I with accent: î ï

Type î: Alt + 0238 on Windows, Option+IthenI on a Mac, or hold I on your phone.

Copy the letters

Click a letter to copy it, then paste it with Ctrl + V (Cmd + V on a Mac).

The French i takes a circumflex (î) or a diaeresis (ï). The diaeresis changes the pronunciation; the circumflex usually does not.

Keyboard shortcuts on a U.S. QWERTY keyboard

Mac: standard U.S. or ABC layout. Windows: the free United States-International layout, or an Alt code with any layout.

  • îMacOption+IthenIWindowsShift+6thenIAlt codeAlt + 0238
  • ïMacOption+UthenIWindowsShift+'thenIAlt codeAlt + 0239
  • ÎMacOption+IthenShift+IWindowsShift+6thenShift+IAlt codeAlt + 0206
  • ÏMacOption+UthenShift+IWindowsShift+'thenShift+IAlt codeAlt + 0207

Mac

Or press and hold I: a menu of accented versions appears.

Windows

Alt codes need a numeric keypad. Set up US-International.

Phone

Touch and hold I on the keyboard, then slide to the letter you want.

When to use î, ï in French

î mostly marks a lost “s”: île (isle, island), maître (master), dîner (to dine). Since the 1990 spelling reform it is optional on i and u in most words (ile, maitre), but both spellings are correct.

ï splits two vowels so each is pronounced: naïf (naive) is “na-eef”, maïs (corn) is “ma-eess”, not “may”.

  • î · île, dîner
  • ï · naïf, maïs
  • Î · ÎLE
  • Ï · NAÏF

Typing French every day?

The free Chrome extension opens every French accent with Ctrl + Shift + E on any website: no codes to remember.

See the Chrome extension

Frequently asked questions

Hold Alt and type 0238 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt: î appears. The number row above the letters does not work, so most laptops need another method.

On a U.S. or ABC keyboard, press Option + I, then I. You can also press and hold the I key and pick î from the menu that appears.

Touch and hold the I key on the on-screen keyboard: its accented versions appear above it. Slide to î and release.

Yes. The Académie française recommends keeping accents on capitals (Î as in ÎLE), because they can change the meaning and the pronunciation.