How to Type French Accents on Any Keyboard
French uses five diacritics: the acute (é), grave (à, è, ù), circumflex (â, ê, î, ô, û), diaeresis (ë, ï, ü, ÿ) and cedilla (ç), plus the ligatures œ and æ. Here is how to type each of them on a computer or phone, whether you write French every day or only need the odd name.
French letters: à â æ ç é è ê ë î ï ô œ ù û ü ÿ
Shortcut chart
| Letter | Windows | Mac | Word | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| à | Alt+0224 | Option+`, then A | Ctrl+`, then A | hold a |
| â | Alt+0226 | Option+I, then A | Ctrl+Shift+^, then A | hold a |
| æ | Alt+0230 | Option+' | Ctrl+Shift+&, then A | hold a |
| ç | Alt+0231 | Option+C | Ctrl+,, then C | hold c |
| é | Alt+0233 | Option+E, then E | Ctrl+', then E | hold e |
| è | Alt+0232 | Option+`, then E | Ctrl+`, then E | hold e |
| ê | Alt+0234 | Option+I, then E | Ctrl+Shift+^, then E | hold e |
| ë | Alt+0235 | Option+U, then E | Ctrl+Shift+:, then E | hold e |
| î | Alt+0238 | Option+I, then I | Ctrl+Shift+^, then I | hold i |
| ï | Alt+0239 | Option+U, then I | Ctrl+Shift+:, then I | hold i |
| ô | Alt+0244 | Option+I, then O | Ctrl+Shift+^, then O | hold o |
| œ | Alt+0156 | Option+Q | Ctrl+Shift+&, then O | hold o |
| ù | Alt+0249 | Option+`, then U | Ctrl+`, then U | hold u |
| û | Alt+0251 | Option+I, then U | Ctrl+Shift+^, then U | hold u |
| ü | Alt+0252 | Option+U, then U | Ctrl+Shift+:, then U | hold u |
| ÿ | Alt+0255 | Option+U, then Y | Ctrl+Shift+:, then Y | hold y |
Option 1: add the French keyboard
If you write French often, add its keyboard layout. On Windows, open Settings → Time & language → Language & region, add French or add its keyboard under your current language, and switch with Win+Space. On a Mac, open System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit and add the French layout. On iPhone and Android, add the French keyboard in keyboard settings and switch with the globe key.
A native layout moves some punctuation keys, so print or note where they sit before you switch.
Option 2: use shortcuts on your current keyboard
Keep your usual layout and use the codes in the chart. On Windows the US-International layout covers many Western European accents with dead keys. On a Mac, Option+E, Option+`, Option+I, Option+U and Option+N cover the acute, grave, circumflex, umlaut and tilde, and Unicode Hex Input covers everything else.
Option 3: copy and paste
For occasional use, copy letters from the French letters page. Click a letter to copy it, or click several to build a word in the text box first.