How to Type Acute Accent (´, á, é, í, ó, ú, ý, ć, ń, ŕ, ś, ź) — Shortcuts, Alt Codes & Mac

Q: How do you type an acute accent on a Mac keyboard?

On macOS, press Option + e, release both keys, and immediately type the letter you want to accent (e.g. Option + e then e gives é; Option + e then a gives á; Option + e then Space gives the standalone accent ´). You can also press and hold down the letter key on your keyboard to reveal the numeric diacritics popup menu.

Q: How do you type acute accents in Microsoft Word?

In Microsoft Word, press Ctrl + ' (single quotation mark/apostrophe), release both keys, and type the letter you want to accent (e.g. Ctrl + ' then e gives é). For capital letters, press Ctrl + ' then Shift + E for É. You can also type the 4-digit hexadecimal code followed by Alt + X (e.g. 00E9 + Alt + X = é).

Q: What are the HTML entity codes and Unicode values for acute accents?

The standalone acute symbol is ´ (U+00B4) and combining acute is ́ (U+0301). For letters: é is é (U+00E9); á is á (U+00E1); í is í (U+00ED); ó is ó (U+00F3); ú is ú (U+00FA); ý is ý (U+00FD); ć is ć (U+0107); ń is ń (U+0144); ŕ is ŕ (U+0155); ś is ś (U+015B); and ź is ź (U+017A).

QUICK REFERENCE

Master Acute Accent Keyboard Shortcut Matrix (All Letters)

The acute accent (´) is the most widely used diacritical mark in European languages, serving vital phonetic roles across Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Italian), Slavic languages (Czech, Slovak, Polish), Finno-Ugric languages (Hungarian), Germanic languages (Icelandic, Faroese), and Celtic languages (Irish). Below is your complete cross-platform shortcut reference:

Character	Windows Alt Code	Mac Shortcut	Word Shortcut	US-International	Language / Phonetic Role	Unicode / HTML
Standalone (´)	`Alt`+`0180` / `Alt`+`239`	`Opt`+`e`, then `Space`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `Space`	`'` + `Space`	Diacritic accent mark / spacing symbol	`U+00B4` \| `´`
é / É	`Alt`+`130` / `Alt`+`144`	`Opt`+`e`, then `e` / `E`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `e` / `E`	`'` + `e` or `AltGr`+`e`	French accent aigu (/e/), Spanish, Portuguese, Czech	`U+00E9` \| `é`
á / Á	`Alt`+`160` / `Alt`+`0193`	`Opt`+`e`, then `a` / `A`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `a` / `A`	`'` + `a` or `AltGr`+`a`	Spanish lexical stress, Portuguese, Czech čárka, Irish	`U+00E1` \| `á`
í / Í	`Alt`+`161` / `Alt`+`0205`	`Opt`+`e`, then `i` / `I`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `i` / `I`	`'` + `i` or `AltGr`+`i`	Spanish stress (sí), Portuguese, Czech long /iː/, Irish	`U+00ED` \| `í`
ó / Ó	`Alt`+`162` / `Alt`+`0211`	`Opt`+`e`, then `o` / `O`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `o` / `O`	`'` + `o` or `AltGr`+`o`	Spanish stress, Polish ó (/u/), Hungarian, Czech	`U+00F3` \| `ó`
ú / Ú	`Alt`+`163` / `Alt`+`0218`	`Opt`+`e`, then `u` / `U`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `u` / `U`	`'` + `u` or `AltGr`+`u`	Spanish stress (tú), Czech long /uː/, Hungarian, Irish	`U+00FA` \| `ú`
ý / Ý	`Alt`+`0253` / `Alt`+`0221`	`Opt`+`e`, then `y` / `Y`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `y` / `Y`	`'` + `y` or `AltGr`+`y`	Czech / Slovak long /iː/ (býk), Icelandic, Vietnamese	`U+00FD` \| `ý`
ć / Ć	`Alt`+`0263` / `Alt`+`0262`	`Opt`+`e`, then `c` / `C`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `c` / `C`	`'` + `c` (or Polish AltGr+C)	Polish soft /t͡ɕ/ (być), Croatian/Serbian ć	`U+0107` \| `&cacute;`
ń / Ń	`Alt`+`0324` / `Alt`+`0323`	`Opt`+`e`, then `n` / `N`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `n` / `N`	`'` + `n` (or Polish AltGr+N)	Polish palatal nasal /ɲ/ (Gdańsk, Poznań)	`U+0144` \| `&nacute;`
ŕ / Ŕ	`Alt`+`0341` / `Alt`+`0340`	`Opt`+`e`, then `r` / `R`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `r` / `R`	`'` + `r`	Slovak long syllabic /r̩ː/ (vŕba "willow")	`U+0155` \| `&racute;`
ś / Ś	`Alt`+`0347` / `Alt`+`0346`	`Opt`+`e`, then `s` / `S`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `s` / `S`	`'` + `s` (or Polish AltGr+S)	Polish soft /ɕ/ (śpiewać), Montenegrin ś	`U+015B` \| `&sacute;`
ź / Ź	`Alt`+`0378` / `Alt`+`0377`	`Opt`+`e`, then `z` / `Z`	`Ctrl`+`'`, then `z` / `Z`	`'` + `z` (or Polish AltGr+X)	Polish soft /ʑ/ (źródło, źle), Montenegrin ź	`U+017A` \| `&zacute;`

WINDOWS OS

How to Type Acute Accents on Windows (4 Fast Methods)

Method 1: Windows Alt Codes (Numeric Keypad)

Using the separate 10-key numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard (ensure Num Lock is active), hold down Alt and type the code:

Standalone Acute (´): Alt + 0180 or Alt + 239
é (Lowercase): Alt + 130 or Alt + 0233 | É (Capital): Alt + 144 or Alt + 0201
á (Lowercase): Alt + 160 or Alt + 0225 | Á (Capital): Alt + 0193
í (Lowercase): Alt + 161 or Alt + 0237 | Í (Capital): Alt + 0205
ó (Lowercase): Alt + 162 or Alt + 0243 | Ó (Capital): Alt + 0211
ú (Lowercase): Alt + 163 or Alt + 0250 | Ú (Capital): Alt + 0218
ý (Lowercase): Alt + 0253 | Ý (Capital): Alt + 0221
ć: Alt + 0263 | ń: Alt + 0324 | ś: Alt + 0347 | ź: Alt + 0378

Method 2: US-International Keyboard (Dead Key System)

On the US-International keyboard layout in Windows, the single quote key (') is configured as an acute dead key:

Type ' then e → gives é (Capital: ' then Shift+E = É).
Type ' then a → gives á (Capital: ' then Shift+A = Á).
Type ' then i → gives í | ' then o → gives ó | ' then u → gives ú | ' then y → gives ý.
Type ' then Space → gives a literal single quotation mark / apostrophe (').

Method 3: Windows Emoji & Symbol Panel (`Win` + `.`)

Press Win + . (Windows Key + Period) → click the Symbols (Ω) icon → select Latin Symbols → click any acute character to insert it.

APPLE MACOS

How to Type Acute Accents on Mac (macOS)

On all MacBooks, iMacs, and Apple Magic Keyboards, macOS features a built-in Option dead key specifically for acute accents:

The Mac `Option` + `e` Shortcut

1

Hold down the Option (or Alt) key and press the letter e.

2

Release both keys (a highlighted yellow acute accent mark ´ will appear on screen).

3

Immediately type the letter you want to accent:

Press e → outputs é (For capital É, press Shift + E).
Press a → outputs á (For capital Á, press Shift + A).
Press i → outputs í | Press o → outputs ó | Press u → outputs ú | Press y → outputs ý.
Press c → outputs ć | Press n → outputs ń | Press s → outputs ś | Press z → outputs ź.
Press Space → outputs the standalone acute accent mark (´).

The Press-and-Hold Diacritics Menu

Alternatively, press and hold down any letter key (such as e or a). A numbered popup strip will appear. Press 1 (or the corresponding number) or click the acute accent character.

MICROSOFT WORD

How to Type Acute Accents in Microsoft Word & Office Suite

The Word `Ctrl` + `'` Combination

In Microsoft Word on Windows and macOS, the universal shortcut for acute accents is:

Press Ctrl + ' (Single Quote / Apostrophe), release both keys, then type the letter:
- Ctrl + ', then e → é (Capital: Ctrl + ', then Shift+E → É)
- Ctrl + ', then a → á (Capital: Ctrl + ', then Shift+A → Á)
- Ctrl + ', then i → í | o → ó | u → ú | y → ý
- Ctrl + ', then c → ć | n → ń | s → ś | z → ź
- Ctrl + ', then Space → standalone ´

Microsoft Word Unicode Hex Converter (`Alt` + `X`)

Type the 4-digit hexadecimal code directly into your document and immediately press Alt + X:

00B4 + Alt + X → ´ (Standalone acute)
00E9 + Alt + X → é | 00C9 + Alt + X → É
00E1 + Alt + X → á | 00C1 + Alt + X → Á
00ED + Alt + X → í | 00F3 + Alt + X → ó
00FA + Alt + X → ú | 00FD + Alt + X → ý

LINGUISTIC & GRAMMAR RULES

Linguistic, Phonetic & Grammatical Significance of the Acute Accent

The acute accent performs diverse orthographical, phonetic, and phonological functions across world languages:

French: Vowel Quality (Accent Aigu on é)

In standard French, the acute accent appears exclusively on the letter e (l'accent aigu: é / É). It specifies the close-mid front unrounded vowel /e/ (pronounced with tense lips as in café, été "summer", école "school", répéter "to repeat"), distinguishing it from grave è (/ɛ/ open-mid) and silent/neutral e (/ə/).

Spanish: Lexical Stress & Homograph Disambiguation

In Spanish (el acento agudo or tilde), the acute accent is placed over any of the five vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú):

Irregular Syllable Stress: Overrides default Spanish stress rules (e.g. música, teléfono, árbol, difícil).
Grammatical Tense & Person: Distinguishes verb conjugations (hablo "I speak" vs habló "he/she spoke"; está "is" vs esta "this").
Diacritic Accent (Acento Diacrítico): Differentiates interrogative/exclamatory pronouns from relative pronouns (¿qué? vs que; ¿dónde? vs donde; ¿cuándo? vs cuando; sí "yes" vs si "if"; él "he" vs el "the").

Czech & Slovak: Phonemic Vowel Length (Čárka)

In West Slavic languages (Czech and Slovak), the acute accent is called čárka ("little line"). It indicates that a vowel has approximately double the temporal duration of its short counterpart:

Czech: á (/aː/), é (/ɛː/), í (/iː/), ó (/oː/), ú (/uː/), and ý (/iː/) in words like býk ("bull"), nový ("new"), dobrá ("good").
Slovak Syllabic Consonants: Uniquely applies to syllabic consonants ŕ and ĺ (e.g. vŕba "willow", stĺp "column / pillar").

Polish: Consonant Palatalization (Kreska)

In Polish, the acute accent is called kreska. Unlike Western European languages where it modifies vowels, in Polish it modifies coronal consonants into soft alveolo-palatal sounds:

ć: Voiced alveolo-palatal affricate /t͡ɕ/ in być ("to be"), robić ("to do").
ń: Palatal nasal /ɲ/ in Gdańsk, Poznań, koń ("horse").
ś: Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative /ɕ/ in śpiewać ("to sing"), świat ("world").
ź: Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative /ʑ/ in źródło ("spring / source"), źle ("badly").
ó: Historical long vowel that shifted phonetically to /u/ (identical in sound to u, as in Kraków, góra "mountain").

Portuguese, Hungarian, Icelandic & Irish (Síneadh Fada)

Portuguese: Indicates primary stress on open vowels (água, café, avó "grandmother") and stressed high vowels (saúde, país).
Hungarian: Distinguishes short from long phonemic vowels (a /ɒ/ vs á /aː/; e /ɛ/ vs é /eː/; i vs í; o vs ó; u vs ú).
Irish (Gaeilge): Known as síneadh fada ("long stretch"), lengthening vowels as seen in Sláinte ("health / cheers"), Éire ("Ireland"), and Gaeilge ("Irish").

DEVELOPER CHEAT SHEET

Developer & Technical Reference (Unicode, HTML, CSS & LaTeX)

Character	Unicode Code Point	HTML Named Entity	HTML Decimal / Hex	CSS Escape	JavaScript / JSON
`´` (Standalone Acute)	`U+00B4`	`´`	`´` / `´`	`\\00B4`	`"\\u00B4"`
`◌́` (Combining Acute)	`U+0301`	None	`́` / `́`	`\\0301`	`"\\u0301"`
`é` (Lowercase E Acute)	`U+00E9`	`é`	`é` / `é`	`\\00E9`	`"\\u00E9"`
`É` (Capital E Acute)	`U+00C9`	`É`	`É` / `É`	`\\00C9`	`"\\u00C9"`
`á` (Lowercase A Acute)	`U+00E1`	`á`	`á` / `á`	`\\00E1`	`"\\u00E1"`
`Á` (Capital A Acute)	`U+00C1`	`Á`	`Á` / `Á`	`\\00C1`	`"\\u00C1"`
`í` (Lowercase I Acute)	`U+00ED`	`í`	`í` / `í`	`\\00ED`	`"\\u00ED"`
`ó` (Lowercase O Acute)	`U+00F3`	`ó`	`ó` / `ó`	`\\00F3`	`"\\u00F3"`
`ú` (Lowercase U Acute)	`U+00FA`	`ú`	`ú` / `ú`	`\\00FA`	`"\\u00FA"`
`ý` (Lowercase Y Acute)	`U+00FD`	`ý`	`ý` / `ý`	`\\00FD`	`"\\u00FD"`
`ć` (Lowercase C Acute)	`U+0107`	`&cacute;`	`ć` / `ć`	`\\0107`	`"\\u0107"`
`ń` (Lowercase N Acute)	`U+0144`	`&nacute;`	`ń` / `ń`	`\\0144`	`"\\u0144"`
`ś` (Lowercase S Acute)	`U+015B`	`&sacute;`	`ś` / `ś`	`\\015B`	`"\\u015B"`
`ź` (Lowercase Z Acute)	`U+017A`	`&zacute;`	`ź` / `ź`	`\\017A`	`"\\u017A"`

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions About the Acute Accent

The acute accent (´) is a diacritical mark sloping upwards from left to right placed above letters. Depending on the language, it indicates vowel quality/height (French é /e/), lexical syllable stress (Spanish á, é, í, ó, ú), phonemic vowel length (Czech and Slovak čárka, Hungarian, Icelandic, Irish síneadh fada), or palatalized consonant articulation (Polish kreska in ć, ń, ś, ź).

For the standalone acute accent symbol (´), the Alt code is Alt + 0180 (or Alt + 239). For individual letters: á is Alt + 160 (or Alt + 0225); é is Alt + 130 (or Alt + 0233); í is Alt + 161 (or Alt + 0237); ó is Alt + 162 (or Alt + 0243); ú is Alt + 163 (or Alt + 0250); ý is Alt + 0253; ć is Alt + 0263; ń is Alt + 0324; ŕ is Alt + 0341; ś is Alt + 0347; and ź is Alt + 0378.

On macOS, press Option + e, release both keys, and immediately type the letter you want to accent (e.g. Option + e then e gives é; Option + e then a gives á; Option + e then Space gives the standalone accent ´). You can also press and hold down the letter key on your keyboard to reveal the numeric diacritics popup menu.

In Microsoft Word, press Ctrl + ' (single quotation mark/apostrophe), release both keys, and type the letter you want to accent (e.g. Ctrl + ' then e gives é). For capital letters, press Ctrl + ' then Shift + E for É. You can also type the 4-digit hexadecimal code followed by Alt + X (e.g. 00E9 + Alt + X = é).

On the US-International keyboard layout, the apostrophe key (') acts as an acute dead key. Press ' followed by any vowel (a, e, i, o, u, y) or c to produce á, é, í, ó, ú, ý, or ç. If you press Right Alt (AltGr) simultaneously with a letter key, you can type acute vowels instantly (AltGr + e = é, AltGr + a = á, AltGr + i = í, AltGr + o = ó, AltGr + u = ú).

The acute accent slopes upwards from left to right (´ as in French café or Spanish está), whereas the grave accent slopes downwards from left to right (` as in French père or Italian città). In phonetics, acute often indicates higher pitch, closed vowel quality, or primary lexical stress, while grave often indicates open vowel quality or low/falling pitch.

The standalone acute symbol is ´ (U+00B4) and combining acute is ́ (U+0301). For letters: é is é (U+00E9); á is á (U+00E1); í is í (U+00ED); ó is ó (U+00F3); ú is ú (U+00FA); ý is ý (U+00FD); ć is ć (U+0107); ń is ń (U+0144); ŕ is ŕ (U+0155); ś is ś (U+015B;); and ź is ź (U+017A).

On iOS and Android virtual touchscreen keyboards, press and hold down the letter key (e.g. 'e', 'a', 'c', 'n', 's', 'z'). A popup diacritics bubble will appear displaying all available accented variants. Without lifting your finger, slide to the acute-accented character and release.

COMPLETE A TO Z ACCENTED LETTERS DIRECTORY

Explore All Individual A–Z Accented Letter Guides

Need shortcuts for specific letters or other accent types (grave, circumflex, umlauts, tildes, cedillas, carons)? Browse our full suite of 26 dedicated guides:

é è ê ë ē ė ę ě