Updated: 12/31/2020 by Computer Hope
For users who do not have specialized keyboards, letters with accent marks may only be created using shortcut keys or through the menu bar.
Inserting accented letters with the menu bar or Ribbon
- Open Microsoft Word.
- Select the Insert tab on the Ribbon or click Insert in the menu bar.
- On the Insert tab or the Insert drop-down, select the Symbol option.
- 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 Word 2003 and earlier versions, you can click the More Symbols option to see a larger list of available symbols to insert.
- After selecting the desired accented letter or symbol, click the Insert button.
If you insert an accented character using the steps above, once a character is inserted, you can copy that character and paste it 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
You must press the letter key quickly after releasing the shortcut keys. Otherwise, the non-accented letter is created.
Tip
To get uppercase accent letters, turn on Caps Lock before using the shortcut keys. Alternatively, after pressing the shortcut keys 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 | Shortcut Key Combination |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Use third-party program
- How to insert symbols or special characters in a word processor.
- How to get letters with accent marks in Microsoft Excel.
- See the accent mark definition for further information and related links.
- Microsoft Word help and support.
