How to Type û (U with circumflex) on Excel

Published August 3, 2026, 2 min read

û is u with circumflex, a letter used in French, Welsh and Afrikaans. On Excel, the quickest way to get it is =UNICHAR(251). This guide covers every method that works, including the capital Û and fixes for common problems.

û on Excel: =UNICHAR(251)

Û on Excel: =UNICHAR(219)

Or copy it:

Method 1: UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(251) in a cell to get û. To check a letter, =UNICODE("û") returns 251. Both work in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

Method 2: CHAR formula on Windows

=CHAR(251) also returns û on Windows, because it uses the Windows-1252 code page. On a Mac CHAR uses a different code page, so prefer UNICHAR.

Method 3: Keyboard methods inside a cell

Double-click the cell, then use Alt+0251 on Windows or Option+I, then U on a Mac.

Method 4: Find and replace accented text

Use =SUBSTITUTE(A1,"û","u") 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 Û

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

UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(219) in a cell to get Û. To check a letter, =UNICODE("Û") returns 219. Both work in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

CHAR formula on Windows

=CHAR(219) also returns Û on Windows, because it uses the Windows-1252 code page. On a Mac CHAR uses a different code page, so prefer UNICHAR.

About the letter û

û is Unicode U+00FB, named LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX. It is used in French, Welsh and Afrikaans. A small caret (^) above a vowel. In French it often marks a vanished s (forêt from forest), in Portuguese a closed vowel, in Welsh a long vowel, and in Vietnamese a distinct vowel (â, ê, ô). See the û 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 û on Excel?

=UNICHAR(251).

Can I just copy and paste û?

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 û?

U+00FB. In HTML it is û.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Excel