QUICK REFERENCE

Master Caron (Háček) Accent Keyboard Shortcut Matrix (All Letters)

The caron (ˇ), also called a háček (Czech for "little hook"), mäkčeň (Slovak), or wedge / inverted circumflex, is a diacritic indicating palatalization or postalveolar articulation across Slavic, Baltic, and Finno-Ugric languages, as well as the 3rd tone in Mandarin Pinyin. Below is your complete cross-platform shortcut reference:

Character Windows Alt Code Mac Shortcut Word Shortcut Language / Phonetic Role Unicode / HTML
Standalone (ˇ) Alt+0711 / Alt+02C7 Opt+v, then Space (ABC Ext) 02C7 + Alt+X Standalone caron / háček symbol U+02C7 | ˇ
č / Č Alt+0269 / Alt+0268 Hold c → Press 1 (or Opt+V, C) 010D / 010C + Alt+X Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/ ("ch" in Czech, čaj, Čech) U+010D | č
š / Š Alt+0353 / Alt+0352 Hold s → Press 1 (or Opt+V, S) 0161 / 0160 + Alt+X Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/ ("sh" in škoda, Šiauliai) U+0161 | š
ž / Ž Alt+0382 / Alt+0381 Hold z → Press 1 (or Opt+V, Z) 017E / 017D + Alt+X Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ ("zh/s" in Žižkov, Zagreb, Žilina) U+017E | ž
ř / Ř Alt+0345 / Alt+0344 Hold r → Press 1 (or Opt+V, R) 0159 / 0158 + Alt+X Raised alveolar trill /r̝/ unique to Czech (Antonín Dvořák, řeka) U+0159 | ř
ď / Ď Alt+0271 / Alt+0270 Hold d → select from popup 010F / 010E + Alt+X Voiced palatal plosive /ɟ/ (ďakujem, ďábel) U+010F | ď
ť / Ť Alt+0357 / Alt+0356 Hold t → select from popup 0165 / 0164 + Alt+X Voiceless palatal plosive /c/ (ťuknout, trať) U+0165 | ť
ň / Ň Alt+0328 / Alt+0327 Hold n → select from popup 0148 / 0147 + Alt+X Voiced palatal nasal /ɲ/ (Plzeň, Třeboň) U+0148 | ň
ě / Ě Alt+0283 / Alt+0282 Hold e → Press 2 (or Opt+V, E) 011B / 011A + Alt+X Czech palatalizing 'e' /jɛ/ (město, pěkný, ještě) U+011B | ě
WINDOWS OS

How to Type Caron 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 Caron (ˇ): Alt + 0711
  • č (Lowercase C Caron): Alt + 0269 | Č (Capital C Caron): Alt + 0268
  • š (Lowercase S Caron): Alt + 0353 | Š (Capital S Caron): Alt + 0352
  • ž (Lowercase Z Caron): Alt + 0382 | Ž (Capital Z Caron): Alt + 0381
  • ř (Lowercase R Caron): Alt + 0345 | Ř (Capital R Caron): Alt + 0344
  • ď: Alt + 0271 | ť: Alt + 0357 | ň: Alt + 0328 | ě: Alt + 0283

Method 2: Czech / Slovak / South Slavic Keyboard Layout

On the standard Czech (QWERTZ/QWERTY) layout in Windows, the caron letters occupy dedicated number-row keys:

  • Press 2 → gives ě
  • Press 3 → gives š
  • Press 4 → gives č
  • Press 5 → gives ř
  • Press 6 → gives ž
  • Press Shift + = (the háček dead key), release, then type d, t, or n → gives ď, ť, ň.

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

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

APPLE MACOS

How to Type Caron Accents on Mac (macOS)

Method 1: The Press-and-Hold Diacritics Menu

1
Press and hold down the target letter key (c, s, z, r, or e) on your Mac keyboard.
2
A horizontal numbered diacritics strip will appear above the cursor.
3
Press the number corresponding to the caron (e.g. 1 for č, 1 for š, 1 for ž) or click the character.

Method 2: ABC — Extended Keyboard Layout (Option + v)

For fast touch-typing across all Slavic and Baltic languages:

  • Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Input Sources → Edit and add ABC — Extended.
  • Press Option + v, release both keys, then type the base letter:
    • Option + v, then c → č (Capital: Opt+v then Shift+C = Č)
    • Option + v, then s → š (Capital: Opt+v then Shift+S = Š)
    • Option + v, then z → ž (Capital: Opt+v then Shift+Z = Ž)
    • Option + v, then r → ř | then e → ě | then d → ď | then t → ť | then n → ň
    • Option + v, then Space → standalone ˇ
MICROSOFT WORD

How to Type Caron Accents in Microsoft Word & Office Suite

Microsoft Word Unicode Hex Converter (Alt + X)

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

  • 010D + Alt + X → č | 010C + Alt + X → Č
  • 0161 + Alt + X → š | 0160 + Alt + X → Š
  • 017E + Alt + X → ž | 017D + Alt + X → Ž
  • 0159 + Alt + X → ř | 0158 + Alt + X → Ř
  • 011B + Alt + X → ě | 011A + Alt + X → Ě
  • 010F + Alt + X → ď | 0165 + Alt + X → ť | 0148 + Alt + X → ň
LINGUISTIC & GRAMMAR RULES

Linguistic, Historical & Phonetic Significance of the Caron (Háček)

The caron was introduced to solve a major orthographical challenge: adapting the 26-letter Latin alphabet to represent the rich consonantal palatalizations and sibilants of Slavic languages.

Czech & Slovak: Jan Hus and De Orthographia Bohemica

In the early 15th century (c. 1412), Czech theologian and university rector Jan Hus introduced diacritics to replace cumbersome Latin digraphs (such as cz, sz, rz):

  • č (/tʃ/): Česká republika, čaj ("tea"), Čech ("Czech person"), člověk ("human").
  • š (/ʃ/): škoda ("damage / pity"), šest ("six"), šance ("chance").
  • ž (/ʒ/): žena ("woman"), život ("life"), Žižkov.
  • ř (/r̝/): Unique voiced/voiceless raised alveolar fricative trill in Czech: Antonín Dvořák, řeka ("river"), tři ("three"), Dvořák.
  • ď, ť, ň (/ɟ, c, ɲ/): Palatal stops and nasal: děkuji ("thank you"), Plzeň (Pilsen), ťuknout.
  • Typographical Exception: In lowercase ď, ť, ľ, the caron takes the form of an apostrophe-like stroke attached to the right side of the ascender to prevent visual clutter with vertical stems.

South Slavic: Gaj's Latin Alphabet

In 1830, Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj adapted the Czech háček system for Serbo-Croatian and Slovenian in his work Kratka osnova horvatsko-slavenskoga pravopisaňa:

  • Replaced Hungarian/German spellings with č, š, ž (e.g. Beograd, Niš, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Milošević, Karadžić).
  • Forms the standard Latin script used alongside Cyrillic across Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Slovenia.

Baltic Languages: Lithuanian & Latvian

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lithuanian and Latvian orthographers replaced Polish-style digraphs (cz, sz, ż) with Czech caron characters č, š, ž:

  • Vilnius, Kaunas, Šiauliai, Klaipėda, panevėžys, Rīga, Liepāja, Daugavpils.

Mandarin Chinese Pinyin: Third Tone (Falling-Rising Tone)

In Chinese Hanyu Pinyin, the caron represents the 3rd tone (dipping pitch contour from mid to low then rising):

  • nǐ hǎo (你好 - "hello"), wǒ (我 - "I / me"), lǎo (老 - "old"), mǎ (马 - "horse").
DEVELOPER CHEAT SHEET

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

Character Unicode Code Point HTML Named Entity HTML Decimal / Hex CSS Escape JavaScript / JSON
ˇ (Standalone Caron) U+02C7 ˇ ˇ / ˇ \\02C7 "\\u02C7"
◌̌ (Combining Caron) U+030C None ̌ / ̌ \\030C "\\u030C"
č (Lowercase C Caron) U+010D č č / č \\010D "\\u010D"
Č (Capital C Caron) U+010C Č Č / Č \\010C "\\u010C"
š (Lowercase S Caron) U+0161 š š / š \\0161 "\\u0161"
Š (Capital S Caron) U+0160 Š Š / Š \\0160 "\\u0160"
ž (Lowercase Z Caron) U+017E ž ž / ž \\017E "\\u017E"
Ž (Capital Z Caron) U+017D Ž Ž / Ž \\017D "\\u017D"
ř (Lowercase R Caron) U+0159 ř ř / ř \\0159 "\\u0159"
Ř (Capital R Caron) U+0158 Ř Ř / Ř \\0158 "\\u0158"
ď (Lowercase D Caron) U+010F ď ď / ď \\010F "\\u010F"
ť (Lowercase T Caron) U+0165 ť ť / ť \\0165 "\\u0165"
ň (Lowercase N Caron) U+0148 ň ň / ň \\0148 "\\u0148"
ě (Lowercase E Caron) U+011B ě ě / ě \\011B "\\u011B"
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions About the Caron Accent

A caron (ˇ) — also widely known in linguistics by its Czech name háček ('little hook'), mäkčeň in Slovak, or wedge / inverted circumflex — is a small V-shaped diacritic placed above consonants and vowels. It signifies postalveolar or palatalized articulation (e.g. č = /tʃ/ 'ch', š = /ʃ/ 'sh', ž = /ʒ/ 'zh', ř = /r̝/, ň = /ɲ/) in Slavic and Baltic languages, and denotes the 3rd falling-rising pitch tone in Mandarin Chinese Pinyin (ǎ, ě, ǐ, ǒ, ǔ).
For the standalone caron symbol (ˇ), the Alt code is Alt + 0711 (or Alt + 02C7). For lowercase characters: č is Alt + 0269 (or 010D + Alt + X); š is Alt + 0353 (or 0161 + Alt + X); ž is Alt + 0382 (or 017E + Alt + X); ř is Alt + 0345 (or 0159 + Alt + X); ď is Alt + 0271; ť is Alt + 0357; ň is Alt + 0328; and ě is Alt + 0283. For capital characters: Č is Alt + 0268; Š is Alt + 0352; Ž is Alt + 0381; Ř is Alt + 0344; Ď is Alt + 0270; Ť is Alt + 0356; Ň is Alt + 0327; and Ě is Alt + 0282.
On macOS, the fastest method is to press and hold down the letter key (e.g. hold c, s, z, r, e) until the numbered diacritics popup menu appears, then press the corresponding number or click the glyph. Alternatively, enable the 'ABC - Extended' input source in System Settings → Keyboard, where Option + v acts as the caron dead key: press Option + v, release, then type 'c' to get č (or Option + v then 's' for š).
In Microsoft Word, type the 4-digit hexadecimal code directly into your document and press Alt + X immediately: type 010D + Alt + X for č; 0161 + Alt + X for š; 017E + Alt + X for ž; 0159 + Alt + X for ř; 011B + Alt + X for ě; 010C + Alt + X for Č; 0160 + Alt + X for Š; 017D + Alt + X for Ž. You can also use the Word shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Shift + ^ followed by the letter on some keyboards.
The háček was invented in the early 15th century by the Czech religious reformer and scholar Jan Hus in his seminal treatise De Orthographia Bohemica (c. 1412). Hus sought to eliminate cumbersome Latin digraphs (such as 'cz' and 'sz') by introducing diacritical dots (punctus diacriticus), which later evolved into the modern wedge-shaped háček (ˇ). In the 19th century, linguist Ljudevit Gaj adapted Hus's system into Gaj's Latin alphabet for Serbo-Croatian (č, š, ž).
In Czech and Slovak typography, lowercase letters with tall ascenders (d, t, l) modify the caron into an apostrophe-like stroke attached to the upper-right shoulder (ď, ť, ľ). This typographical modification prevents the caron from colliding with tall vertical ascenders and ensures aesthetic visual harmony, while uppercase forms retain the standard wedge (Ď, Ť, Ľ).
The standalone caron symbol is ˇ (U+02C7) and combining caron is ̌ (U+030C). For letters: č is č (U+010D); Č is Č (U+010C); š is š (U+0161); Š is Š (U+0160); ž is ž (U+017E); Ž is Ž (U+017D); ř is ř (U+0159); Ř is Ř (U+0158); ď is ď (U+010F); Ď is Ď (U+010E); ť is ť (U+0165); Ť is Ť (U+0164); ň is ň (U+0148); Ň is Ň (U+0147); ě is ě (U+011B); and Ě is Ě (U+011A).
On iOS and Android virtual touchscreen keyboards, press and hold down the base letter key (c, s, z, r, d, t, n, e). A popup diacritics bubble will appear displaying all available accented variants. Without lifting your finger, slide across to the caron-accented character (č, š, ž, ř, ě) 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 (acute, grave, circumflex, umlauts, tildes, macrons, cedillas)? Browse our full suite of 26 dedicated guides:

č ç ć ĉ ċ

How to Type C with Accent

Master Czech č caron (Alt 0269), French ç cedilla (Alt 135), and Polish ć.

Read C Guide →
š ś ş ș ŝ ṡ

How to Type S with Accent

Master Czech š caron (Alt 0353), Turkish ş cedilla, and Romanian ș comma.

Read S Guide →
ž ź ż ẑ ẓ

How to Type Z with Accent

Master Czech ž caron (Alt 0382), Polish ź acute, and Polish ż overdot.

Read Z Guide →
ř ŕ ŗ ṙ ṛ

How to Type R with Accent

Master Czech ř caron (Alt 0345 / Dvořák), Slovak ŕ acute, and Latvian ŗ.

Read R Guide →
ď đ ḋ ḍ ḏ

How to Type D with Accent

Master Czech ď caron (Alt 0271), Croatian đ stroke, and Vietnamese đ.

Read D Guide →
ť ţ ț ṫ ṭ ṯ

How to Type T with Accent

Master Czech ť caron (Alt 0357), Romanian ț comma, and Turkish ţ.

Read T Guide →
¯ ā ē ī ō ū ȳ

How to Type Macron (¯)

Master Japanese ō/ū (Tōkyō), Māori tohutō, and Latvian garumzīme.

Read Macron Guide →
~ ñ ã õ ẽ ĩ ũ

How to Type Tilde (~)

Master Spanish ñ eñe (Alt 164), Portuguese nasal vowels ã/õ, and Mac Option+N.

Read Tilde Guide →
¨ ä ö ü ë ï ÿ

How to Type Umlaut (¨)

Master German ä/ö/ü (Alt 132, 148, 129), French ë/ï, and Mac Option+U.

Read Umlaut Guide →
^ ê â î ô û ŵ

How to Type Circumflex (^)

Master French chapeau (fête), Portuguese você, and Welsh ŵ/ŷ.

Read Circumflex →
´ é á í ó ú ć

How to Type Acute Accent (´)

Master standalone ´ (Alt 0180), French é, Spanish á/é/í/ó/ú, and Polish ć/ń.

Read Acute Guide →
á é í ó ú č š

Master Accented Letters Guide

All A–Z accents, Windows Alt codes, Mac Option dead keys, Word formulas, and Google Docs.

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Č Š Ž Ř Ď Ť

Interactive Accent Keyboard

1-click interactive virtual keyboard for typing and copying every international accent mark.

Launch Accent Tool →

Explore All Master Typing Guides:

How to Type A with Accent (á) How to Type B with Accent (ḃ) How to Type C with Accent (ç/č) How to Type D with Accent (ď) How to Type E with Accent (é/ě) How to Type F with Accent (ḟ) How to Type G with Accent (ğ) How to Type H with Accent (ħ) How to Type I with Accent (í) How to Type J with Accent (ĵ) How to Type K with Accent (ķ) How to Type L with Accent (ł) How to Type M with Accent (ḿ) How to Type N with Accent (ñ/ň) How to Type O with Accent (ó) How to Type P with Accent (ṕ) How to Type Q with Accent (q́) How to Type R with Accent (ř) How to Type S with Accent (š) How to Type T with Accent (ť) How to Type U with Accent (ú) How to Type V with Accent (ṽ) How to Type W with Accent (ŵ) How to Type X with Accent (ẋ) How to Type Y with Accent (ý) How to Type Z with Accent (ž) How to Type Caron (ˇ) How to Type Macron (¯) How to Type Tilde (~) How to Type Umlaut (¨) How to Type Circumflex Accent (^) How to Type Acute Accent (´) How to Type Grave Accent (`) Master Accented Letters Guide How to Type Upside Down ? (¿) How to Type Euro (€) How to Type Degree (°) How to Type Em Dash (—) How to Type Theta (θ) How to Type Square Root (√) How to Type At Symbol (@) All Typing Guides Hub