The Final Information: How To Kind Letters With Accents in Any Language
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Simply while you thought you had your new language’s alphabet below management, right here come the accents! These little marks above written letters aren’t only for present—they’ll usually change the pronunciation and even the that means of an accented phrase. Discover out what sorts of accent marks you’re more likely to encounter on a language studying journey, how they work in a sentence, and tips on how to sort letters with accents utilizing letter mixtures and accent marks on a keyboard.
What are accent marks?
Accent marks, additionally referred to as diacritical marks or diacritics, are typographical symbols that point out a spoken or that means change within the phrase. Although they’re referred to as accents, these marks don’t have anything to do with spoken accents, which describe the way in which somebody sounds after they converse a language. The most typical are present in Latin-based Romance languages, although you’ll additionally see diacritical marks in lots of Slavic languages, too.
Various kinds of accent marks
In each language, diacritics can change a vowel sound, present a careworn syllable, or differentiate phrases which are in any other case spelled precisely the identical. For instance, there are two totally different sorts of French accent marks within the phrase déjà vu, and every has a unique job!
Check out the most typical accent marks in numerous languages.
| Diacritical Mark | Examples of Sounds | Languages | Examples of Phrases |
| acute (é) | é needs to be pronounced as ay (French), or that syllable is careworn (Spanish) | French, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Dutch | cliché, fiancé |
| breve (ĕ) | ă appears like uh, ğ lengthens the earlier vowel (Turkish) | Romanian, Vietnamese, Turkish | măr (Romanian for apple), |
| caron or haček (č) | signifies palatized pronunciation of the consonant (relying on language) | Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian | čepice (Czech for cap), žvaigždė (Lithuanian) |
| cedilla (ç) | ç needs to be pronounced as s (French and Portuguese) or sh (Turkish) | French, Portuguese, Turkish | façade, açaí |
| circumflex (ê) | lengthy vowel sound in â, ê, and ô, or reveals a spelling change | French | hôpital (hospital), forêt (forest) |
| diaeresis (ë) | vowel is pronounced as a separate syllable | French | naïve, Noël |
| grave (è) | è needs to be pronounced as eh or uh | French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch | très (very), frère (brother) |
| macron (ē) | present an extended vowel sound | Serbo-Croatian, Māori, Hawaiian | kālā (Hawaiian for cash), Māori (the language of Māori) |
| tilde (ñ) | ñ appears like nya (Spanish), ã and õ are nasalized (Portuguese) | Spanish, Portuguese | señor (Spanish for Mister) mãe (Portuguese for mom) |
| umlaut (ä) | ä appears like eh, ö appears like eu, ü appears like oo | German | Äpfel (apples), Brüder (brothers) |
The right way to sort accents in Home windows

Should you’re used to typing on an English keyboard, studying tips on how to sort letters with accents could appear a bit intimidating. However with keyboard shortcuts and codes, typing these diacritics is simpler than ever within the twenty first century!
Learn the way to sort accents on Home windows with totally different keyboard strategies with our suggestions beneath to make sure you’re being as clear as potential in your new language.
Typing lowercase accents
Anybody conversant in keyboard shortcuts will respect these fast pathways to the right accent mark! Memorize these simple key mixtures to get Spanish keyboard shortcuts, French accent symbols, or another accented lowercase letters you’re in search of.
First, maintain down the CTRL button and the indicated key. Then launch and select the letter you need to sort.
| Accent Image | Key Mixture | Lowercase Letter |
| acute (á) | CTRL + ‘ (apostrophe), then letter | á, é, í, ó, ú, ý |
| grave (à) | CTRL + ` (accent grave), then letter | à, è, ì, ò, ù |
| cedilla (ç) | CTRL + , (comma), then letter | ç |
| circumflex (â) | CTRL + SHIFT + ^ (caret, 6), then letter | â, ê, î, ô, û |
| tilde (ã) | CTRL + SHIFT + ~ (tilde), then letter | ã, ñ, õ |
| diaeresis or umlaut (ä) | CTRL + SHIFT + : (colon), then letter | ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ |
Typing uppercase accents
Want an uppercase letter with an accent? Discover the shortcut you could begin a sentence or capitalized phrase out with the right accent mark. The directions for typing capital letters with accents are the identical as lowercase, besides you employ a mixture of the Shift key and your chosen letter after releasing the CTRL key sequence.
| Accent Image | Key Mixture | Uppercase Letter |
| acute (á) | CTRL + ‘ (apostrophe), then SHIFT + letter | Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý |
| grave (à) | CTRL + ` (accent grave), then SHIFT + letter | À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù |
| cedilla (ç) | CTRL + , (comma), then SHIFT + letter | Ç |
| circumflex (â) | CTRL + SHIFT + ^ (caret, 6), then SHIFT + letter | Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û |
| tilde (ã) | CTRL + SHIFT + ~ (tilde), then SHIFT + letter | Ã, Ñ, Õ |
| diaeresis or umlaut (ä) | CTRL + SHIFT + : (colon), then SHIFT + letter | Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ |
Home windows alt codes
Alt codes are the basic Home windows technique to create accent marks. Preserve these codes useful when you could create acute accents, German umlauts, or another diacritic marks.
| Uppercase | Lowercase | |
| Acute Alt Codes | Á = Alt+0193 | á = Alt+0225 |
| É = Alt+0201 | é = Alt+0233 | |
| Í = Alt+0205 | í = Alt+0237 | |
| Ó = Alt+0211 | ó = Alt+0243 | |
| Ú = Alt+0218 | ú = Alt+0250 | |
| Ý = Alt+0221 | ý = Alt+0253 | |
| Grave Alt Codes | À = Alt+0192 | à = Alt+0224 |
| È = Alt+0200 | è = Alt+0232 | |
| Ì = Alt+0204 | ì = Alt+0236 | |
| Ò = Alt+0210 | ò = Alt+0242 | |
| Ù = Alt+0217 | ù = Alt+0249 | |
| Circumflex Alt Codes | Â = Alt+0194 | â = Alt+0226 |
| Ê = Alt+0202 | ê = Alt+0234 | |
| Î = Alt+0206 | î = Alt+0238 | |
| Ô = Alt+0212 | ô = Alt+0244 | |
| Û = Alt+0219 | û = Alt+0251 | |
| Tilde Alt Codes | Ã = Alt+0195 | ã = Alt+0227 |
| Ñ = Alt+0209 | ñ = Alt+0241 | |
| Õ = Alt+0213 | õ = Alt+0245 | |
| Umlaut Alt Codes | Ä = Alt+0196 | ä = Alt+0228 |
| Ë = Alt+0203 | ë = Alt+0235 | |
| Ï = Alt+0207 | ï = Alt+0239 | |
| Ö = Alt+0214 | ö = Alt+0246 | |
| Ü = Alt+0220 | ü = Alt+0252 | |
| Ÿ = Alt+0159 | ÿ = Alt+0255 | |
| Cedilla Alt Codes | Ç = Alt+0199 | ç = Alt+0231 |
Insert particular characters
While you’re writing in Microsoft Phrase, you could find the accented character you want by opening the “Insert” tab, then choosing “Superior Symbols.” Select the letter you want, customise the choice obtainable, and even create your individual keyboard shortcuts to have fast entry to accent marks you want!
Character Map
One other fast method to insert particular characters in Home windows is the Character Map. Simply open the Character Map software, discover the character you need, and duplicate and paste it into your doc. The Character Map additionally lists the Alt codes you need to use when you want a fast reference!
The right way to sort accents on a Mac
Mac and Apple merchandise even have simple strategies to create accent marks on the keyboard. From keyboard shortcuts to specialised laptop keyboards, including accented letters in your new language received’t gradual your writing down!
Mac keyboard shortcuts for lowercase and uppercase
Like Home windows, Mac computer systems embody keyboard shortcuts that produce the accented letters you need. Observe these key mixtures, which embody holding down the Choice key and a letter, then the lowercase letter you’d like so as to add to your doc.
| Accent Image | Key Mixture | Lowercase Outcome |
| Acute (á) | Choice + e, then letter | á, é, í, ó, ú, ý |
| Grave (à) | Choice + ` (grave accent), then letter | à, è, ì, ò, ù |
| Cedilla (ç) | Choice + c | ç |
| Circumflex (â) | Choice + i, then letter | â, ê, î, ô, û |
| Tilde (ã) | Choice + n, then letter | ã, ñ, õ |
| Diaeresis or Umlaut (ä) | Choice + u, then letter | ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ |
For uppercase letters, observe the identical shortcuts however observe the Choice sequence with a capital letter (Shift + letter).
| Accent Image | Key Mixture | Lowercase Outcome |
| Acute (á) | Choice + e, then Shift + letter | Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý |
| Grave (à) | Choice + ` (grave accent), then Shift + letter | À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù |
| Cedilla (ç) | Choice + Shift + c | Ç |
| Circumflex (â) | Choice + i, then Shift + letter | Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û |
| Tilde (ã) | Choice + n, then Shift + letter | Ã, Ñ, Õ |
| Diaeresis or Umlaut (ä) | Choice + u, then Shift + letter | Ä, Ë, Ï, Ö, Ü, Ÿ |
Press and maintain keyboard letter
Most Mac computer systems include accented letters hidden proper within the keyboard. All you could do is maintain down the letter you’re attempting to accent (e, for instance), after which select the character you need by urgent the corresponding quantity. Should you use Apple merchandise, chances are you’ll already be used to doing this in your iPhone or iPad!
The right way to sort accents on a cellular machine

Studying a brand new language within the twenty first century means you’ll probably examine in your cellular machine. Fortunately, creating accents on a smartphone or pill is even simpler than in your laptop!
To sort language accent marks in your cellular machine, simply maintain down the letter in your onscreen keyboard or auxiliary keyboard. You’ll have a number of accented characters to select from, which you’ll select together with your contact display screen and proceed writing!
The right way to sort accents on Google Docs
As soon as you know the way to sort accents on Home windows, you’ll have the ability to add them on Google Docs, too. You need to use the identical Home windows Alt codes, keyboard shortcuts, and particular characters menu in Google Docs. (It’s below the “Insert” pulldown menu, proper below “Symbols”).
And when you’re on a Mac, these shortcuts work on Google Docs, too. It’s actually useful to have the identical keyboard shortcuts and letters that you just use on different Mac purposes in your Google Doc!
Often requested questions on language accent marks
Have a couple of extra questions on tips on how to sort letters with accents? See in case your considerations are listed within the following solutions to often requested questions on typing accents in any language.
Do it’s a must to use accents when typing in one other language?
Sure, it is best to use accents while you’re typing in one other language. Accents can change the that means of a phrase, so they’re important to make use of. Whereas some studying packages could allow you to use the usual English alphabet when writing in one other language, studying to sort language accent marks helps you observe correct vocabulary and grammar. It additionally makes studying a brand new alphabet simpler in the long term!
Can’t you simply copy and paste accented letters?
While you solely want an occasional accented letter each now and again, placing that phrase right into a search engine and copying and pasting it could appear to be an inexpensive resolution. However studying tips on how to make correct accent marks in your keyboard is a way more time-efficient method to create these letters and helps you construct confidence and fluency. It’s additionally extra environment friendly since your copy and paste process could herald a unique font and have an effect on the formatting.
What’s the distinction between é and è?
Should you’re simply studying tips on how to sort an e with an accent, é and è may look precisely the identical—however they’re not. The accented letter é has an acute accent and is the one sort of accent utilized in Spanish (although it additionally seems in lots of different European languages). Acute accents point out {that a} phrase makes use of a closed vowel sound or places a stress on that syllable.
The letter è has a grave accent, which signifies an open vowel sound or careworn syllable, and might be present in a number of languages world wide (however not Spanish).
What’s the simplest method to sort accents?
The best method to sort language accent marks is no matter approach you may bear in mind. If holding down a keyboard letter on a Mac and choosing your accented character is simpler than memorizing keyboard shortcuts, use that technique. However when you already use many shortcuts and Alt codes, studying a couple of extra to create accented characters is perhaps a better option for you. An important factor is that any of those strategies allow you to study your language shortly!
Is a tittle an accent mark in English?
No, fashionable English doesn’t have accent marks, although you may suppose the tittle is one. It’s the little dot above an i or j, which is typically referred to as a superscript dot. Nevertheless, most orthographers don’t depend a tittle as an accent as a result of it doesn’t change the phrase’s pronunciation. Tittles are labeled as a diacritical mark although.

