How to type French accents on any keyboard

French uses five accents (é è ê ë, the cedilla ç) and the ligature œ. A US or UK keyboard has none of them printed on its keys, but every computer and phone can type them. Here is the fastest method for each device.

Windows: the US-International layout

Windows includes a free layout, United States-International, that keeps your U.S. QWERTY keys and turns a few of them into accent keys. On Windows 11: Settings → Time & language → Language & region → English → Language options → Add a keyboard → United States-International. Switch layouts with Windows + Space.

Then type the accent first, the letter second. The accent does not appear until you type the letter.

To type a plain apostrophe or quotation mark, press the key and then the Space bar. There is no œ on this layout: use the Alt code below.

Windows: Alt codes (any layout)

If you do not want to change layout, hold Alt and type the four digits on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt. The number row above the letters does not work, which rules out most laptops.

Mac: hold the key, or use Option

The simplest way: press and hold a letter (e, a, c, u…) and a menu of accented versions appears; press the number shown or click one.

The faster way, once learned: the Option key. On the standard U.S. (QWERTY) or ABC layout, Option plus a key types an accent, then the next letter receives it.

iPhone, iPad and Android

Touch and hold a letter on the on-screen keyboard: its accented versions appear above it. Slide to the one you want and release. Hold e for é è ê ë, c for ç, o for œ.

Chromebook

ChromeOS lets you add an international variant of the U.S. keyboard in its input settings (the menu names change between versions). It works with accent keys typed before the letter, like on Windows. If you only need a few letters, our Chrome extension, below, runs on Chromebooks too.

Typing French every day? Use the Chrome extension

Our free Chrome extension opens every French accent with Ctrl + Shift + E (Cmd + Shift + E on Mac) on any website: click, it is copied. No layout to learn. Its interface is available in English; the product page is in French.

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