How to Type ņ (N with cedilla) on Mac

Published May 23, 2026, 2 min read

The letter ņ does not have its own key on an English keyboard, but Mac still makes it easy to type. Use Option + 0146 (Unicode Hex Input), or pick one of the other methods in this guide. ņ appears in Latvian.

ņ on Mac: Option + 0146 (Unicode Hex Input)

Ņ on Mac: Option + 0145 (Unicode Hex Input)

Or copy it:

Method 1: Press and hold

Hold down the N key.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If ņ 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 0146. ņ 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 n with cedilla", and double-click ņ.

How to type the capital Ņ

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

Press and hold

Hold down the N key with Shift.
A row of accented versions appears above the cursor.
If Ņ 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 0145. Ņ appears when you release Option.

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

About the letter ņ

ņ is Unicode U+0146, named LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH CEDILLA. It is used in Latvian. A small hook under a letter. ç gives a soft s sound in French, Portuguese, Catalan, Turkish and Albanian; Turkish also uses ş, and Latvian uses ģ, ķ, ļ, ņ. See the ņ 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 ņ on Mac?

Option + 0146 (Unicode Hex Input).

Can I just copy and paste ņ?

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 ņ?

U+0146. In HTML it is ņ.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Mac