How to Type Accents on Windows: Alt Codes, Then US-International
To type accents on Windows, hold Alt and type the letter's four-digit code on the number pad: Alt+0233 gives é and Alt+0241 gives ñ. For a letter with no code, such as ő, press Win+. and open Symbols. To type accents every day, add the United States-International keyboard, where ' and then e gives é.
Which Windows methods reach which letters?
Of the 261 letters, 35 are typed with keys alone. The other 226 need a menu or a search, so the method you pick depends on the letter, not on taste.
| Method | Letters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One key combination | 35 | For é: Alt+0233. |
| Another method | 226 | For ē: Win+., then Symbols, then ē. |
Sources:Key chords (Microsoft) (opens in a new tab)Other methods (Microsoft) (opens in a new tab)
Which Alt code types each mark's letters on Windows?
An Alt code is a four-digit number typed on the number pad while Alt is held down, and the letter appears once Alt is let go. On Windows a capital has a code of its own, so AccentPad's chart puts the small letters and the capitals side by side for every mark.
Alt codes are the first answer to how to type accents on Windows because they need no setup: there is no layout to add and no panel to open. The catch is the number pad, and a letter outside the chart.
35 small letters and 34 capitals in AccentPad's catalogue have a four-digit Alt code, across 9 marks and the letters with no mark. Each code is computed from the Windows-1252 character set, the one the four-digit codes read. ß has no capital with a code of its own.
| Mark | Small letters | Capitals |
|---|---|---|
| Acute accent | á Alt+0225 é Alt+0233 í Alt+0237 ó Alt+0243 ú Alt+0250 ý Alt+0253 | Á Alt+0193 É Alt+0201 Í Alt+0205 Ó Alt+0211 Ú Alt+0218 Ý Alt+0221 |
| Diaeresis (umlaut) | ä Alt+0228 ë Alt+0235 ï Alt+0239 ö Alt+0246 ü Alt+0252 ÿ Alt+0255 | Ä Alt+0196 Ë Alt+0203 Ï Alt+0207 Ö Alt+0214 Ü Alt+0220 Ÿ Alt+0159 |
| Grave accent | à Alt+0224 è Alt+0232 ì Alt+0236 ò Alt+0242 ù Alt+0249 | À Alt+0192 È Alt+0200 Ì Alt+0204 Ò Alt+0210 Ù Alt+0217 |
| Circumflex | â Alt+0226 ê Alt+0234 î Alt+0238 ô Alt+0244 û Alt+0251 | Â Alt+0194 Ê Alt+0202 Î Alt+0206 Ô Alt+0212 Û Alt+0219 |
| Tilde | ã Alt+0227 ñ Alt+0241 õ Alt+0245 | Ã Alt+0195 Ñ Alt+0209 Õ Alt+0213 |
| Caron | š Alt+0154 ž Alt+0158 | Š Alt+0138 Ž Alt+0142 |
| Cedilla | ç Alt+0231 | Ç Alt+0199 |
| Stroke | ø Alt+0248 | Ø Alt+0216 |
| Ring | å Alt+0229 | Å Alt+0197 |
| No mark: letters of their own | ß Alt+0223 æ Alt+0230 ð Alt+0240 þ Alt+0254 œ Alt+0156 | no code Æ Alt+0198 Ð Alt+0208 Þ Alt+0222 Œ Alt+0140 |
For the same codes letter by letter, with the shorter three-digit codes and the Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian sets, see Alt codes for accents.
The zero in front belongs to the code. Microsoft's Windows keyboard tips (opens in a new tab) give the steps as hold Alt, type the four digits on the numeric keypad, release Alt, and say to include the leading 0 when required. Every code in the chart starts with it.
A letter outside the chart has no Alt code of this kind. The codes read Windows-1252, and Unicode's mapping of that character set (opens in a new tab) holds none of ő, ł, ă or ş.
What if your keyboard has no number pad?
Alt codes need a number pad. Microsoft's Windows tips say the codes work only with the numeric keypad and not with the row of numbers above the letters. Its Office help on character codes (opens in a new tab) adds that Num Lock has to be on if your keyboard requires it for the pad to type digits.
Neither Microsoft page mentions the Fn key, so this page prints no Fn method. On a laptop with no separate pad, look in the maker's manual, or skip the codes: the methods below need no number pad at all.
How do you type accents on the keyboard without any codes?
If you want to know how to type accents on keyboard keys alone, with no codes and no number pad, switch Windows to the United States-International layout. The plain US layout has no accent keys: Microsoft's US layout data (opens in a new tab) lists no dead key. Its United States-International data (opens in a new tab) turns the apostrophe, the quotation mark, the grave, the tilde and the caret into dead keys. Our US International keyboard draws that layout key by key and lets you try the dead keys before you switch.
A dead key types nothing when you press it. Press it, let go, then press the letter: ' and then e gives é. Microsoft's layout data lists what each one makes:
| Press first | Then the letter gives | Then Space gives |
|---|---|---|
| ' (apostrophe) | á é í ó ú ý, and ç after c | ' |
| Shift+' (quotation mark) | ä ë ï ö ü ÿ | " |
| ` (the key left of 1) | à è ì ò ù | the grave mark itself |
| Shift+` (tilde) | ã ñ õ | ~ |
| Shift+6 (caret) | â ê î ô û | ^ |
Shift on the letter gives the capital, with one gap in Microsoft's list: the quotation mark makes ÿ but no capital Ÿ, which keeps its Alt code. The apostrophe has a trap of its own. An apostrophe followed by c gives ç, never ć, and a plain apostrophe now needs Space after it.
The same layout puts more letters on the right Alt key, which Microsoft's data calls AltGr. Hold AltGr and press a letter key: S gives ß, Z gives æ, L gives ø, W gives å, T gives þ and D gives ð. Add Shift for the capitals Æ, Ø, Å, Þ and Ð. The German ß has no capital there: Shift with AltGr and S types §.
To add the layout, open Settings, then Time & language, then Language & region. Select the ellipsis (…) next to your language, choose Language options, then Add a keyboard, and pick United States-International, as Microsoft's keyboard layout guide (opens in a new tab) describes. To switch layouts later, click the input language icon on the taskbar, or hold the Windows logo key and press Space.
Where do you find the letters that have no Alt code?
For a letter with no Alt code, such as ő, ł or ă, open the emoji panel: press Win+., choose Symbols and click the letter. Microsoft's Windows tips describe that route for Windows 11, with accented letters among the symbols. The Windows 10 part of the same page mentions only emoji.
Character Map is the older tool, built into Windows, and shows every character a font holds. Microsoft's Office help opens it on Windows 10 by typing "character" in the taskbar search box. Pick your font, click the letter, click Select, then copy it and paste it into your document.
Character Map groups letters by font, so choose the font you write in. A letter your font lacks will not be in its grid. Character Map suits a run of rare letters, such as a Vietnamese name, because Microsoft's help says it copies a group of characters as easily as one. For a single letter, the emoji panel is quicker.
Why does AccentPad compute the codes instead of copying Microsoft's?
Microsoft's own list of diacritical codes, on its Office help page, has mistakes you would type straight into a document. It gives 00DA as the Unicode code for ú, but 00DA is the capital Ú. It gives 0159 for Ÿ, and Word turns 0159 into ř; the Alt code for Ÿ is Alt+0159, the same digits typed with Alt held. It also prints its code for Ê with three digits and no zero in front.
AccentPad computes every Alt code on this page from Unicode's mapping of Windows-1252, and the site's build fails if a stored code would type a different letter. The chart above therefore holds only codes of one kind: Alt, a zero, and three more digits.
Which keys type each accent on Windows?
Every one of the 261 letters in AccentPad's catalogue, counted once for both cases, has a documented method on Windows. Each row is one mark and one way of typing some of its letters, with the steps for the first of them; the others in the row are typed the same way. A letter with two marks, such as ǖ, is listed under both.
| Mark | Letters | How to type them on Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Acute accent | á é í ó ú ý | For á: Alt+0225. |
| ǻ ấ ắ ć ḉ ḗ ế ǵ ḯ ḱ ĺ ḿ ń ṍ ṓ ố ớ ṕ ŕ ś ṥ ǘ ṹ ứ ẃ ź | For ǻ: Win+., then Symbols, then ǻ. | |
| Diaeresis (umlaut) | ä ë ï ö ü ÿ | For ä: Alt+0228. |
| ǟ ḧ ḯ ȫ ṏ ẗ ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ ṻ ẅ ẍ | For ǟ: Win+., then Symbols, then ǟ. | |
| Grave accent | à è ì ò ù | For à: Alt+0224. |
| ầ ằ ḕ ề ǹ ṑ ồ ờ ǜ ừ ẁ ỳ | For ầ: Win+., then Symbols, then ầ. | |
| Circumflex | â ê î ô û | For â: Alt+0226. |
| ấ ầ ẩ ẫ ậ ĉ ế ề ể ễ ệ ĝ ĥ ĵ ố ồ ổ ỗ ộ ŝ ŵ ŷ ẑ | For ấ: Win+., then Symbols, then ấ. | |
| Tilde | ã ñ õ | For ã: Alt+0227. |
| ẫ ẵ ẽ ễ ĩ ȭ ṍ ṏ ỗ ỡ ũ ṹ ữ ṽ ỹ | For ẫ: Win+., then Symbols, then ẫ. | |
| Caron | š ž | For š: Alt+0154. |
| ǎ č ď ě ǧ ȟ ǐ ǰ ǩ ľ ň ǒ ř ṧ ť ǔ ǚ | For ǎ: Win+., then Symbols, then ǎ. | |
| Cedilla | ç | For ç: Alt+0231. |
| ḉ ḑ ȩ ḝ ģ ḩ ķ ļ ņ ŗ ş ţ | For ḉ: Win+., then Symbols, then ḉ. | |
| Stroke | ø | For ø: Alt+0248. |
| đ ħ ł ŧ | For đ: Win+., then Symbols, then đ. | |
| Ring | å | For å: Alt+0229. |
| ǻ ů ẘ ẙ | For ǻ: Win+., then Symbols, then ǻ. | |
| No mark: letters of their own | ß æ ð þ œ | For ß: Alt+0223. |
| ı ŀ ŋ ẞ | For ı: Win+., then Symbols, then ı. | |
| Any other mark: dot above, dot below, macron, breve, ogonek, hook above, horn, double acute, comma below, line below, circumflex below, double grave, inverted breve, tilde below, ring below, breve below, diaeresis below | 141 letters | For ǡ: Win+., then Symbols, then ǡ. |
Sources:Key chords (Microsoft) (opens in a new tab)Other methods (Microsoft) (opens in a new tab)
How to type accents on Windows, step by step
Step 1: Turn Num Lock on
On a keyboard with a number pad, check that Num Lock is on, so that the pad types digits rather than moving the cursor.
Step 2: Hold Alt and type the four digits
Keep Alt held, type the code on the number pad, then let go: Alt+0233 gives é. The number row above the letters does not work for this.
Step 3: Use the emoji panel for a letter with no code
Press Win+., choose Symbols and click the letter, such as ő.
Step 4: Add United States-International for daily typing
In Settings, open Time & language, then Language & region, then Language options, and choose Add a keyboard. On that layout, ' and then e types é.
Frequently asked questions about accents on Windows
Why do Alt codes not work on my laptop?
Microsoft's Windows tips say Alt codes work only on the numeric keypad, never on the row of numbers above the letters, and its Office help adds that Num Lock must be on if the keyboard needs it. Neither page describes a Fn key route. Without a number pad, use Symbols in the emoji panel, Character Map or the United States-International keyboard.
How do I type a capital accented letter with an Alt code?
Type the capital's own code, not the small letter's code with Shift. Alt+0201 types É and Alt+0233 types é. The chart on this page lists both codes side by side for every mark, and a letter with no capital code says so.
Is there an Alt code for every accented letter?
No. The four-digit Alt codes read Windows-1252, an old character set with room for a short list of Western European letters, so ő, ă, ł and ş have none. Press Win+. and choose Symbols for those, or open Character Map and copy them.
How do I type a plain apostrophe on the US-International keyboard?
Press the apostrophe key, then Space. On United States-International the apostrophe is a dead key that waits for the next key, and Microsoft's layout data maps it followed by Space to the plain apostrophe. The quotation mark, the grave, the tilde and the caret behave the same way.
Why does the US-International keyboard give ç when I want ć?
Microsoft's layout data maps the apostrophe followed by c to ç, a c with a cedilla, and no sequence on that layout makes ć. For ć, press Win+. and pick it from Symbols, or copy it from Character Map.