How to Type Umlaut (¨, ä, ö, ü, ë, ï, ÿ): Windows, Mac, Word & Keyboard Shortcuts
Master how to type umlaut and diaeresis marks (¨, ä, ö, ü, ë, ï, ÿ, Ä, Ö, Ü, Ë, Ï, Ÿ) on any keyboard! Whether you are writing German vowels (schön, über, Mädchen, München), French tréma words (Noël, naïve, Citroën), Spanish pingüino / vergüenza, or heavy metal band names, use our 1-click copy tools below or follow our verified shortcuts for Windows Alt codes (Alt + 0168 / Alt + 132 / Alt + 148 / Alt + 129), Mac Option dead keys (Option + u, then letter), Microsoft Word shortcuts (Ctrl + Shift + :, then letter), and our complete A to Z accent guides.
The two dots placed over vowels (¨) are known as an umlaut in Germanic linguistics (altering the vowel sound) and a diaeresis / tréma in Romance languages and English (separating adjacent vowels into distinct syllables). 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+0168 / Alt+249
Opt+u, then Space
Ctrl+Shift+:, then Space
Shift+", then Space
Diacritic accent mark / diaeresis symbol
U+00A8 | ¨
ä / Ä
Alt+132 / Alt+142
Opt+u, then a / A
Ctrl+Shift+:, then a / A
Shift+", then a
German /ɛː/ (Mädchen), Swedish, Finnish letter Ä
U+00E4 | ä
ö / Ö
Alt+148 / Alt+153
Opt+u, then o / O
Ctrl+Shift+:, then o / O
Shift+", then o
German /øː/ or /œ/ (schön, Köln), Swedish, Turkish
U+00F6 | ö
ü / Ü
Alt+129 / Alt+154
Opt+u, then u / U
Ctrl+Shift+:, then u / U
Shift+", then u
German /yː/ (über, München), Spanish /w/ (pingüino)
U+00FC | ü
ë / Ë
Alt+137 / Alt+0203
Opt+u, then e / E
Ctrl+Shift+:, then e / E
Shift+", then e
French tréma (Noël, Citroën), Albanian, Dutch
U+00EB | ë
ï / Ï
Alt+139 / Alt+0207
Opt+u, then i / I
Ctrl+Shift+:, then i / I
Shift+", then i
French / English hiatus (naïve, maïs, coïncidence), Catalan
U+00EF | ï
ÿ / Ÿ
Alt+0255 / Alt+0159
Opt+u, then y / Y
Ctrl+Shift+:, then y / Y
Shift+", then y
French place names (L'Haÿ-les-Roses), Queensrÿche
U+00FF | ÿ
WINDOWS OS
How to Type Umlauts & Diaeresis 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 Umlaut (¨):Alt + 0168 or Alt + 249
ä (Lowercase A Umlaut):Alt + 132 or Alt + 0228 | Ä (Capital A Umlaut):Alt + 142 or Alt + 0196
ö (Lowercase O Umlaut):Alt + 148 or Alt + 0246 | Ö (Capital O Umlaut):Alt + 153 or Alt + 0214
ü (Lowercase U Umlaut):Alt + 129 or Alt + 0252 | Ü (Capital U Umlaut):Alt + 154 or Alt + 0220
ë (Lowercase E Diaeresis):Alt + 137 or Alt + 0235 | Ë (Capital E Diaeresis):Alt + 0203
ï (Lowercase I Diaeresis):Alt + 139 or Alt + 0239 | Ï (Capital I Diaeresis):Alt + 0207
ÿ (Lowercase Y Diaeresis):Alt + 0255 | Ÿ (Capital Y Diaeresis):Alt + 0159
On the US-International keyboard layout in Windows, the double quote key (Shift + ") operates as an umlaut dead key:
Press Shift + ", release, then type a → gives ä (Capital: Shift+" then Shift+A = Ä).
Press Shift + ", release, then type o → gives ö (Capital: Shift+" then Shift+O = Ö).
Press Shift + ", release, then type u → gives ü (Capital: Shift+" then Shift+U = Ü).
Press Shift + ", release, then type e → gives ë | type i → gives ï | type y → gives ÿ.
Press Shift + ", release, then press Space → gives a literal quotation mark (").
Method 3: Windows Emoji & Symbol Panel (Win + .)
Press Win + . (Windows Key + Period) → click the Symbols (Ω) icon → select Latin Symbols → click any umlaut character to insert it.
APPLE MACOS
How to Type Umlauts & Diaeresis on Mac (macOS)
On all MacBooks, iMacs, and Apple Magic Keyboards, macOS features a built-in Option dead key specifically for umlauts:
The Mac Option + u Shortcut
1
Hold down the Option (or Alt) key and press the letter u.
2
Release both keys (a highlighted yellow umlaut diacritic mark ¨ will appear on screen).
3
Immediately type the letter you want to accent:
Press u → outputs ü (For capital Ü, press Shift + U).
Press o → outputs ö (For capital Ö, press Shift + O).
Press a → outputs ä (For capital Ä, press Shift + A).
Press e → outputs ë | Press i → outputs ï | Press y → outputs ÿ.
Press Space → outputs the standalone umlaut accent mark (¨).
The Press-and-Hold Diacritics Menu
Alternatively, press and hold down any vowel key (such as u, o, or a). A numbered popup strip will appear. Press the number corresponding to the umlaut (often 2 or 3) or click the character.
MICROSOFT WORD
How to Type Umlauts in Microsoft Word & Office Suite
The Word Ctrl + Shift + : Combination
In Microsoft Word on Windows and macOS, the universal shortcut for umlauts and diaeresis is:
Press Ctrl + Shift + : (Colon key), release all keys, then type the letter:
Ctrl + Shift + :, then u → ü (Capital: Ctrl + Shift + :, then Shift+U → Ü)
Ctrl + Shift + :, then o → ö (Capital: Ctrl + Shift + :, then Shift+O → Ö)
Ctrl + Shift + :, then a → ä (Capital: Ctrl + Shift + :, then Shift+A → Ä)
Ctrl + Shift + :, then e → ë | i → ï | y → ÿ
Ctrl + Shift + :, 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:
00FC + Alt + X → ü | 00DC + Alt + X → Ü
00F6 + Alt + X → ö | 00D6 + Alt + X → Ö
00E4 + Alt + X → ä | 00C4 + Alt + X → Ä
00EB + Alt + X → ë | 00EF + Alt + X → ï
LINGUISTIC & GRAMMAR RULES
Linguistic, Phonetic & Cultural Significance of Umlaut vs. Diaeresis
While visually identical, the two dots serve distinct phonological and orthographical purposes:
German Umlaut: Historical Sound Mutation (Umlautung)
In German linguistics, Umlaut refers to a historical process of vowel fronting (i-mutation) where a back vowel was pulled forward in the mouth when followed by an /i/ or /j/ in the next syllable:
ä: Open-mid front vowel /ɛ/ or long /ɛː/ in Mädchen ("girl"), Hände ("hands", plural of Hand), spät ("late"), Käse ("cheese").
ö: Close-mid rounded front vowel /øː/ or open-mid /œ/ in schön ("beautiful"), Köln ("Cologne"), Köpfe ("heads", plural of Kopf), hören ("to hear").
ü: Close front rounded vowel /yː/ or near-close /ʏ/ in über ("over / about"), München ("Munich"), Brüder ("brothers", plural of Bruder), Tür ("door").
Official German Fallback Digraphs: When umlauts cannot be rendered (e.g. crosswords, web addresses, machine-readable passport MRZ zones), German orthography mandates replacing them with ae, oe, ue (e.g. Muenchen, Koeln, Mueller). Simply dropping the dots without adding 'e' (writing Muller or Koln) is grammatically incorrect.
French, Dutch, Greek & English: The Diaeresis / Tréma (Hiatus)
In French (le tréma), Spanish, Dutch, and traditional English, the mark does not mutate the vowel; instead, it indicates diaeresis (Greek for "division / separation"), signaling that two adjacent vowels belong to distinct syllables:
French:Noël (/nɔ.ɛl/), naïve (/na.iv/), maïs ("corn" /ma.is/ vs mais "but" /mɛ/), Citroën, coïncidence, canoë, Moïse ("Moses").
English Literature: Traditionally used in publications like The New Yorker to distinguish syllables in words like coöperation, reëlect, and Chloë, or in surnames like Brontë.
Spanish & Portuguese: The Diéresis on "ü"
In Spanish, the letter u is normally silent between g and e/i (e.g. guerra /'gera/, guitarra /gi'tara/). When the u must be pronounced as a /w/ glide, a diéresis is mandatory:
Swedish, Finnish, Estonian & Hungarian: Independent Alphabet Letters
In Nordic and Finno-Ugric languages, Ä and Ö are considered completely independent letters at the end of the alphabet (after Z), sorted separately in dictionaries and phonebooks:
Swedish: ... X, Y, Z, Å, Ä, Ö
Finnish: ... X, Y, Z, Å, Ä, Ö
Hungarian: Ö, Ő, Ü, Ű (including double acute long umlauts).
Pop Culture: The Heavy Metal Umlaut (Röck Döts)
In rock music and popular culture, bands use decorative "metal umlauts" to give band names a gothic, Teutonic, or menacing aesthetic without affecting English pronunciation:
Motörhead (founded by Lemmy Kilmister)
Mötley Crüe (featuring dual umlauts)
Blue Öyster Cult
Queensrÿche (uniquely utilizing ÿ)
Spinal Tap (humorously stylized with an impossible n-umlaut: Spin̈al Tap)
Frequently Asked Questions About the Umlaut & Diaeresis
The two dots (¨) placed above a vowel serve two distinct linguistic purposes. In Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Finnish), it is called an umlaut and represents vowel fronting or sound mutation (ä, ö, ü). In Romance languages (French, Spanish, Catalan) and English, it is called a diaeresis or tréma (ë, ï, ÿ, ü) and indicates hiatus (that two adjacent vowels must be pronounced as separate syllables, as in Noël, naïve, or pingüino).
For the standalone umlaut / diaeresis symbol (¨), the Alt code is Alt + 0168 (or Alt + 249). For individual lowercase vowels: ä is Alt + 132 (or Alt + 0228); ö is Alt + 148 (or Alt + 0246); ü is Alt + 129 (or Alt + 0252); ë is Alt + 137 (or Alt + 0235); ï is Alt + 139 (or Alt + 0239); and ÿ is Alt + 0255. For capital letters: Ä is Alt + 142 (or Alt + 0196); Ö is Alt + 153 (or Alt + 0214); Ü is Alt + 154 (or Alt + 0220); Ë is Alt + 0203; and Ï is Alt + 0207.
On macOS, press Option + u, release both keys, and immediately type the letter you want to accent (e.g. Option + u then u gives ü; Option + u then o gives ö; Option + u then a gives ä; Option + u then e gives ë; Option + u then Space gives standalone ¨). 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 + Shift + : (Colon), release all keys, and type the letter you want to accent (e.g. Ctrl + Shift + : then u gives ü; Ctrl + Shift + : then o gives ö). For capital letters, press Ctrl + Shift + : then Shift + U for Ü. You can also type the 4-digit hexadecimal code followed by Alt + X (e.g. 00FC + Alt + X = ü).
On the US-International keyboard layout, the double quote key (Shift + ") acts as a dead key for umlauts. Press Shift + \", release, then press any vowel (a, o, u, e, i, y) to produce ä, ö, ü, ë, ï, or ÿ. If you want a literal double quote mark without combining, press Shift + \" followed by the Spacebar.
Although visually identical (two horizontal dots above a vowel), their phonetic functions differ. An umlaut alters the quality/sound of the vowel itself (German phonological sound shift: a → ä /ɛː/, o → ö /øː/, u → ü /yː/). A diaeresis (or tréma) indicates that two adjacent vowels are pronounced separately in distinct syllables rather than merged into a single diphthong (e.g. French Noël, naïve, English coöperation, Spanish vergüenza).
In German orthography, if umlauts cannot be typed (such as on standard English keyboards, domain names, crosswords, or machine-readable passport zones), they are officially replaced by adding the letter 'e' after the base vowel: ä becomes ae, ö becomes oe, and ü becomes ue (e.g. Müller becomes Mueller, Köln becomes Koeln, München becomes Muenchen).
The standalone diaeresis symbol is ¨ (U+00A8) and combining diaeresis is ̈ (U+0308). For letters: ä is ä (U+00E4); ö is ö (U+00F6); ü is ü (U+00FC); ë is ë (U+00EB); ï is ï (U+00EF); and ÿ is ÿ (U+00FF). Uppercase entities include Ä (U+00C4), Ö (U+00D6), Ü (U+00DC), Ë (U+00CB), and Ï (U+00CF).
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, tildes, cedillas, carons)? Browse our full suite of 26 dedicated guides:
