I With an Accent: How to Type í, ì, î, ï on Any Device

The letter i takes its accents a little differently from the other vowels: when a mark goes on top, the dot comes off. So í, î, and ï are written with the accent standing in for the dot. This page has the whole set: í (acute), ì (grave), î (circumflex), ï (diaeresis), plus ī (macron) and į (ogonek), in lowercase and capitals.

í and its Latin-1 neighbours are a quick keystroke on any device. The macron ī and ogonek į sit outside that range and have no Alt code, so for those the click-to-copy grid below is the fastest way in.

Below you’ll find a one-click copy grid, a full code table, ready-made HTML entities, and a plain note on what each mark does.

In a hurry?

• Copy it: click any letter in the grid below.
• On a phone: press and hold the i key, then slide to the accent you want.
• On Windows: hold Alt and type 0237 for í (0205 for Í).
• On a Mac: press Option + e, let go, then press i, for í.
• In Word: press Ctrl + ‘ (the apostrophe), then i.

Copy and paste i with an accent

Every accented i, lowercase and capital, with the codes to type each one. Use the grid above for one-click copying; this table is the reference for typing them yourself.

Character	Name	Unicode	Windows	Mac
í	i with acute	U+00ED	Alt + 0237	Option + e, i
ì	i with grave	U+00EC	Alt + 0236	Option + `, i
î	i with circumflex	U+00EE	Alt + 0238	Option + i, i
ï	i with diaeresis	U+00EF	Alt + 0239	Option + u, i
ī	i with macron	U+012B	Word 012B + Alt + X	Character Viewer
į	i with ogonek	U+012F	Word 012F + Alt + X	Character Viewer
Í	I with acute	U+00CD	Alt + 0205	Option + e, Shift + I
Ì	I with grave	U+00CC	Alt + 0204	Option + `, Shift + I
Î	I with circumflex	U+00CE	Alt + 0206	Option + i, Shift + I
Ï	I with diaeresis	U+00CF	Alt + 0207	Option + u, Shift + I
Ī	I with macron	U+012A	Word 012A + Alt + X	Character Viewer
Į	I with ogonek	U+012E	Word 012E + Alt + X	Character Viewer

What the marks on i mean

First, the dot. The little dot over a plain i is called a tittle, and when an accent moves in, the tittle moves out. That’s why í and ï don’t stack a mark on top of the dot; the mark replaces it.

The acute and grave are a Romance pair. In Spanish, í marks the stressed syllable and tells sí (“yes”) apart from si (“if”). In Italian, ì turns up at the end of stressed words like così (“so”). The circumflex î often marks a lost s, the way île came from the older isle.

The diaeresis ï tells you to sound the i on its own, as in naïve or maïs; it’s the same two dots covered in the umlaut letters guide. The last two are language-specific: ī with a macron is a long i in Latin and Latvian, and į with an ogonek is a nasal i in Lithuanian. In Romanian, î and â spell the same sound, with î used at the start and end of words, as in începe (“begins”).

Letter	Language	What it does	Example
í	Spanish, Czech	stress, or a long i	sí (“yes”)
ì	Italian	a stressed i	così (“so”)
î	French, Romanian	a dropped s, or a mid vowel	île (“island”)
ï	French, Dutch	diaeresis: say the i separately	naïve
ī	Latin, Latvian	a long i	vīns (“wine”)
į	Lithuanian	a nasal i	į (“into”)

How to type í on any device

Most accented i’s sit in the old Latin range, so they’re easy to reach. The macron and ogonek versions are the harder cases, covered at the end.

Windows

The direct way is the Alt code. Turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type 0237 on the numeric keypad for í, or 0205 for Í. The grave, circumflex, and diaeresis have their own codes in the table above. The number row along the top won’t work; it has to be the keypad.

For regular use, the US-International layout is smoother (Settings, then Time & Language, then keyboard options). With it on, type an apostrophe then i for í, a circumflex then i for î, and a quote then i for ï.

If you’d rather not switch layouts, press Windows + . to open the symbol panel, click the Ω tab, and pick the letter from the Latin set.

Mac

Press Option + e together and let go, then press i for í. The other accents load the same way: Option + ` then i for ì, Option + i then i for î, and Option + u then i for ï.

You can also hold the i key down until a small menu of accented options appears and click the one you want.

iPhone and Android

Press and hold the i key on the on-screen keyboard. A row of accented options appears above your finger, í, ì, î, and ï among them. Slide onto the one you want and lift your finger.

It works the same in nearly every app, with nothing to set up first.

Microsoft Word

Word has its own shortcuts. Press Ctrl + ‘ then i for í, Ctrl + ` then i for ì, Ctrl + Shift + ^ then i for î, and Ctrl + Shift + : then i for ï. Add Shift on the i for a capital.

For the accents Word’s shortcuts skip, type the hex code and press Alt + X, like 012B then Alt + X for ī.

Linux

Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the hex code, then press Enter: 00ed for í, 012b for ī. With a Compose key, it’s Compose, then ‘, then i for í.

Excel and Google Sheets

Use the Windows Alt code on the keypad, or the UNICHAR formula: =UNICHAR(237) returns í and =UNICHAR(205) returns Í. For the others, =UNICHAR(299) gives ī and =UNICHAR(303) gives į. The same works in Google Sheets.

The macron and ogonek i’s (ī, į)

Neither has a Windows Alt code; they sit past the 255 limit. Use the click-to-copy grid above, Character Map on Windows, the Character Viewer on Mac, or Word’s hex-then-Alt + X.

If you write Latvian or Lithuanian regularly, add that keyboard and the letter gets its own key.

Copy-paste HTML codes

The four common accented i’s have memorable named entities, the vowel plus the accent name. The macron and ogonek versions are numeric only. Click a cell and copy.

Character	Named entity	Numeric entity
í	í	í
ì	ì	ì
î	î	î
ï	ï	ï
ī	— (none)	ī
į	— (none)	į
Í	Í	Í
Ï	Ï	Ï
Ī	— (none)	Ī
Į	— (none)	Į

In a CSS content value, use the escaped code point, like \00ed for í. Serve the page as UTF-8 so the characters hold wherever they land.

For every other accented letter, the full letters-with-accents list has the copy boxes and codes. If it’s the Spanish set you’re after, the Spanish accent marks guide covers á, é, í, ó, ú, ü, and ñ together.

Troubleshooting

“Alt + 0237 just beeps or does nothing.”

Usually Num Lock is off, you’re on the top-row numbers instead of the keypad, or the laptop has no keypad. Turn Num Lock on and use the keypad. No keypad? Use the copy grid, the US-International layout, or Windows + .

“I get a floating accent, like ´i.”

The accent and the i were pressed too far apart, or with a space between them. On US-International and the Mac, the accent comes first and the i lands immediately after, nothing in between.

“Alt codes won’t give me ī or į.”

They can’t. Those letters are above the Alt-code limit of 255. Use the click-to-copy grid above, Character Map, or Word’s hex then Alt + X.

“My accented i still has its dot.”

It shouldn’t. On í, î, and ï the accent replaces the dot. If you see both, the font is drawing a fallback glyph; switch to a standard font like Arial or Times and the extra dot goes away.

“It pastes as a box or a question mark.”

The other program is using an older text encoding. Save or paste as UTF-8 and the character will survive.

FAQ

What’s the difference between í and ì?

The direction of the mark. í has an acute that leans right; ì has a grave that leans left. In Spanish í marks stress; in Italian ì is a stressed i at the end of a word. They aren’t interchangeable.

How do I type í on a US keyboard?

The smoothest way is the US-International layout: type an apostrophe, then i. Without it, use Alt + 0237 on the numeric keypad, or click í in the copy grid above.

Why does í lose the dot on the i?

The dot, called a tittle, and the accent occupy the same spot, so the accent takes its place. í, î, and ï are all written without the tittle underneath.

Do ī and į have Windows Alt codes?

No. They sit past the Alt-code limit of 255. Use the copy grid, Character Map, Word’s hex then Alt + X, or the matching language keyboard.

What’s the fastest way to type í?

On a phone or Mac, long-press or Option + e, i. On Windows, the US-International layout once it’s set up. For a one-off, click it in the grid above.