U with accent: ù û ü

Type ù: Alt + 0249 on Windows, Option+`thenU on a Mac, or hold U on your phone.

Copy the letters

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

Three accents can sit on the French u. None changes the sound much; they mostly tell words apart.

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.

  • ùMacOption+`thenUWindows`thenUAlt codeAlt + 0249
  • ûMacOption+IthenUWindowsShift+6thenUAlt codeAlt + 0251
  • üMacOption+UthenUWindowsShift+'thenUAlt codeAlt + 0252
  • ÙMacOption+`thenShift+UWindows`thenShift+UAlt codeAlt + 0217
  • ÛMacOption+IthenShift+UWindowsShift+6thenShift+UAlt codeAlt + 0219
  • ÜMacOption+UthenShift+UWindowsShift+'thenShift+UAlt codeAlt + 0220

Mac

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

Windows

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

Phone

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

When to use ù, û, ü in French

ù appears in a single French word: où (where), to tell it apart from ou (or).

û marks a difference in meaning or a vanished letter: sûr (sure) versus sur (on), dû (owed) versus du (of the), goût (taste).

ü is rare: capharnaüm, and the optional spellings of the 1990 reform such as aigüe for aiguë.

  • ù · où
  • û · sûr, goût, août
  • ü · capharnaüm
  • Ù · OÙ
  • Û · AOÛT
  • Ü · CAPHARNAÜM

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 0249 on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt: ù 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 + `, then U. You can also press and hold the U key and pick ù from the menu that appears.

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

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