How to Type ī (I with macron) on Mac

Published July 14, 2026, 2 min read

ī is i with macron, a letter used in Latvian, Mandarin Pinyin, Māori and Hawaiian. On Mac, the quickest way to get it is Option + 012B (Unicode Hex Input). This guide covers every method that works, including the capital Ī and fixes for common problems.

ī on Mac: Option + 012B (Unicode Hex Input)

Ī on Mac: Option + 012A (Unicode Hex Input)

Or copy it:

Method 1: Press and hold

Hold down the I key.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If ī 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 2: 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 012B. ī appears when you release Option.

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

Method 3: Character Viewer

Press Ctrl+Cmd+Space, search for "latin small letter i with macron", and double-click ī.

How to type the capital Ī

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

Press and hold

Hold down the I key with Shift.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If Ī 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.

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 012A. Ī appears when you release Option.

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

About the letter ī

ī is Unicode U+012B, named LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH MACRON. It is used in Latvian, Mandarin Pinyin, Māori and Hawaiian. A flat bar above a vowel, used for long vowels in Latvian, Lithuanian, Māori, Hawaiian and Latin textbooks, and for the first tone in Pinyin. See the ī 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 ī on Mac?

Option + 012B (Unicode Hex Input).

Can I just copy and paste ī?

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 ī?

U+012B. In HTML it is ī.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Mac