How to Type î (I with circumflex) on LaTeX

Published August 18, 2026, 2 min read

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

î on LaTeX: \^{\i}

Î on LaTeX: \^{I}

Or copy it:

Method 1: LaTeX command

Write \^{\i} in text mode. Load \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} for correct hyphenation and copy-paste from the PDF.

Method 2: Type the character directly

Since 2018 pdfLaTeX reads UTF-8 by default, so you can paste î into your source. On Overleaf, set the compiler in Menu → Compiler.

Method 3: In math mode

For a variable with this accent, use $\hat{i}$ . Math accents are for symbols, so use the text command for words.

How to type the capital Î

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

LaTeX command

Write \^{I} in text mode. Load \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} for correct hyphenation and copy-paste from the PDF.

Type the character directly

Since 2018 pdfLaTeX reads UTF-8 by default, so you can paste Î into your source. On Overleaf, set the compiler in Menu → Compiler.

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

Accents on i and j need the dotless forms \i and \j in old LaTeX; modern LaTeX handles this automatically.
If the letter is missing in the PDF, the font lacks it. Switch to XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX with a broader font.
Wrap commands in braces when the next character is a letter: \'{e}x, not \'ex.

Frequently asked questions

What is the shortcut for î on LaTeX?

\^{\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 LaTeX