How to get letters with accent marks in Microsoft Word

Updated: 05/01/2023 by Computer Hope
Accent marks

For users who do not have specialized keyboards, letters with accent marks may only be created using keyboard shortcuts 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 Microsoft Word Online (the web version), click More Symbols to see additional symbol options.

  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, it can be copied and pasted 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

Microsoft Word Online (the web version) does not support the ability to add accented letters using keyboard shortcuts.

Tip

You must press the letter key quickly after releasing the keyboard shortcuts. Otherwise, the non-accented version is created.

To get uppercase accent letters, turn on Caps Lock before using the keyboard shortcuts. Alternatively, after pressing the keyboard shortcuts 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 Keyboard Shortcut
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

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