How to Type ü (U with umlaut) on Excel

Published September 5, 2026, 2 min read

ü is u with umlaut, a letter used in Spanish, French, German and Hungarian. On Excel, the quickest way to get it is =UNICHAR(252). This guide covers every method that works, including the capital Ü and fixes for common problems.

ü on Excel: =UNICHAR(252)

Ü on Excel: =UNICHAR(220)

Or copy it:

Method 1: UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(252) in a cell to get ü. To check a letter, =UNICODE("ü") returns 252. Both work in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

Method 2: CHAR formula on Windows

=CHAR(252) also returns ü 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+0252 on Windows or Option+U, then U on a Mac.

Method 4: Find and replace accented text

Use =SUBSTITUTE(A1,"ü","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 Ü

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

UNICHAR formula

Type =UNICHAR(220) in a cell to get Ü. To check a letter, =UNICODE("Ü") returns 220. Both work in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

CHAR formula on Windows

=CHAR(220) also returns Ü 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 ü

ü is Unicode U+00FC, named LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS. It is used in Spanish, French, German, Hungarian, Turkish, Dutch, Catalan and Estonian. Two dots above a letter. As a German umlaut it changes the vowel sound (ä, ö, ü); as a diaeresis in French, Dutch, Spanish or English (naïve, Noël) it shows that a vowel is pronounced separately. See the ü 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 ü on Excel?

=UNICHAR(252).

Can I just copy and paste ü?

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 ü?

U+00FC. In HTML it is ü.

Related guides

All accent shortcuts for Excel