How to Type Spanish Accents

This wikiHow teaches you how to type Spanish accents and punctuation marks any computer, phone, or tablet.

Method 1
Method 1 of 5:

Using a Smartphone or Tablet

  1. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 1
    1
    Open the keyboard in the app where you want to insert the character. Tapping the typing area should spring open the keyboard.[1]
    • Though there are many keyboards available for Androids, iPhones, and iPads, these steps should work for nearly all of them.
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    Tap and hold the letter you want to add an accent to. The accent options will appear above the letter.
    • If you're going to be adding an accent to a capital (uppercase) letter, tap the key that switches to uppercase-typing (usually an arrow) first, and then tap and hold the letter.
    • To add a Spanish punctuation mark (¿ or ¡), tap the 123 or symbol key to switch to the number and symbol keyboard, and then tap and hold either the ? or !.
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    Slide your finger to select the accent or symbol you want to insert. This types the selected symbol into the typing area.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 5:

Using the Windows US International Keyboard

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    Click the Start
    Windows Start
    menu.     It's at the bottom-left corner of the screen.[2]
    • This method will teach you how to add the United States International keyboard to Windows 10, as well as how to use this keyboard to type any Spanish-accented character.
  2. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 5
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    Click Settings
    Windows Settings
    .     It's near the bottom-left corner of the menu.
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    Click Time & Language. It's near the center of the list.[3]
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    Click Region & language. It's in the left panel under the ″Time & Language″ header.[4]
    • If "Region" and "Language" are separated into two different tabs, click on the "Language" tab before your proceed.
  5. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 8
    5
    Scroll down and click your default keyboard. It's under the ″Preferred languages″ header, near the middle of the right panel.[5] Additional buttons will appear.
    • For example, if you're in the United States and type in English, the default keyboard is called English (United States).
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    Click Options. It's below your default keyboard's name.[6]
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    Scroll down and click + Add a keyboard. It's under the ″Keyboards″ header. A list of all keyboard layouts will appear.
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    Click United States-International. This adds the US International keyboard layout to the ″Keyboards″ section.
    • You can close any windows you've opened so far now.
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    Open the app you want to type in. You'll be able to switch to the US International keyboard from within any app.
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    10
    Press and hold ⊞ Win + Spacebar. As long as you're holding down these two keys, a menu will appear displaying all possible keyboard layouts.
    • Depending on your settings, you may also be able to click your current language (e.g., ENG) in the taskbar that runs across the bottom of your screen. You'll find your current keyboard setting to the left of the clock. After you click on your current keyboard, you'll be able to choose between a list of all of your keyboards which will appear above the taskbar.
  11. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 14
    11
    Select ENG INTL. To select this option lift your finger from the Spacebar (keep holding the Windows key with your other finger), and then press the Spacebar until ENG INTL is highlighted. You can now release your fingers.
    • If you can change the language on your taskbar, simply select the "ENG INTL" keyboard from the list that pops up on your screen when you click on "ENG" near the time and date.
  12. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 15
    12
    Use the US International Keyboard codes to type Spanish-accented letters. Typing an accented letter requires two keystrokes—one to type the accent, and the other to type the letter. Here's how to type each letter:[7]
    • Á or á: ' (apostrophe) + A or a.
    • É or é: ' + "E" or "e".
    • Í or í: ' + "I" or "i".
    • Ó or ó: ' + "O" or "o".
    • Ú or ú: ' + "U" or "u".
    • Ü or ü: " (quote) + "U" or "u".
    • Ñ or ñ: Option-n, then type "N" or "n".
    • When the US International Keyboard is selected, you won't be able to type a typical apostrophe or an English question mark. To type one of these characters, press the Spacebar immediately after pressing the key.
  13. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 16
    13
    Use the US International Keyboard codes to type Spanish punctuation marks (¿ and ¡). Typing Spanish-specific punctuation is a little different than typing accented letters. Instead of using two keystrokes, you'll hold down two keys at the same time:
    • ¿: Alt+?
    • ¡: Alt+!
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Method 3
Method 3 of 5:

Using Windows Keyboard Codes

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    1
    Locate the numeric keypad on your keyboard. Most PC keyboards have a numerical keypad option, even if you don't have a separate set of keys. Here's how to find yours:
  2. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 18
    2
    Find the code you need to type the Spanish accent character. You'll have to enter a special code using the numeric keypad to make the accented letter appear. Here is a list of all possible Spanish character codes:
    • Á: Alt + 0193
    • á: Alt + 160
    • É: Alt + 0201
    • é: Alt + 130
    • Í: Alt + 0205
    • í: Alt + 161
    • Ó: Alt + 0211
    • ó: Alt + 162
    • Ú: Alt + 0218
    • ú: Alt + 163
    • ü: Alt + 129
    • Ñ: Alt + 0209
    • ñ: Alt + 164
    • ¿: Alt + 168
    • ¡: Alt + 173
  3. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 19
    3
    Enter the code for the character you want to type. With NumLk enabled (if you're using a keyboard without a 10-key numeric keypad), hold down the Alt key, and then type the three digits of the code.
    • For example, to type é, press and hold Alt, press 1 and release, then 3 and release, 0 and release, and then release the Alt key.
    • If you're not using a regular 10-key keyboard, press NumLk to turn off Number Lock when you're done.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 5:

Using the Windows Character Map

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    1
    Open the app you want to type in. If your need to type Spanish accents and characters doesn't come up too often, you can quickly insert these characters using the Windows Character Map.
  2. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 21
    2
    Open the Character Map application. Here's how:
    • Open the Windows Search bar (if you don't have a search bar to the right of the Start menu, click the circle that's there to open it.
    • Type character.
    • Click Character Map when it appears.
  3. Image titled Type Spanish Accents Step 22
    3
    Select the font you're typing in from the ″Font″ menu. This ensures you're using a character that matches the rest of your document.
    • If you're typing into a web browser, email, image editor, or messaging app, you can skip this step. The character will only paste in one font.
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    4
    Click the accented character you want to insert into the document. This adds the character to the ″Characters to copy″ field at the bottom of the map.
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    5
    Click Copy. The character is now copied to your clipboard.
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    Click where you want to insert the character and press Ctrl+V. This pastes the character into the document.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 5:

Using a Mac Keyboard

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    1
    Open the app you want to type in. You can use easy keyboard shortcuts to quickly insert Spanish accented characters and symbols into any Mac application.
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    2
    Find the keyboard combination for the character you want to type. You'll use a keyboard shortcut that combines the ⌥ Option key with a character, followed by the character that receives the accent. Here are the different codes for each letter with an accent:
    • Á or á: ⌥ Option+e, and then type A or a.
    • É or é: {⌥ Option+e then type E or e.
    • Í or í: ⌥ Option+e, then type I or I .
    • Ó or ó: ⌥ Option+o, then type O or o.
    • Ú or ú: ⌥ Option+u, then type U or u.
    • Ü or ü: ⌥ Option+u, then type U or u.
    • Ñ or ñ: ⌥ Option+n, then type N or n.
    • ¿: ⌥ Option+⇧ Shift+?.
    • ¡: ⌥ Option+1.
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References

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em823DpuKpM
  2. ↑ https://blogs.umass.edu/Techbytes/2019/03/20/how-to-add-languages-to-your-windows-10-keyboard/
  3. ↑ https://www.windowscentral.com/how-change-your-keyboard-layout-windows-10
  4. ↑ https://blogs.umass.edu/Techbytes/2019/03/20/how-to-add-languages-to-your-windows-10-keyboard/
  5. ↑ https://blogs.umass.edu/Techbytes/2019/03/20/how-to-add-languages-to-your-windows-10-keyboard/
  6. ↑ https://blogs.umass.edu/Techbytes/2019/03/20/how-to-add-languages-to-your-windows-10-keyboard/
  7. ↑ https://studyspanish.com/typing-spanish-accents

About This Article

Nicole Levine, MFA
Written by:
Nicole Levine, MFA
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 59,162 times.
26 votes - 63%
Co-authors: 10
Updated: March 14, 2023
Views: 59,162
Categories: Spanish | World Languages
Article SummaryX

To type Spanish accents on a smartphone or tablet, open the app you want to use and tap the screen to open the keyboard. Next, tap and hold the letter you want to add an accent to until the accent options appear above the letter. Then, slide your finger to select the accent or symbol you want to insert. If you want to add an accent to a capital letter, tap the key that switches to uppercase letters first, and then tap and hold the letter. For tips on typing Spanish accents on your desktop keyboard, read on!

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