How to Type ľ (L with caron) on Excel

Published May 25, 2026, 2 min read

Typing ľ (l with caron) on Excel takes a few seconds once you know the trick. The short answer is =UNICHAR(318). Read on for step-by-step instructions, the uppercase Ľ and what to do when a method does not work.

ľ on Excel: =UNICHAR(318)

Ľ on Excel: =UNICHAR(317)

Or copy it:

Method 1: UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(318) in a cell to get ľ. To check a letter, =UNICODE("ľ") returns 318. 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 013E) on Windows or Unicode Hex Input (Option + 013E) on a Mac.

Method 3: Find and replace accented text

Use =SUBSTITUTE(A1,"ľ","l") 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 Ľ

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

UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(317) in a cell to get Ľ. To check a letter, =UNICODE("Ľ") returns 317. 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 013D) on Windows or Unicode Hex Input (Option + 013D) on a Mac.

About the letter ľ

ľ is Unicode U+013E, named LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH CARON. It is used in Slovak. A small v above a letter, called háček in Czech and kvačica in Croatian. It softens consonants (č, š, ž, ř) and marks the third tone in Pinyin (ǎ, ǐ). See the ľ 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 ľ on Excel?

=UNICHAR(318).

Can I just copy and paste ľ?

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 ľ?

U+013E. In HTML it is ľ.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Excel