How to type accents on Windows (Alt codes and layouts)
Verified Windows Alt codes for é, ñ, ü, ç and more, plus Word shortcuts, Alt+X, Character Map, the Win+. panel and the US-International keyboard.
Updated · 6 min read
Windows has more ways to type an accented letter than any other system, which is exactly why people find it confusing. This guide gives you the verified codes first, then the alternatives for machines without a numeric keypad. Every code below was checked against the Windows and DOS code page tables rather than copied from another how-to page, because a wrong Alt code is worse than no Alt code at all.
Alt+0NNN and Alt+NNN are two different systems
Hold Alt, type digits on the numeric keypad, release Alt. That part is the same in both systems. The difference is the number.
Alt+0233(four digits, leading zero) reads the modern Windows code page. This is the form Microsoft’s own documentation uses and the one to learn.Alt+130(three digits, no leading zero) reads the old DOS code page inherited from the original IBM PC. On a US English machine it gives the same é, but the mapping changes on some regional installs, and many letters simply do not exist in it.
Two hard requirements apply to both. The numeric keypad is required: the number row across the top of the keyboard never produces an Alt code. And Num Lock must be on, otherwise the keypad sends arrows and Home and End, so Alt+4 becomes Alt+Left and your browser jumps back a page.
Alt codes for the letters people actually use
The Legacy column is the three-digit DOS code where one exists. The Alt+X column is the Unicode number used by the Word method further down.
| Character | Alt code | Legacy | Alt+X |
|---|---|---|---|
| á | Alt+0225 | Alt+160 | 00E1 |
| à | Alt+0224 | Alt+133 | 00E0 |
| â | Alt+0226 | Alt+131 | 00E2 |
| ä | Alt+0228 | Alt+132 | 00E4 |
| ã | Alt+0227 | none | 00E3 |
| å | Alt+0229 | Alt+134 | 00E5 |
| æ | Alt+0230 | Alt+145 | 00E6 |
| ç | Alt+0231 | Alt+135 | 00E7 |
| é | Alt+0233 | Alt+130 | 00E9 |
| è | Alt+0232 | Alt+138 | 00E8 |
| Character | Alt code | Legacy | Alt+X |
|---|---|---|---|
| ê | Alt+0234 | Alt+136 | 00EA |
| ë | Alt+0235 | Alt+137 | 00EB |
| í | Alt+0237 | Alt+161 | 00ED |
| ì | Alt+0236 | Alt+141 | 00EC |
| î | Alt+0238 | Alt+140 | 00EE |
| ï | Alt+0239 | Alt+139 | 00EF |
| ñ | Alt+0241 | Alt+164 | 00F1 |
| ó | Alt+0243 | Alt+162 | 00F3 |
| ô | Alt+0244 | Alt+147 | 00F4 |
| ö | Alt+0246 | Alt+148 | 00F6 |
| Character | Alt code | Legacy | Alt+X |
|---|---|---|---|
| õ | Alt+0245 | none | 00F5 |
| ø | Alt+0248 | none | 00F8 |
| œ | Alt+0156 | none | 0153 |
| ú | Alt+0250 | Alt+163 | 00FA |
| ù | Alt+0249 | Alt+151 | 00F9 |
| û | Alt+0251 | Alt+150 | 00FB |
| ü | Alt+0252 | Alt+129 | 00FC |
| ß | Alt+0223 | Alt+225 | 00DF |
| ÿ | Alt+0255 | Alt+152 | 00FF |
| ¿ | Alt+0191 | Alt+168 | 00BF |
Capitals have their own codes rather than a Shift modifier.
| Character | Alt code | Character | Alt code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Á | Alt+0193 | Ñ | Alt+0209 |
| É | Alt+0201 | Ü | Alt+0220 |
| Í | Alt+0205 | Ç | Alt+0199 |
| Ó | Alt+0211 | Ö | Alt+0214 |
| Ú | Alt+0218 | Ä | Alt+0196 |
The complete reference, including currency and punctuation codes, is in Alt codes for accented letters: the complete verified list.
Letters that have no Alt code
Anything outside the Windows-1252 character set has no general Alt code on an English or Western European install. That includes the Polish letters ą, ć, ę and ł, the Czech č and ř, Hungarian ő and ű, Turkish ğ and ı, and Romanian ș and ț. You will find pages online listing things like “Alt+0322 for ł”. Those are not real Alt codes; they only work inside a small family of older text controls and fail in Notepad, Chrome and Word. Use Alt+X in Word, the Win+. panel, Character Map, or add the language keyboard instead. Polish and Czech have the full sets.
Word and classic Outlook: Ctrl shortcuts
Inside Word you do not need the keypad at all. Press and release the shortcut, then type the letter.
| Result | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| à è ì ò ù | Ctrl+ backtick, then the letter |
| á é í ó ú ý | Ctrl+', then the letter |
| â ê î ô û | Ctrl+Shift+^, then the letter |
| ã ñ õ | Ctrl+Shift+~, then the letter |
| ä ë ï ö ü ÿ | Ctrl+Shift+:, then the letter |
| å | Ctrl+Shift+@, then a |
| æ and œ | Ctrl+Shift+&, then a or o |
| ß | Ctrl+Shift+&, then s |
| ç | Ctrl+,, then c |
| ø | Ctrl+/, then o |
On a US keyboard ^ is Shift+6, ~ is Shift plus backtick, : is Shift+;, @ is Shift+2 and & is Shift+7. The same table works in classic Outlook. It does not work in Excel, PowerPoint or the new Outlook for Windows. How to type accents in Microsoft Word (shortcuts and Alt+X) covers all of that, plus what to do in each app instead.
Alt+X: type the number, press two keys
In Word, classic Outlook, OneNote, Publisher and Visio you can type a Unicode number and press Alt+X to convert it in place. Typing 00e9 then Alt+X gives é; 0142 then Alt+X gives ł. Pressing Alt+X again converts it back to the number, which is handy for checking what a character actually is. If the code follows other hex-looking characters, select just the code first, or prefix it with U+. Alt+X does not work in Excel or PowerPoint.
Three ways with no keypad at all
Win+. emoji panel. Press Win+. and choose the Symbols tab, then the Latin symbols section. It works in any text field, including apps where nothing else does, though there is no search inside that tab.
Character Map. Press Win+R, type charmap, and enable Advanced view to get a search box. Search “e acute” or “l stroke”, click Select, then Copy. The status bar shows the Alt code for characters that have one.
PowerToys Quick Accent. Microsoft’s free PowerToys package adds the press-and-hold behaviour Windows otherwise lacks: hold a letter, then press Space or an arrow key to cycle through its accented forms. It ships with sets for Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Romanian, Vietnamese, Croatian and Lithuanian. Full instructions are in How to type accents on a laptop without a numeric keypad.
The US-International layout
This is the real fix if you type accents every day. Open Settings, then Time and language, then Language and region. Click the three dots beside your language, choose Language options, then Add a keyboard, and pick United States-International. Switch between layouts with Win+Space.
The layout turns five punctuation keys into dead keys: press the key, release, then press the letter.
| Dead key | Gives you |
|---|---|
' | á é í ó ú ý and ç |
" | ä ë ï ö ü ÿ |
| backtick | à è ì ò ù |
~ | ã õ and ñ |
^ | â ê î ô û |
It also puts a second set of characters on Right Alt, which this layout treats as AltGr: AltGr+E gives é, AltGr+N gives ñ, AltGr+S gives ß, AltGr+comma gives ç, AltGr+L gives ø, AltGr+W gives å, AltGr+Z gives æ and AltGr+/ gives ¿. The one habit to learn is that typing an apostrophe before a vowel now produces an accent, so “it’s” needs a Space after the apostrophe. The US International keyboard layout explained has the complete map and the workarounds.
Where to go next
The Mac equivalents are in How to type accents on a Mac (Option key and press-and-hold), and How to type accents in Google Docs explains why Docs has no shortcut of its own. Developers should use HTML entity, Unicode and CSS codes for accented letters rather than pasting raw characters into source files, and Remove accents from text strips accents for a plain ASCII filename or slug. Common accent mistakes and the confusable characters covers the errors English speakers make most often.
FAQ
Why does my Alt code do nothing?
Alt codes only work on the numeric keypad with Num Lock switched on. The number row above the letters never works, and with Num Lock off the keypad sends arrow keys instead of digits.
What is the difference between Alt+0233 and Alt+130?
Alt+0233 uses the Windows code page and Alt+130 uses the older DOS code page. On a US English system both produce é, but only the four-digit form with the leading zero is consistent across Western European Windows installs.
How do I type accents on a laptop with no numeric keypad?
Use the Win+. panel and choose the Symbols tab, switch to the US-International keyboard layout, install PowerToys Quick Accent, or use Character Map. Alt codes are not available from the built-in keys.
Is there an Alt code for Polish ł or Czech ř?
No. Letters outside the Windows-1252 set have no general Alt code. Use Alt+X in Word, the Win+. panel, Character Map, or add that language's keyboard layout.
How do I enable the US-International keyboard in Windows 11?
Open Settings, then Time and language, then Language and region. Click the three dots next to your language, choose Language options, then Add a keyboard, and pick United States-International. Switch layouts with Win+Space.
By language: Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Polish