How to Type ĺ (L with acute) on Mac

Published May 30, 2026, 2 min read

ĺ is l with acute, a letter used in Slovak. On Mac, the quickest way to get it is Option + 013A (Unicode Hex Input). This guide covers every method that works, including the capital Ĺ and fixes for common problems.

ĺ on Mac: Option + 013A (Unicode Hex Input)

Ĺ on Mac: Option + 0139 (Unicode Hex Input)

Or copy it:

Method 1: Press and hold

Hold down the L key.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If ĺ 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 013A. ĺ 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 l with acute", and double-click ĺ.

How to type the capital Ĺ

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

Press and hold

Hold down the L key with Shift.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If Ĺ 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 0139. Ĺ appears when you release Option.

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

About the letter ĺ

ĺ is Unicode U+013A, named LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH ACUTE. It is used in Slovak. A short line slanting up to the right. It marks stress in Spanish (canción), a closed vowel in French (été), vowel length in Czech, Hungarian and Irish, and a rising tone in Vietnamese and Pinyin. See the ĺ 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 ĺ on Mac?

Option + 013A (Unicode Hex Input).

Can I just copy and paste ĺ?

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 ĺ?

U+013A. In HTML it is ĺ.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Mac