U With an Accent: How to Type ú, ù, û, ü on Any Device

The letter u carries an unusually wide range of marks, from the everyday ú and ü to the Czech ring ů and the Hungarian ű. This page has the set: ú (acute), ù (grave), û (circumflex), ü (diaeresis), plus ū (macron), ů (ring), ű (double acute), and ų (ogonek), in lowercase and capitals.

ú and its Latin-1 neighbours are a quick keystroke on any device. The macron, ring, double-acute, and ogonek versions 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 u key, then slide to the accent you want.
• On Windows: hold Alt and type 0250 for ú (0218 for Ú).
• On a Mac: press Option + e, let go, then press u, for ú.
• In Word: press Ctrl + ‘ (the apostrophe), then u.

Copy and paste u with an accent

Every accented u, 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
ú	u with acute	U+00FA	Alt + 0250	Option + e, u
ù	u with grave	U+00F9	Alt + 0249	Option + `, u
û	u with circumflex	U+00FB	Alt + 0251	Option + i, u
ü	u with diaeresis	U+00FC	Alt + 0252	Option + u, u
ū	u with macron	U+016B	Word 016B + Alt + X	Character Viewer
ů	u with ring	U+016F	Word 016F + Alt + X	Character Viewer
ű	u with double acute	U+0171	Word 0171 + Alt + X	Character Viewer
ų	u with ogonek	U+0173	Word 0173 + Alt + X	Character Viewer
Ú	U with acute	U+00DA	Alt + 0218	Option + e, Shift + U
Ù	U with grave	U+00D9	Alt + 0217	Option + `, Shift + U
Û	U with circumflex	U+00DB	Alt + 0219	Option + i, Shift + U
Ü	U with diaeresis	U+00DC	Alt + 0220	Option + u, Shift + U
Ū	U with macron	U+016A	Word 016A + Alt + X	Character Viewer
Ů	U with ring	U+016E	Word 016E + Alt + X	Character Viewer
Ű	U with double acute	U+0170	Word 0170 + Alt + X	Character Viewer
Ų	U with ogonek	U+0172	Word 0172 + Alt + X	Character Viewer

What the marks on u mean

The acute and grave are a Romance pair. In Spanish, ú marks the stressed syllable, as in útil (“useful”). The grave ù is rarer: in French it shows up in essentially one word, où (“where”), kept distinct from ou (“or”). The circumflex û does similar tie-breaking work, telling sur (“on”) apart from sûr (“sure”), and often marking an s that dropped out of an older spelling.

The diaeresis ü wears two hats. In German it’s the umlaut, a fronted vowel, and it’s the same two dots covered in the umlaut letters guide. In Spanish it does a quieter job, telling you to actually pronounce the u in pingüino and vergüenza, where it would otherwise stay silent.

The rest belong to particular languages. ū with a macron is a long u, the mark in Japanese romaji like jūdō. ů with a ring is a long u in Czech that grew out of an old uo sound, as in dům (“house”). ű with a double acute is Hungarian’s long ü, and ų with an ogonek is a nasal u in Lithuanian.

Letter	Language	What it does	Example
ú	Spanish, Czech	stress, or a long u	útil (“useful”)
ù	French, Italian	marks one word (où) or a vowel	où (“where”)
û	French	a dropped s; tells words apart	sûr (“sure”)
ü	German, Spanish	umlaut, or a sounded u	pingüino
ū	Japanese romaji, Māori	a long u	jūdō
ů	Czech	a long u (from old “uo”)	dům (“house”)
ű	Hungarian	a long ü	fűt (“heats”)
ų	Lithuanian	a nasal u	jų (“their”)

How to type ú on any device

Most accented u’s sit in the old Latin range, so they’re easy to reach. The macron, ring, double-acute, 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 0250 on the numeric keypad for ú, or 0218 for Ú. 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 u for ú, and a quote then u for ü.

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 u for ú. The other accents load the same way: Option + ` then u for ù, Option + i then u for û, and Option + u then u for ü.

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

iPhone and Android

Press and hold the u key on the on-screen keyboard. A row of accented options appears above your finger, ú, ù, û, and ü 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 u for ú, Ctrl + ` then u for ù, Ctrl + Shift + ^ then u for û, and Ctrl + Shift + : then u for ü. Add Shift on the u for a capital.

For the accents Word’s shortcuts skip, type the hex code and press Alt + X, like 016B then Alt + X for ū.

Linux

Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the hex code, then press Enter: 00fa for ú, 016b for ū. With a Compose key, it’s Compose, then ‘, then u for ú.

Excel and Google Sheets

Use the Windows Alt code on the keypad, or the UNICHAR formula: =UNICHAR(250) returns ú and =UNICHAR(218) returns Ú. For the others, =UNICHAR(363) gives ū, =UNICHAR(367) gives ů, and =UNICHAR(369) gives ű. The same works in Google Sheets.

The macron, ring, double-acute, and ogonek u’s

None of these 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 Czech, Hungarian, Lithuanian, or Japanese romaji regularly, add the matching keyboard or input method and the letter gets its own key.

Copy-paste HTML codes

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

Character	Named entity	Numeric entity
ú	ú	ú
ù	ù	ù
û	û	û
ü	ü	ü
ū	— (none)	ū
ů	— (none)	ů
ű	— (none)	ű
ų	— (none)	ų
Ú	Ú	Ú
Ü	Ü	Ü
Ū	— (none)	Ū
Ű	— (none)	Ű

In a CSS content value, use the escaped code point, like \00fa for ú. 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 + 0250 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 ´u.”

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

“Alt codes won’t give me ū, ů, ű, or ų.”

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.

“Is this ü or ů?”

ü has two dots and is the German umlaut (also the Spanish “sounded u”). ů has a small ring and is a Czech letter. They’re different characters with different codes.

“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 ú and ù?

The direction of the mark. ú has an acute that leans right; ù has a grave that leans left. In Spanish ú marks stress; in French ù appears mainly in the word où. They aren’t interchangeable.

How do I type ú on a US keyboard?

The smoothest way is the US-International layout: type an apostrophe, then u. Without it, use Alt + 0250 on the numeric keypad, or click ú in the copy grid above.

What does ü do in Spanish?

It tells you to pronounce the u that would otherwise be silent, in the combinations güe and güi. That’s why pingüino and vergüenza carry the two dots.

Do ū, ů, ű, and ų 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 ú?

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