Mac Option Key Shortcuts for Accents: Full Chart

Published October 1, 2026, 3 min read

The Option key on a Mac turns some keys into accent keys. Press the Option combination, release, then type the letter.

Acute: Option+E · Grave: Option+` · Circumflex: Option+I · Umlaut: Option+U · Tilde: Option+N

Full chart

Letter	Name	Shortcut
ß	Sharp s (eszett)	`Option`+`S`
à	a with grave	`Option`+`, then `A`
á	a with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `A`
â	a with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `A`
ã	a with tilde	`Option`+`N`, then `A`
ä	a with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `A`
å	a with ring above	`Option`+`A`
æ	ae ligature (ash)	`Option`+`'`
ç	c with cedilla	`Option`+`C`
è	e with grave	`Option`+`, then `E`
é	e with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `E`
ê	e with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `E`
ë	e with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `E`
ì	i with grave	`Option`+`, then `I`
í	i with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `I`
î	i with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `I`
ï	i with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `I`
ñ	n with tilde	`Option`+`N`, then `N`
ò	o with grave	`Option`+`, then `O`
ó	o with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `O`
ô	o with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `O`
õ	o with tilde	`Option`+`N`, then `O`
ö	o with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `O`
ø	o with stroke	`Option`+`O`
ù	u with grave	`Option`+`, then `U`
ú	u with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `U`
û	u with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `U`
ü	u with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `U`
ÿ	y with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `Y`
œ	oe ligature (ethel)	`Option`+`Q`
À	Capital A with grave	`Option`+`, then `Shift`+`A`
Á	Capital A with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `Shift`+`A`
Â	Capital A with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `Shift`+`A`
Ã	Capital A with tilde	`Option`+`N`, then `Shift`+`A`
Ä	Capital A with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `Shift`+`A`
Å	Capital A with ring above	`Option`+`Shift`+`A`
Æ	Capital AE ligature (ash)	`Option`+`Shift`+`'`
Ç	Capital C with cedilla	`Option`+`Shift`+`C`
È	Capital E with grave	`Option`+`, then `Shift`+`E`
É	Capital E with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `Shift`+`E`
Ê	Capital E with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `Shift`+`E`
Ë	Capital E with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `Shift`+`E`
Ì	Capital I with grave	`Option`+`, then `Shift`+`I`
Í	Capital I with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `Shift`+`I`
Î	Capital I with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `Shift`+`I`
Ï	Capital I with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `Shift`+`I`
Ñ	Capital N with tilde	`Option`+`N`, then `Shift`+`N`
Ò	Capital O with grave	`Option`+`, then `Shift`+`O`
Ó	Capital O with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `Shift`+`O`
Ô	Capital O with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `Shift`+`O`
Õ	Capital O with tilde	`Option`+`N`, then `Shift`+`O`
Ö	Capital O with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `Shift`+`O`
Ø	Capital O with stroke	`Option`+`Shift`+`O`
Ù	Capital U with grave	`Option`+`, then `Shift`+`U`
Ú	Capital U with acute	`Option`+`E`, then `Shift`+`U`
Û	Capital U with circumflex	`Option`+`I`, then `Shift`+`U`
Ü	Capital U with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `Shift`+`U`
Œ	Capital OE ligature (ethel)	`Option`+`Shift`+`Q`
Ÿ	Capital Y with umlaut	`Option`+`U`, then `Shift`+`Y`

Letters with no Option shortcut

For letters such as ł, ő or ș, hold the base letter key to see the accent menu, or add the Unicode Hex Input source and hold Option while typing the four-digit code.