* See page 2 for clarification on umlaut vs. diaeresis for differences that are not reflected in the accompanying chart and graphics.
Examples of Diacriticals
é Acute
ç Cedilla
â Circumflex
è Grave
ñ Tilde
ü Umlaut/Diaeresis
Keystrokes for Mac and PC
When using a standard English keyboard and fonts it is necessary to use special characters or keystroke combinations in order to apply accent marks. The basic keystroke combinations are:
- Mac Option plus a key or key combination — Opt+e, a for á
- Windows ALT plus a numeric code — ALT+0225 for á
- HTML Ampersand plus character code followed by a semi-colon — á for á
I've put together a simple printable table showing the Mac, Windows, and HTML codes for the six common accent marks encountered in English text.
Designing with Diacriticals
These rules apply especially to US designers and others designing in English for a predominantly English-speaking audience.
- Italicize foreign words or phrases. Include the accent mark when your text includes foreign words, proper names, or common English words that are normally accented.
- Be consistent. If you start out using accents, continue to do so throughout the document.
- Pay attention to the available special characters in the digital typefaces you choose. Not all fonts contain these characters.
- You may want to use a larger typesize for body text or experiment with different faces to find a font where the accent marks don't appear to merge into the accented letters or show up as little "smudges."
More About Accent Marks and Languages
French Language
"It is essential to put accents in their proper places - an incorrect or missing accent is a spelling mistake just as an incorrect or missing letter would be. The only exception to this is capital letters, which are often left unaccented." — Learn how to pronounce accented characters and all about reading, writing, and speaking French.
Spanish Language
"Typing accented characters using either a Microsoft Windows-based or Macintosh computer isn't all that difficult. But it isn't intuitive." — Includes step-by-step instructions on how to add accented characters under Windows or on a Mac as well as lessons in learning Spanish.
German Language
Find a dictionary online to translate between English and German plus other resources for reading, writing, and speaking German including "Wir chatten... über Deutsch und auf deutsch!" (German Chat).
Italian Language
Try an online dictionary or explore this site for courses, grammar help, helpful exercises, and a bit of history on the Italian language.
