How to Type Accents on a US Keyboard (é, ñ, ü)

Q: How do I type accents on a US keyboard in Windows?

Add the United States-International keyboard, then press the accent key followed by the letter: Apostrophe + e → é Tilde + n → ñ Quote + u → ü

Q: How do I type é on a US keyboard?

With the US-International layout, press apostrophe (') , then e . Other methods: Mac: Press and hold e , or press Option + e , then e Windows numpad: Alt + 0233

Q: How do I type ñ on a US keyboard?

With US-International , press tilde (~) (Shift + backtick), then n . Other methods: Mac: Press and hold n , or press Option + n , then n Windows numpad: Alt + 0241

Q: How do I get a normal apostrophe with the US-International keyboard?

The apostrophe acts as a dead key in the US-International layout. To type a regular apostrophe: Press apostrophe (') Press Space This same method works for a normal quotation mark as well.

Q: How do I type accents in Word without changing my keyboard?

Use Microsoft Word's built-in shortcuts: Ctrl + apostrophe , then letter → acute accent ( é ) Ctrl + backtick , then letter → grave accent ( è ) Ctrl + Shift + semicolon , then letter → umlaut ( ü ) Ctrl + comma , then c → ç

Q: How do I type accents on a phone?

On both iPhone and Android , press and hold the base letter on the on-screen keyboard, then slide to the accented version you want. If the accent menu does not appear, check your keyboard settings to make sure long-press accents are enabled.

The short answer: a US keyboard has no accent keys, but you don’t need a new one.

Windows (regular use): switch to the US-International layout, then type the accent, then the letter — ' then e = é, ~ then n = ñ, " then u = ü.
Windows (once in a while): use a Word shortcut (Ctrl + ‘ then e = é) or an Alt code (Alt + 0233 = é).
Mac: press and hold the letter (hold e → pick é), or Option + e then e.
iPhone / Android: press and hold the on-screen letter, then slide to the accented version.
In a hurry? Copy the character from the tool below.

Need them right now? Build accented words and copy them — or grab any single letter.

Accent Keyboard Copy a symbol

Build whole accented words in our Accent Keyboard, or grab a single letter above. Pick the method that matches how often you type accents.

Which method should I use?

Your situation	Best method
I type accents often (Spanish, French, etc.) on Windows	US-International keyboard
I need the odd accent in Word or Outlook	Word Ctrl shortcuts
I’m on a Mac	Press and hold the letter
I’m on a phone or tablet	Press and hold the on-screen key
I just need this one character	Copy it from the tool above
I’m writing HTML or code	HTML entity or Unicode (see table)

Windows: the US-International keyboard (best for regular use)

This turns a few punctuation keys into dead keys — you press the accent, then the letter.

Turn it on: open Settings → Time & Language → Language & region, choose English → Options → Add a keyboard → United States-International. Switch layouts anytime with Win + Space. (Microsoft occasionally moves these menus; if the path differs, search Settings for “keyboard”.)

Type accents:

Accent	Press	then a letter	Example
Acute	`'` (apostrophe)	a e i o u	café
Grave	` (backtick)	a e i o u	à la carte
Umlaut	`"` (Shift + ‘)	a e i o u	Müller
Circumflex	`^` (Shift + 6)	a e i o u	crêpe
Tilde	`~` (Shift + `)	n o a	mañana

For ç, you have two easy options:

Press AltGr (Right Alt) + , — this makes ç directly. (Shift + AltGr + , gives Ç.)
Or use the apostrophe dead key: ' then c → ç.

The one gotcha: because ' and " are now dead keys, typing “don’t” puts an accent on the next letter. To get a plain apostrophe or quote, press the key, then Space — ' + Space = '.

Prefer the Mac-style press-and-hold on Windows?

Windows doesn’t do this natively, but Microsoft PowerToys (free, from Microsoft) adds a Quick Accent feature. Enable it in PowerToys Settings → Quick Accent, then hold a letter and press Space (or an arrow key) while still holding — a toolbar of accented options appears, very close to the Mac experience.

US-International keyboard dead keys for accents

Windows: without changing your keyboard

If you only need the occasional accent, keep your normal layout.

Microsoft Word shortcuts (also work in Outlook). Press the combo, release, then type the letter:

Want	Press, then the letter
á é í ó ú	Ctrl + ‘
à è ì ò ù	Ctrl + `
ä ë ï ö ü	Ctrl + Shift + ;
â ê î ô û	Ctrl + Shift + 6
ã ñ õ	Ctrl + Shift + ~
ç	Ctrl + , then c

Alt codes (numeric keypad, Num Lock on): Alt + 0233 = é, Alt + 0241 = ñ, Alt + 0252 = ü, Alt + 0231 = ç. No numpad? See Alt codes not working.

Or just copy it from our Accent Keyboard.

Mac: press and hold (easiest)

Press and hold the base letter — for example e.
A small menu of accented options appears.
Press the number shown, or click the one you want.

Prefer shortcuts? Mac uses Option dead keys — release the combo, then type the letter:

Accent	Shortcut
Acute	Option + e
Grave	Option + `
Umlaut	Option + u
Circumflex	Option + i
Tilde	Option + n
Cedilla (ç)	Option + c (types ç directly)

iPhone & iPad

The on-screen keyboard has accents built in:

Press and hold the base letter (e.g., e).
A row of accented options pops up (é, è, ê, ë…).
Slide your finger to the one you want and let go.

This works in any app — Messages, Mail, Notes, Safari, Instagram. With a hardware keyboard attached, use the Mac-style Option shortcuts above, or hold the physical key for the accent menu.

Android

Same idea on Gboard and most Android keyboards:

Press and hold the letter.
A popup shows the accented variants.
Slide to the one you want and release.

If nothing appears, make sure long-press for accents is enabled in your keyboard app’s settings.

Chromebook (ChromeOS)

Chromebooks don’t use Windows Alt codes, but there are three built-in ways:

Press and hold a letter. First enable it: Settings → Device → Keyboard, and under Repeat keys and accent marks, turn on Show accent marks and special characters (it’s off by default). Then hold e and pick from the popup.
Add the US-International keyboard and switch with Ctrl + Shift + Space — then use the accent-then-letter method, same as Windows.
Unicode input: press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the 4-digit hex code (e.g., 00e9 for é), then Enter or Space. Works in most text fields — but not reliably inside Google Docs (see below).

For full per-language sets, our Accent Keyboard lets you build accented words and copy them. More on our Chromebook symbols guide.

Google Docs

Google Docs has no built-in accent shortcut like Word, so use one of these:

OS method: whichever method above fits your device (US-International, Mac press-and-hold, etc.) works normally inside Docs.
Insert menu: Insert → Special characters, then search the accent by name (e.g., “e acute”) or draw it with your trackpad and pick the match.
Note: the Chromebook Ctrl + Shift + U trick is unreliable inside Docs specifically — use Insert → Special characters there instead.

The same OS methods work in Google Sheets and Slides; you can also paste an accented character straight into a cell.

HTML & Unicode (for web pages and code)

If you’re writing HTML, use a named entity or a numeric code — both render the same accented letter:

Letter	HTML entity	Numeric (decimal)	Unicode
é	`é`	`é`	U+00E9
ñ	`ñ`	`ñ`	U+00F1
ü	`ü`	`ü`	U+00FC
ç	`ç`	`ç`	U+00E7

Accented letters are part of the Unicode Standard, so if your page uses UTF-8 encoding (the modern default), you can also just paste the character directly — no entity needed.

Master reference table (é ñ ü ç and more)

One table to bookmark. Alt codes are for Windows (numeric keypad, Num Lock on); Mac uses the Option shortcut shown.

Letter	Name	Windows Alt code	Mac (Option)	Unicode	HTML entity
á	a acute	Alt + 0225	⌥e then a	U+00E1	`á`
é	e acute	Alt + 0233	⌥e then e	U+00E9	`é`
í	i acute	Alt + 0237	⌥e then i	U+00ED	`í`
ó	o acute	Alt + 0243	⌥e then o	U+00F3	`ó`
ú	u acute	Alt + 0250	⌥e then u	U+00FA	`ú`
à	a grave	Alt + 0224	⌥` then a	U+00E0	`à`
è	e grave	Alt + 0232	⌥` then e	U+00E8	`è`
ñ	n tilde	Alt + 0241	⌥n then n	U+00F1	`ñ`
ü	u umlaut	Alt + 0252	⌥u then u	U+00FC	`ü`
ö	o umlaut	Alt + 0246	⌥u then o	U+00F6	`ö`
ä	a umlaut	Alt + 0228	⌥u then a	U+00E4	`ä`
ê	e circumflex	Alt + 0234	⌥i then e	U+00EA	`ê`
ç	c cedilla	Alt + 0231	⌥c	U+00E7	`ç`

Which accents go with which languages?

Spanish: á é í ó ú, ñ, ü, plus ¿ ¡
French: é è ê ë, à â, î ï, ô, ù û ü, and ç
German: ä ö ü and ß (Alt + 0223, or ⌥s on Mac)
Portuguese: á â ã, é ê, í, ó ô õ, ú, and ç

Examples

café · résumé · naïve · jalapeño · façade · Müller · crème brûlée · piñata

Troubleshooting

My apostrophe adds an accent / a quote appears one letter late. That’s the US-International dead key working. Press the key then Space for a literal ' or ", or switch back to the plain US layout with Win + Space.
Right Alt (AltGr) does nothing. Use the dead-key method (accent then letter) or the Word shortcuts — those don’t need AltGr.
Alt + 0233 doesn’t work. It needs the numeric keypad with Num Lock on. On a laptop with no numpad, copy the letter or use the Word shortcut. More: Alt codes not working.
The Mac accent menu won’t pop up. Hold the key a touch longer. If you’ve enabled key-repeat, re-enable the accent menu in keyboard settings.
My phone won’t show accent options. Enable long-press for accents in your keyboard app’s settings.
On my Chromebook, holding a letter just repeats it. Turn on “Show accent marks and special characters” in Settings → Device → Keyboard.
Ctrl + Shift + U does nothing in Google Docs. Use Insert → Special characters instead — it’s the reliable method inside Docs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I type accents on a US keyboard in Windows?

Add the United States-International keyboard, then press the accent key followed by the letter:
Apostrophe + e → é
Tilde + n → ñ
Quote + u → ü

How do I type é on a US keyboard?

With the US-International layout, press apostrophe (‘), then e.
Other methods:
Mac: Press and hold e, or press Option + e, then e
Windows numpad: Alt + 0233

How do I type ñ on a US keyboard?

With US-International, press tilde (~) (Shift + backtick), then n.
Other methods:
Mac: Press and hold n, or press Option + n, then n
Windows numpad: Alt + 0241

How do I get a normal apostrophe with the US-International keyboard?

The apostrophe acts as a dead key in the US-International layout. To type a regular apostrophe:
Press apostrophe (‘)
Press Space
This same method works for a normal quotation mark as well.

How do I type accents in Word without changing my keyboard?

Use Microsoft Word’s built-in shortcuts:
Ctrl + apostrophe, then letter → acute accent (é)
Ctrl + backtick, then letter → grave accent (è)
Ctrl + Shift + semicolon, then letter → umlaut (ü)
Ctrl + comma, then c → ç

How do I type accents on a Mac?

Press and hold the letter to choose an accented version from the popup menu, or use Option shortcuts such as Option + e, then e for é, and Option + n, then n for ñ.

How do I type accents on a phone?

On both iPhone and Android, press and hold the base letter on the on-screen keyboard, then slide to the accented version you want. If the accent menu does not appear, check your keyboard settings to make sure long-press accents are enabled.

Recap

For regular accents on Windows, switch to US-International (accent then letter). For the occasional one, use Word’s Ctrl shortcuts or an Alt code. On a Mac, iPhone, or Android, press and hold the letter. On a Chromebook, enable press-and-hold or add the US-International layout. Writing HTML? Use the entity codes above. Or build whole accented words in our Accent Keyboard and copy them.

Written by Igor R. Tested on Windows 11 and macOS. Last updated June 2026. Accented letters follow the Unicode Standard.