How to Type ĩ (I with tilde) on Excel

Published June 6, 2026, 2 min read

Typing ĩ (i with tilde) on Excel takes a few seconds once you know the trick. The short answer is =UNICHAR(297). Read on for step-by-step instructions, the uppercase Ĩ and what to do when a method does not work.

ĩ on Excel: =UNICHAR(297)

Ĩ on Excel: =UNICHAR(296)

Or copy it:

Method 1: UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(297) in a cell to get ĩ. To check a letter, =UNICODE("ĩ") returns 297. 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 0129) on Windows or Unicode Hex Input (Option + 0129) on a Mac.

Method 3: Find and replace accented text

Use =SUBSTITUTE(A1,"ĩ","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 Ĩ

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

UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(296) in a cell to get Ĩ. To check a letter, =UNICODE("Ĩ") returns 296. 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 0128) on Windows or Unicode Hex Input (Option + 0128) on a Mac.

About the letter ĩ

ĩ is Unicode U+0129, named LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH TILDE. It is used in Vietnamese. A wavy line above a letter. Spanish uses it for ñ, Portuguese for nasal vowels (ã, õ), Estonian for õ, and Vietnamese for the broken rising tone. See the ĩ 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 ĩ on Excel?

=UNICHAR(297).

Can I just copy and paste ĩ?

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 ĩ?

U+0129. In HTML it is ĩ.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Excel