctrl + Shift + : (colon) then either a, e ,I, o, u will produce that letter with a umlaut above it (which looks like a colon on its side) eg â, ê ,î , ô, û .

The same shortcut works for the accent and grave using the apostrophe and grave (usually on top left of the keyboard, below the ~ tilde).

Pedantic shortcut:

Is it Ctrl + ^ or Ctrl + Shift + ^ ? You’ll see the same shortcut written both ways.

Strictly speaking the shortcut is Ctrl + ^ but in practice you have to press the Shift key to enter the grave character above the 6 key … so the shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + ^ for most keyboards.

Here’s a simplified list of the main accent shortcuts in large type on the right

Add the Ctrl + Shift + the accent shortcut key. As you can see, the shortcut key (roughly) matches how the accent looks – which makes them easy to remember:

Insert Symbol

Another option for inserting accent or other characters is on the Insert | Symbols | Symbol. Choose More Symbols then scroll down to find the character you want.

If there is a shortcut for the symbol it will be displayed and even a full name.

Quick Accent

In 2022, Windows PowerToys added a Quick Accent tool to (at long last) make it easy to type accented characters in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

See Two new PowerToys useful for Office users for details.

Fonts

Most fonts will include accented characters but some might not, especially the free fonts you can download from websites.

If you try to insert a character that doesn’t exist in that font you’ll see a small black rectangle in older versions of Office. Modern Office has a little font substitution trick which switches to a font which has that character- see Word’s symbol substitution, the good and the bad

To see the range of letters available in a font, go to Insert | Symbols | Symbol, choose the font and scroll through the list.

Beyond Office

For non-Office programs you have other choices for entering accented characters.

Windows Character Map – is a Windows system accessory usually found on the Start Menu, if you search for Character Map. It is a lot like the Insert Symbol feature except you can choose characters then copy them to the clipboard for pasting in any Windows program.

On-Screen or Virtual Keyboard – we have a special article about the Windows on-screen keyboard which lets you see keyboards for different languages. If you regularly type words from another language the on-screen keyboard might be helpful.