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How to type accents on a Mac: shortcuts, layouts and more
Every built-in way to type é, ü, ñ, ç and other accented letters on a Mac with a US keyboard, what each one costs you, and a way with no extra keys.
A Mac with a US keyboard has no key for é, ü, ñ or ç, but macOS gives you several ways to type them. Some are fast once your hands know them. Some are fine for one word a day. Here is each one, with its catch.
Press and hold
Hold a letter key, and a small menu shows the accented forms of that letter with a number under each. Press the number, or click the letter. Hold e and you get è, é, ê, ë and more.
There is nothing to learn. It is also the slowest way: you wait for the menu on every accented letter, and the menu offers only the letters macOS links to that key. Some apps do not show it at all.
Option shortcuts on the US layout
The US and ABC layouts have dead keys on Option. Press the combination, let go, then type the letter. The mark goes on the letter you type next.
| Press | Then type | You get |
|---|---|---|
| Option + E | a vowel | á é í ó ú |
| Option + ` | a vowel | à è ì ò ù |
| Option + U | a vowel | ä ë ï ö ü |
| Option + I | a vowel | â ê î ô û |
| Option + N | a, o or n | ã õ ñ |
For a capital, hold Shift on the second key: Option + U, then Shift + O types Ö. The ` key is the one left of 1.
A few letters have their own combination, with no second step:
- Option + C types ç, and with Shift Ç.
- Option + S types ß.
- Option + A types å, Option + O types ø, Option + ' types æ, Option + Q types œ. Add Shift for the capitals.
- Option + 1 types ¡, and Option + Shift + / types ¿.
This is the fastest built-in way for French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and the Nordic languages. It covers only the marks above. The US layout has no Option shortcut for č, ą, ł, ş or ő, so Czech, Polish, Turkish and Hungarian need another way. Our posts on Turkish letters, German umlauts and Polish letters cover those languages one by one.
The Character Viewer
Press Control + Command + Space, or choose Edit → Emoji & Symbols in most apps. The window opens on emoji, but it holds every character, and you can search it by name. Double-click a character to put it where your cursor is.
It finds anything, including letters no shortcut types. It is also a mouse trip for each letter, so it suits a rare symbol, not a paragraph.
ABC Extended
macOS has a second English layout, ABC - Extended. Add it in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit: press +, and search for ABC Extended. The letters stay where they are on the US layout, and Option gets dead keys for many more marks, such as the caron in č and the macron in ā.
Use Keyboard Viewer with Option and Shift to check which keys produce each mark. The catch is the number of combinations to learn, and a few Option combinations work differently than on the US layout, so shortcuts you already know can change.
Add a layout for your language
Language input sources give you access to their letters, sometimes through dead keys or modifier keys. Add an input source in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit, with the + button. Switch between layouts with Control + Space or the globe key if it is set to change input sources.
Many letters now have dedicated keys, but other keys can move. The German layout swaps Y and Z. The French layout is AZERTY. Punctuation moves in almost all of them, and you must remember which layout is on before you type. Typing in two languages on one keyboard goes through that cost in detail.
Why it still feels slow
Every built-in way asks you to stop inside a word: wait for a menu, press a dead key, or check which layout is on. For a name now and then, that is fine. For a long message in French or Spanish, it is a stop every few words, and many people give up and leave the marks out.
Type plain letters, get the accents
Typeet works after the word instead of inside it. You keep the US layout and type without the marks. When you finish a word with a space or punctuation, Typeet writes it with its letters:
- Manana por la manana voy al medico, asi que llegare tarde. becomes Mañana por la mañana voy al médico, así que llegaré tarde.
- Le diner est pret, viens avant que ca refroidisse. becomes Le dîner est prêt, viens avant que ça refroidisse.
Typeet checks each word against word lists for your language and for English, and looks at the words around it, so English words stay as they are. How Typeet adds the missing letters explains the rules and the test results for each language.
It works in every app, on macOS 13 or later. On first launch it asks for Accessibility permission. Everything runs on your Mac, and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. Typeet makes a mistake now and then; press Backspace right after a fix to undo it.
Questions
How do I type an accent on a Mac keyboard?
Hold the letter key and choose from the menu, or use an Option dead key: Option + E, then e, types é.
How do I type ñ on a Mac?
Press Option + N, let go, then press n. You can also hold n and choose ñ from the menu.
How do I type a capital letter with an accent on a Mac?
Press the dead key, then hold Shift with the letter. Option + E, then Shift + E, types É.
Can I type accents on a Mac without any shortcut?
Yes. With Typeet you type the word without its marks, and it adds them when you finish the word. It works for 19 languages, each mixed with English.