How to Type ĭ (I with breve) on Excel

Published April 23, 2026, 2 min read

Typing ĭ (i with breve) on Excel takes a few seconds once you know the trick. The short answer is =UNICHAR(301). Read on for step-by-step instructions, the uppercase Ĭ and what to do when a method does not work.

ĭ on Excel: =UNICHAR(301)

Ĭ on Excel: =UNICHAR(300)

Or copy it:

Method 1: UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(301) in a cell to get ĭ. To check a letter, =UNICODE("ĭ") returns 301. Both work in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

Method 2: Keyboard methods inside a cell

Double-click the cell, then use Insert → Symbol (Unicode hex 012D) on Windows or Unicode Hex Input (Option + 012D) on a Mac.

Method 3: Find and replace accented text

Use =SUBSTITUTE(A1,"ĭ","i") to strip this accent from a column, for example when cleaning names for an email system that does not accept accents.

How to type the capital Ĭ

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

UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(300) in a cell to get Ĭ. To check a letter, =UNICODE("Ĭ") returns 300. Both work in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

Keyboard methods inside a cell

Double-click the cell, then use Insert → Symbol (Unicode hex 012C) on Windows or Unicode Hex Input (Option + 012C) on a Mac.

About the letter ĭ

ĭ is Unicode U+012D, named LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH BREVE. A small cup above a letter. Romanian uses ă, Turkish ğ, Vietnamese ă, and Esperanto ŭ. See the ĭ character page for every code and shortcut.

Troubleshooting

UNICHAR is not available in Excel 2010 and earlier.
CSV files saved as plain "CSV" may lose accents. Save as "CSV UTF-8".
If accents show as question marks after import, set the file origin to 65001: Unicode (UTF-8) in the import wizard.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut for ĭ on Excel?

=UNICHAR(301).

Can I just copy and paste ĭ?

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 ĭ?

U+012D. In HTML it is ĭ.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Excel