How to Type ä (A with umlaut) on Mac

Published August 28, 2026, 3 min read

Need ä on Mac for a name, an address or a word in another language? You do not have to copy it from a website every time. The fastest method is Option+U, then A, and there are a few backups below for when that one is not available.

ä on Mac: Option+U, then A

Ä on Mac: Option+U, then Shift+A

Or copy it:

Method 1: Option key shortcut

Press Option+U, then A. Hold Option while you press the first key, let go, then press the letter. This works in every app on the standard US and ABC keyboard layouts.

Method 2: Press and hold

Hold down the A key.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If ä is in the row, press the number under it or click it.

If nothing appears, press-and-hold is turned off. Run defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool true in Terminal and log out and back in.

Method 3: Unicode Hex Input

Open System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit, click +, and add Unicode Hex Input.
Switch to it from the input menu in the menu bar.
Hold Option and type 00E4. ä appears when you release Option.

This works for every letter on this site, including ones with no Option shortcut.

Method 4: Character Viewer

Press Ctrl+Cmd+Space, search for "latin small letter a with diaeresis", and double-click ä.

How to type the capital Ä

The uppercase form works the same way with Shift added where a letter is typed.

Option key shortcut

Press Option+U, then Shift+A. Hold Option while you press the first key, let go, then press the letter. This works in every app on the standard US and ABC keyboard layouts.

Press and hold

Hold down the A key with Shift.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If Ä is in the row, press the number under it or click it.

If nothing appears, press-and-hold is turned off. Run defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool true in Terminal and log out and back in.

About the letter ä

ä is Unicode U+00E4, named LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS. It is used in German, Slovak, Swedish, Finnish and Estonian. Two dots above a letter. As a German umlaut it changes the vowel sound (ä, ö, ü); as a diaeresis in French, Dutch, Spanish or English (naïve, Noël) it shows that a vowel is pronounced separately. See the ä character page for every code and shortcut.

Troubleshooting

If holding a key repeats the letter, press-and-hold is off. Turn it back on with the Terminal command above.
Option shortcuts depend on the keyboard layout. They work on US and ABC; other layouts move them.
If Option+E shows a highlighted ´ but no letter appears, you pressed a letter that cannot take that accent.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut for ä on Mac?

Option+U, then A.

Can I just copy and paste ä?

Yes. Click the copy button above, then paste with Ctrl+V on Windows and Chromebook, Cmd+V on a Mac, or touch and hold and choose Paste on a phone.

What is the Unicode code for ä?

U+00E4. In HTML it is ä.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Mac