How to Type î (I with circumflex) on iPhone

Published August 19, 2026, 2 min read

î is i with circumflex, a letter used in French, Italian, Romanian and Welsh. On iPhone, the quickest way to get it is Hold i. This guide covers every method that works, including the capital Î and fixes for common problems.

î on iPhone: Hold i

Î on iPhone: Hold i

Or copy it:

Method 1: Long-press the letter

Open the keyboard in any app.
Touch and hold the i key.
Slide your finger to î and lift it.

î is on the long-press menu of the default English keyboard and Gboard shows a similar set.

Method 2: Add the French keyboard

Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards.
Tap Add New Keyboard and choose French.
Tap the globe key to switch while typing.

Method 3: Text Replacement

Go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement, tap +, paste î as the phrase and type a shortcut such as ici. The shortcut syncs to your Mac through iCloud.

How to type the capital Î

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

Long-press the letter

Open the keyboard in any app.
Touch and hold the I key (with Shift on).
Slide your finger to Î and lift it.

Î is on the long-press menu of the default English keyboard and Gboard shows a similar set.

Add the French keyboard

Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards.
Tap Add New Keyboard and choose French.
Tap the globe key to switch while typing.

About the letter î

î is Unicode U+00EE, named LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX. It is used in French, Italian, Romanian, Welsh and Afrikaans. A small caret (^) above a vowel. In French it often marks a vanished s (forêt from forest), in Portuguese a closed vowel, in Welsh a long vowel, and in Vietnamese a distinct vowel (â, ê, ô). See the î character page for every code and shortcut.

Troubleshooting

If no menu appears when you touch and hold, make sure you are not using a third-party keyboard that disables it.
Text Replacement shortcuts need a space or punctuation after them to expand.
Some apps with custom keyboards, such as games, do not support accents.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut for î on iPhone?

Hold i.

Can I just copy and paste î?

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 î?

U+00EE. In HTML it is î.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for iPhone