QUICK REFERENCE

Master Macron Accent Keyboard Shortcut Matrix (All Letters)

The macron (¯) is a straight horizontal bar placed over a vowel. Derived from ancient Greek makros ("large / long"), it indicates long vowel quantity across Japanese Rōmaji (Hepburn transcription), Māori (tohutō), Classical Latin, Latvian (garumzīme), and Mandarin Pinyin first tone. Below is your complete cross-platform shortcut reference:

Character Windows Alt Code Mac Shortcut Word Shortcut Language / Phonetic Role Unicode / HTML
Standalone (¯) Alt+0175 / Alt+238 Shift+Opt+, (or Character Viewer) 00AF + Alt+X Standalone macron symbol / Overline U+00AF | ¯
ō / Ō Alt+0333 / Alt+0332 Hold o → Press 7 (or Opt+A, O) 014D / 014C + Alt+X Japanese (Tōkyō, Kyōto), Māori (mōrena), Latin U+014D | ō
ū / Ū Alt+0363 / Alt+0362 Hold u → Press 6 (or Opt+A, U) 016B / 016A + Alt+X Japanese (sumō, ryū), Māori (mātua), Latvian (ūdens) U+016B | ū
ā / Ā Alt+0257 / Alt+0256 Hold a → Press 6 (or Opt+A, A) 0101 / 0100 + Alt+X Māori (Māori, Pākehā), Latvian (māte), Latin (Rōma) U+0101 | ā
ē / Ē Alt+0275 / Alt+0274 Hold e → Press 6 (or Opt+A, E) 0113 / 0112 + Alt+X Māori (kēkē), Latvian (tēvs), Latin, Sanskrit U+0113 | ē
ī / Ī Alt+0299 / Alt+0298 Hold i → Press 6 (or Opt+A, I) 012B / 012A + Alt+X Latvian (Rīga), Māori (pīkarikari), Latin, Pinyin U+012B | ī
ȳ / Ȳ Alt+0563 / Alt+0562 Hold y → select from popup 0233 / 0232 + Alt+X Old English, Classical Latin, Cornish / Livonian U+0233 | ȳ
WINDOWS OS

How to Type Macron 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 Macron (¯): Alt + 0175 (or Alt + 238)
  • ō (Lowercase O Macron): Alt + 0333 | Ō (Capital O Macron): Alt + 0332
  • ū (Lowercase U Macron): Alt + 0363 | Ū (Capital U Macron): Alt + 0362
  • ā (Lowercase A Macron): Alt + 0257 | Ā (Capital A Macron): Alt + 0256
  • ē (Lowercase E Macron): Alt + 0275 | Ē (Capital E Macron): Alt + 0274
  • ī (Lowercase I Macron): Alt + 0299 | Ī (Capital I Macron): Alt + 0298
  • ȳ (Lowercase Y Macron): Alt + 0563 | Ȳ (Capital Y Macron): Alt + 0562

Method 2: Māori Keyboard Layout (Built-in Windows Layout)

If you regularly type macrons for Japanese, Māori, or linguistics, add the official Māori Keyboard Layout in Windows Settings (Settings → Time & Language → Language → Preferred Languages → English (New Zealand) → Add Māori Keyboard):

  • Press the backtick key (`), release, then type any vowel (a, e, i, o, u) → instantly outputs ā, ē, ī, ō, ū!
  • For uppercase, press `, then hold Shift and type the vowel → Ā, Ē, Ī, Ō, Ū.

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

Press Win + . (Windows Key + Period) → click the Symbols (Ω) icon → select Latin Symbols → scroll and click any macron vowel.

APPLE MACOS

How to Type Macron Accents on Mac (macOS)

Method 1: The Press-and-Hold Diacritics Menu

1
Press and hold down the target vowel key (o, u, a, e, or i) on your Mac keyboard.
2
A horizontal numbered diacritics strip will appear above the cursor.
3
Press the number corresponding to the macron (e.g. 7 for ō, 6 for ū, 6 for ā) or click the character with your mouse.

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

For rapid typing without waiting for popup menus:

  • Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Input Sources → Edit and add ABC — Extended.
  • Press Option + a, release both keys, then type the vowel → gives ā, ē, ī, ō, ū.
MICROSOFT WORD

How to Type Macron 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:

  • 014D + Alt + X → ō | 014C + Alt + X → Ō
  • 016B + Alt + X → ū | 016A + Alt + X → Ū
  • 0101 + Alt + X → ā | 0100 + Alt + X → Ā
  • 0113 + Alt + X → ē | 0112 + Alt + X → Ē
  • 012B + Alt + X → ī | 012A + Alt + X → Ī
  • 00AF + Alt + X → standalone ¯

Microsoft Word Equation Mode (Math Accent)

In Word equation editor (Alt + =), type \bar followed by space after the letter (e.g. x\bar + space → $\bar{x}$).

LINGUISTIC & GRAMMAR RULES

Linguistic, Historical & Phonetic Significance of the Macron

The macron functions primarily as a length indicator that doubles the phonetic duration of a vowel without altering its basic formant quality:

Japanese: Rōmaji (Modified Hepburn Romanization)

In Japanese transliteration, a macron indicates a prolonged vowel (chōonpu), representing a vowel held for two morae (beats):

  • ō: Represents oo (おお) or ou (おう) in placenames and terms: Tōkyō (とうきょう), Kyōto (きょうと), Ōsaka (おおさか), shōgun (将軍), ryōan-ji, sumō (相撲).
  • ū: Represents uu (うう) in words like ryū (dragon), Kyūshū (九州), jūdō (柔道).
  • Distinction: Prevents confusion between homographs (e.g. kōji "construction" vs koji "orphan").

Te Reo Māori: The Tohutō (Length Marker)

In Māori orthography, the macron (tohutō or pōtae) is legally and culturally mandatory because vowel length distinguishes entirely different words:

  • kēkē ("armpit" or "cake") vs keke ("stubborn")
  • wahine ("woman" singular) vs wāhine ("women" plural)
  • kākā (the native parrot) vs kaka (clothing / stalk)
  • Māori ("indigenous person / normal"), Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Whāngārei, Pākehā (non-Māori New Zealander).

Classical Latin & Ancient Greek Dictionaries

In Classical Latin education and lexicons, macrons mark long vowels (vocālis longa) to indicate syllable weight, poetic meter (dactylic hexameter), and grammatical declensions:

  • puella (nominative singular "a girl") vs puellā (ablative singular "by a girl")
  • Rōma, lībertās ("liberty"), vēritās ("truth"), amāre ("to love").

Mandarin Chinese Pinyin: First Tone (High-Flat Tone)

In Chinese Hanyu Pinyin, the macron indicates the 1st tone (high, steady, flat pitch):

  • mā (妈 - "mother") vs má (麻 - "hemp"), mǎ (马 - "horse"), mà (骂 - "scold").
  • bā (八 - "eight"), shī (师 - "teacher"), tā (他/她 - "he/she").

Baltic Languages: Latvian & Lithuanian

In Latvian, the garumzīme is an official alphabet mark that doubles vowel duration across ā, ē, ī, ū:

  • Rīga (capital city of Latvia), tēvs ("father"), māte ("mother"), ūdens ("water"), Latvija.

Mathematics & Statistics: Sample Mean & Overline

  • Statistics: $\bar{x}$ ("x-bar") represents the arithmetic sample mean.
  • Logic & Set Theory: $\bar{A}$ represents the logical negation (NOT) or set complement.
  • Complex Numbers: $\bar{z}$ represents the complex conjugate ($a - bi$).
DEVELOPER CHEAT SHEET

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

Character Unicode Code Point HTML Named Entity HTML Decimal / Hex CSS Escape JavaScript / JSON
¯ (Standalone Macron) U+00AF ¯ ¯ / ¯ \\00AF "\\u00AF"
◌̄ (Combining Macron) U+0304 None ̄ / ̄ \\0304 "\\u0304"
ō (Lowercase O Macron) U+014D ō ō / ō \\014D "\\u014D"
Ō (Capital O Macron) U+014C Ō Ō / Ō \\014C "\\u014C"
ū (Lowercase U Macron) U+016B ū ū / ū \\016B "\\u016B"
Ū (Capital U Macron) U+016A Ū Ū / Ū \\016A "\\u016A"
ā (Lowercase A Macron) U+0101 ā ā / ā \\0101 "\\u0101"
Ā (Capital A Macron) U+0100 Ā Ā / Ā \\0100 "\\u0100"
ē (Lowercase E Macron) U+0113 ē ē / ē \\0113 "\\u0113"
Ē (Capital E Macron) U+0112 Ē Ē / Ē \\0112 "\\u0112"
ī (Lowercase I Macron) U+012B ī ī / ī \\012B "\\u012B"
Ī (Capital I Macron) U+012A Ī Ī / Ī \\012A "\\u012A"
ȳ (Lowercase Y Macron) U+0233 None ȳ / ȳ \\0233 "\\u0233"
Ȳ (Capital Y Macron) U+0232 None Ȳ / Ȳ \\0232 "\\u0232"
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions About the Macron Accent

A macron (¯) is a horizontal line placed above a vowel. In linguistics, it typically indicates a long vowel sound (phonemic vowel length), as seen in Māori (tohutō: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū), Japanese rōmaji (Hepburn transcription: Tōkyō, Kyōto, shōgun), Classical Latin dictionaries, and Latvian (garumzīme). In Mandarin Chinese Pinyin, it indicates the high level first tone (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū), and in mathematics/statistics, it denotes sample means (x-bar) and logical negation.
For the standalone macron symbol (¯), the Alt code is Alt + 0175 (or Alt + 238 on some code pages). For lowercase vowels: ā is Alt + 0257 (or 0101 + Alt + X); ē is Alt + 0275 (or 0113 + Alt + X); ī is Alt + 0299 (or 012B + Alt + X); ō is Alt + 0333 (or 014D + Alt + X); ū is Alt + 0363 (or 016B + Alt + X); and ȳ is Alt + 0563. For capital vowels: Ā is Alt + 0256; Ē is Alt + 0274; Ī is Alt + 0298; Ō is Alt + 0332; Ū is Alt + 0362; and Ȳ is Alt + 0562.
On macOS, the simplest method is to press and hold down the vowel key (e.g. hold o, u, a, e, i) until the numeric diacritics popup strip appears, then click or press the number corresponding to the macron. For power users typing extensively in Māori, Japanese, or Latin, enable the 'ABC - Extended' input source in System Settings, where Option + a acts as the macron dead key (Option + a then o = ō).
In Microsoft Word, the fastest universal method is typing the 4-digit hexadecimal code and immediately pressing Alt + X: type 014D then Alt + X for ō; type 016B then Alt + X for ū; type 0101 then Alt + X for ā; type 0113 then Alt + X for ē; and type 012B then Alt + X for ī. For capital letters: 014C + Alt + X = Ō; 016A + Alt + X = Ū; 0100 + Alt + X = Ā.
In Māori, the macron (called tohutō or pōtae) is crucial because vowel length changes word meaning completely. For example, kēkē means cake while keke means stubborn; wahine means woman (singular) while wāhine means women (plural); kākā is a native parrot while kaka means stalk. The New Zealand government mandates the use of tohutō across official geographical placenames (e.g. Tāmaki Makaurau, Whāngārei, Taupō).
In the modified Hepburn romanization system for Japanese, a macron indicates an elongated vowel sound (chōonpu), where ō represents double 'o' (おお) or 'ou' (おう), and ū represents double 'u' (うう). This distinguishes words like Tōkyō (とうきょう) and Kyōto (きょうと) from short vowels, and shōgun (将軍) and sumō (相撲).
The standalone macron symbol is ¯ (U+00AF) and combining macron is ̄ (U+0304). For letters: ā is ā (U+0101); Ā is Ā (U+0100); ē is ē (U+0113); Ē is Ē (U+0112); ī is ī (U+012B); Ī is Ī (U+012A); ō is ō (U+014D); Ō is Ō (U+014C); ū is ū (U+016B); Ū is Ū (U+016A); ȳ is ȳ (U+0233); and Ȳ is Ȳ (U+0232).
On iOS and Android virtual touchscreen keyboards, press and hold down the vowel key (e.g. 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u', 'y'). A popup diacritics bubble will appear displaying all available accented variants. Without lifting your finger, slide across to the macron-accented character (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ȳ) 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, cedillas, carons)? Browse our full suite of 26 dedicated guides:

ō ó ò ô ö õ ø ō ő

How to Type O with Accent

Master Japanese ō macron (Alt 0333), Spanish ó, German ö, and Nordic ø.

Read O Guide →
ū ú ù û ü ů ű ū

How to Type U with Accent

Master Japanese ū macron (Alt 0363), German ü umlaut, and Spanish ú.

Read U Guide →
ā á à â ä ã å ā

How to Type A with Accent

Master Māori ā macron (Alt 0257), Spanish á, French à, and German ä.

Read A Guide →
ē é è ê ë ē ė ę ě

How to Type E with Accent

Master Māori ē macron (Alt 0275), French é, grave è, and circumflex ê.

Read E Guide →
ī í ì î ï ī į ı ĩ

How to Type I with Accent

Master Latvian ī macron (Alt 0299), Spanish í, and French ï tréma.

Read I Guide →
ȳ ý ỳ ŷ ÿ ỹ ỵ

How to Type Y with Accent

Master Latin ȳ macron (Alt 0563), Czech ý acute, and French ÿ tréma.

Read Y 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.

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¨ 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 ñ ü

Master Accented Letters Guide

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

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Ā Ē Ī Ō Ū Ȳ

Interactive Accent Keyboard

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

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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) How to Type D with Accent (ď) How to Type E with Accent (é) 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) 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 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