How to type French accents using normal QWERTY keyboard with English layout. If however you’d like to simply use the normal QWERTY layout but be able to type French accents when needed, this can be done using your Mac’s “option” modifier key. This is how it works. The process of typing accents on a computer used to be somewhat inconvenient, with key combinations required to apply the desired accent. Windows even used to make users type in numerical combinations if they wanted to apply an accent. Since then things have gotten easier, and macOS is especially friendly when it comes to typing accents.
Pinyin - 拼音 (pīn yīn) is not just a tool for mastering Mandarin Chinese pronunciation: many students also find writing out pinyin is a great way to memorize the correct tones for new vocabulary.
(*TIP: If you've never heard of pinyin, first check out this post - 'Pinyin: A Beginner's Guide'.)
So how exactly do you type pinyin with the correct tones? Some people simply stick the tone number at the end of the pinyin, for example ni3 hao3. It does the trick, but it doesn't quite look as nice as those pretty tones: nǐ hǎo.
Other people just copy and from Google Translate. But that's a slow process and does nothing to help you learn the correct tones!
It's Yoyo Chinese to the rescue! This post gives you step-by-step instructions for typing pinyin with beautiful tone marks on your Windows or Mac operating system.
This post is NOT about typing Chinese characters! To learn how to type Chinese characters, check out this free lesson from our Chinese Character Course:
And for step-by-step instructions to set up a Chinese input keyboard on your device, click here.
Without further ado, read on to learn how to type pinyin with tone marks on your computer!
• Windows
• Mac OS
Windows
Important Update: Windows Settings Have Changed - click HERE for the 2020 Updates for Installation of the PinyinTones Software on Windows
There are some third party apps and plug ins you can download to type pinyin with tones. But if you're looking to avoid installing extra stuff on your computer, and want to use the tools built into Windows, we'll show you how here!
And the REALLY nice thing about using the built in language tools in Windows is that you don't have to remember which letter the tone mark is over - it does it for you!
To type pinyin in Windows, you need to first add the Japanese language, and then the PinyinTones keyboard.
You might be thinking, 'The 'Japanese language'? I'm here to type Chinese!' Just trust us on this one!
Please Note: If you are unable to set up the “PinyinTones” directly through your Windows settings for any reason, you can also just visit their websiteand download it there!
Add the Japanese Language and the PinyinTones keyboard on Windows
1: Go to 'Settings' by selecting it from the main menu:
2. Click 'Time & Language':
3. Click on “Region & language” from the menu on the left:
4. Click “Add a language”:
5. Search for 'Japanese'. First click on “Japanese”, then click “next” below:
6. Uncheck the box that says, “Set as my Windows display language”. *THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT! You don't want to change your display language to Japanese:
7. Click 'Install'.
8. In the 'Language options' menu for the Japanese Language you just insalled, click “Add a keyboard”:
9. Select “PinyinTones”:
Switching to the PinyinTones keyboard on Windows
1. Click the Language tab on task bar and select “JP Japanese (Japan)”:
2. Click “PinyinTones”:
Typing Pinyin with Tone Marks on Windows
Now that you've got the PinyinTones keyboard selected, you can then type the letters of the pinyin, followed by the number for the tone.
For example, to type the pinyin for 好, you simply type the pinyin ‘hao’, then the number “3” (for the tone), and then click “space”: hǎo
It's great practice, because you have to remember the correct tone, but it's a lot easier than having to also remember where the tone mark goes. The PinyinTones keyboard takes care of it for you!
Mac OS (Apple computers and laptops)
We're going to be the first to admit it, typing pinyin with tone marks on Mac OS is a little trickier than on Windows.
Probably the biggest difference is that you need to remember which vowel has the tone mark. While that might seem like a big drawback at first, if you are typing pinyin to help you memorize tones, it is MUCH more effective practice if you are forced to remember where the tone mark actually goes!
To type pinyin with tone marks on your Mac device, you'll need to do three things:
• Add the 'ABC - Extended' keyboard to your input methods
• Switch your input method to this keyboard
• Type the vowels with the correct tone marks
The 'ABC - Extended' keyboard is the input method you'll need to select when you want to type pinyin with tone marks. On older Mac operating systems, this may also be called the 'U.S. Extended' keyboard.
Here are step-by-step instructions for adding the ABC - Extended keyboard on Mac OS:
1: Open System Preferences from your dock or the Apple menu.
2: Select 'Language & Region':
3: Click 'Keyboard Preferences':
4: Click the + sign to add a new input keyboard:
5: Scroll down the list on the right to find and select 'ABC - Extended' and click 'Add':
*NOTE: The box that says 'Show input menu in menu bar' should be checked. This will let you see and switch your input method from the menu bar on your Mac.
There are two ways to switch to the the 'ABC - Extended' input method: from the menu bar or with a keyboard shortcut.
To switch from the menu bar, click the icon on the menu bar to bring up the input method dropdown. You can click on 'ABC - Extended' here, and switch it back to your native language when you are done:
Or, to use keyboard shortcuts to switch between your input methods, open your System Preferences again and click 'Keyboard':
Then click 'Shortcuts' from the buttons at the top of the window, and then 'Input Sources' from the list on the left:
If they are not already selected, you can now click the boxes to enable the shortcuts for switching forward or backwards through your list of input methods.
The default shortcuts are ^ (control) + space bar to go forward, and ^ (control) + ⌥ (option) + space bar to go backward through the list.
Typing Pinyin with Tone Marks on Mac OS
You've added the ABC - Extended keyboard, and selected it as your input method. Now you're ready to type tones marks over your vowels.
The way the system works, you first give the computer the command for the tone, and then type the vowel that the tone will be over. Here are the commands for each tone:
• 1st tone: ⌥ (option) + a
• 2nd tone: ⌥ (option) + e
• 3rd tone: ⌥ (option) + v
• 4th tone: ⌥ (option) + ~
So to type a first tone tone mark, click '⌥ (option) + a'. *
NOTE: You click 'a' even if you are putting the tone mark over a different vowel!
The first tone should appear when you are typing the text. Type the correct vowel and it should appear below the tone mark.
Don't forget! When you are typing characters like 女 (nǚ) - woman, or 绿 (lǜ) - green, with the letter/tone 'ǚ', you don't type 'nu' but 'nv'!
Now that you know how to type pinyin with tone marks on your Windows or Mac OS device, try adding it to your practice routine!
Type out vocabulary from our Conversational Courses, or characters you are learning in our Chinese Character Courses, and see if you remember the correct tones!
If you have any questions, other tools and tips you use for typing pinyin, or if you need any help, let us know in the comments below!
Bonjour, je veux apprendre le francais. (Hello, I want to learn French.)
See the problem here?
I will give you a sec. Found it?
We write français not francais!
That little appendage on the “c” is an accent, and it makes a huge difference in French pronunciation.
This obviously begs the question: How do we type these symbols?
I do not have accent marks on my keyboard, and you probably do not either.
If you have ever seen a French keyboard, you know that they have keys for these symbols, but with our English keyboards, we have to get creative.
Fortunately, I know several methods for typing French accents on English keyboards. Read on to find out what they are!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Why Do We Use French Accents?
Students often wonder why accents are necessary in French. After all, wouldn’t it be easier to just get rid of them? Whatever your opinion may be, accents are a fundamental part of writing in French, so it is important that we know them.
Why does French have accents anyway?
Accents are used to indicate special pronunciations for certain letters or words. This is extremely important in French, a language where many letter combinations can produce the same sounds. In this sense, accents offer us opportunities to form new words by simply adding a small symbol. Accents can also serve to indicate historical changes or pronunciations of words.
In addition to changing pronunciation, accents can also change a word’s meaning.
What are some French words that change because of accents?
It is extremely important to know when to use accents because, as mentioned above, they can literally change the meaning of a word. Check out these examples:
résume (he, she summarizes)
résumé (summary)
pécheur (sinner)
pêcheur (fisherman)
jeune (young)
jeûne (fast)
côté (side)
cote (rating)
côte (coast)
coté (listed)
sur (on)
sûr (sure)
du (of, from the)
dû (due)
mur (wall)
mûr (mature)
By the way, did you know you can practice these and other vocabulary words by seeing them used in authentic contexts with FluentU?
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You can use the interactive subtitles to look up any word and learn more about it. You can also practice your knowledge with customized vocabulary lists, dynamic flashcard sets and fun quizzes!
Sign up for a free trial to gain access to the vast video library and cool learning tools.
Are there any tricks for knowing when to use accents?
In many cases, you have to memorize when to use French accents, especially when they do not affect pronunciation. However, there are some cases in which you always need an accent.
For example, when forming the past participle of er verbs, you will always use an é.
aimer (to like)
aimé (liked)
What Are the French Accents?
Although this post aims to teach you how to type French accents, it still does not hurt to review the different accents and their pronunciations. Let’s take a look.
Accent aigu (acute accent): é
The accent aigu is used on the “e.” It is pronounced with a rise in intonation, like the letter “a” in English:
café (cafe/coffee)
cliché (cliché)
Typing Accents For Mac Keyboard
Accent grave (grave accent): è, à, ù
On the “e,” the accent grave is pronounced like “eh” in English:
mère (mother)
père (father)
To the untrained ear, this sound can seem very similar to the accent aigu.
When the accent grave is on the “a” or “u,” there is no difference in pronunciation. It only serves to distinguish different words.
où (where)
ou (or)
Cédille (cedilla): ç
The cédille is used to tell us that we need to make an English “s” sound. For example:
français (French/French person)
garçon (boy)
Accent circonflexe (circumflex accent): â, ê, î, ô, û
The accent circonflexe does not change the pronunciation of the word. It only indicates the historical presence of an “s” in that position of the word. Indeed, an ongoing debate is raging about whether or not to eliminate this accent. You will have to memorize the words in which it is used. Here are just a couple of examples:
forêt (forest)
août (August)
hôpital (hospital)
Tréma (dieresis): ë, ï, ü
Finally, the tréma indicates that we need to introduce a break in the word’s pronunciation at that point. For example:
Noël (Christmas) — pronounced no-el
Typing Accents For Mac Desktop
Alright, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Depending on your computer and even its age, the ways to type French accents might be different, so I will try to cover all of the most common possibilities.
How to Type French Accents on a PC
On a Windows PC, the codes for typing lower-case letter accents are as follows. Be aware that you have to hold down ALT while typing the code.
à = ALT + 133 or 0224
â = ALT + 131 or 0226
ä = ALT + 132 or 0228
ç = ALT + 135 or 0231
é = ALT + 130 or 0233
è = ALT + 138 or 0233
ê = ALT + 136 or 0234
ë = ALT + 137 or 0235
î = ALT + 140 or 0238
ï = ALT + 139 or 0239
ô = ALT + 147 or 0244
ù = ALT + 151 or 0249
û = ALT + 150 or 0251
ü = ALT + 129 or 0252
Likewise, the capital letter accents are typed as follows:
Typing Accents For Mac Os
À = ALT + 0192
 = ALT + 0194
Ä = ALT + 142
Ç = ALT + 128
É = ALT + 144
È = ALT + 0200
Ê = ALT + 0202
Ë = ALT + 0203
Î = ALT + 0206
Ï = ALT + 0207
Ô = ALT + 0212
Ù = ALT + 0217
Û = ALT + 0219
Ü = ALT + 154
An easy alternative to using so many codes is to set your keyboard to the international format. You can do this as follows:
On Windows 10:
- Head to the Start menu and click Settings.
- Click on Time & Language.
- Select Language, which is in the left column.
- Click on English, then Options.
- Click on Add a Keyboard, then choose the English (international) option.
On Windows 7:
- Head to Start, type intl.cpl in the Search box and hit the ENTER key.
- Look for Keyboards and Language, and select Change Keyboards.
- Select Add.
- Click English.
- Expand the Keyboard list, select English (international) and click OK.
- Under options, select View Layout.
- Under Default Input Language, select English (international) and click OK.
- In Regional and Language Options, click OK.
- Finally, on the desktop’s language bar, click English (international).
Now that we have configured the international keyboard in PC, we can see how to type accents. All you have to do now is type one character and the letter it goes over:
é = ‘ + e
à = ` + a
è = ` + e
ù = ` + u
ç = ‘ + c
â = ^ + a
ê = ^ + e
î = ^ + i
ô = ^ + o
û = ^ + u
ë = ” + e
ï = ” + i
ü = ” + u
For UK users, the codes are a little different:
é = AltGR + e
à = ` + a
è = ` + e
ù = ` + u
ç = AltGR + c
â = AltGR + ^ + a
ê = AltGR + ^ + e
î = AltGR + ^ + i
ô = AltGR + ^ + o
û = AltGR + ^ + u
ë = AltGR + ” + e
ï = AltGR + ” + i
ü = AltGR + ” + u
Note that with these last codes, you have to hold down AltGR and the character at the same time. Also, to type capital letters, just use the same codes while holding down SHIFT.
How to Type French Accents on a Mac
Fortunately, things are easier for Mac users because simple key combinations come pre-configured. Check this out:
é = option + e, then release and type e
ç = option + c
à = option + `, then release and type a
è = option + `, then release and type e
ù = option + `, then release and type u
â = option + i, then release and type a
ê = option + i, then release and type e
î = option + i, then release and type i
ô = option + i, then release and type o
û = option + i, then release and type u
ë = option + u, then release and type e
ï = option + u, then release and type i
ü = option + u, then release and type u
If you want to type capital letters, just hold down shift when you type the letter you want.
How to Type French Accents Using Linux
Because there are so many distributions of Linux, it is hard to give much advice about how to type French accents using the system. However, in Ubuntu, you can go to Menu, then Character Map and then select the character you want.
Alternatives to Typing French Accents with Codes
If all of this work to set up an international keyboard or memorize lots of codes seems too much for you, there are alternatives that might be easier. Both online and offline, you can find point and click resources for inserting codes into your text. Let’s take a look.
TypeIt
TypeIt is a great resource that lets you type accents from many different languages, including French. You will see a field where you can type, above which are buttons that include all of the accents. You could type accents here and copy and paste them into your word processor, or you could even type your entire text directly into the site.
Lexilogos
Lexilogos does basically the same thing as TypeIt, but with more features included. You can easily type and click on the accents you need. An advantage of Lexilogos is that it also includes a French dictionary and a spell checker.
Built-in word processor character sets
Finally, you can also find the French character set included in your word processor. For example, in Microsoft Word 2010, go to the insert tab and click symbol, then more symbols and then special characters. Now, just look for the French character you want to include.
Whichever word processor you use, you should easily be able to find instructions for adding special characters by checking the processor’s site.
If we want to write high-quality French, we need accents. Let’s face it: They are everywhere.
Although it is not always intuitive to type French accents with an English keyboard, if you write enough, you will memorize the combinations. Personally, I use codes for the most common accents because I have memorized them, and for the other characters, I use a character map.
However you decide to type French accents, it will become second nature to you after a bit of practice!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
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