12 Umlaut Letters: How to Type Ä, Ö, Ü, Ë, Ï and Ÿ

Copy the letter you need, or use the device shortcut below when you expect to type it more than once.

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Umlaut letters to copy and paste

Copy-ready line: ä ö ü ë ï ÿ — Ä Ö Ü Ë Ï Ÿ

The two dots do not always have the same linguistic job. In German, ä, ö, and ü are umlaut vowels. In names and words such as Noël or naïve, the mark is normally called a diaeresis and tells readers to pronounce adjacent vowels separately.

Quick shortcuts

Windows Alt codes for umlaut letters

Turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type the four-digit code on the numeric keypad. Release Alt only after the last digit. For example, Alt+0252 makes ü and Alt+0220 makes Ü.

The top number row normally does not work. A laptop without a dedicated keypad is better served by Character Map, a language keyboard, or the copy line above.

Add an international or German keyboard

For regular typing, open Settings → Time & language → Language & region, add United States-International or German, and switch layouts with Windows+Spacebar.

On United States-International, press the quotation-mark/diaeresis dead key and then A, O, U, E, I, or Y. If you want a quotation mark by itself, follow the dead key with Spacebar.

A German layout gives direct access to ä, ö, and ü and is the better choice for paragraphs rather than isolated names. Microsoft’s Windows keyboard-layout guide explains how to add and switch inputs.

How to type umlaut letters on Mac

On a US Mac input source, press Option+U, release both keys, and then type the vowel. Option+U followed by O produces ö; use Shift with the final vowel for uppercase Ö.

You can also hold A, O, U, E, I, or Y until the accent menu opens. Choose the number shown beneath the letter. The menu’s contents change with language and input-source settings, so ÿ may not appear everywhere.

Open Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space when the long-press menu omits the character. Apple’s current Mac accent instructions cover both long press and dead keys.

Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

In Word, press Ctrl+Shift+:, release the keys, and then type the vowel. Hold Shift for the uppercase form.

Word also accepts hexadecimal Unicode. Type 00E4 and press Alt+X for ä, or use the values in the first table. This is especially handy for uppercase Ÿ, which many keyboards hide.

Excel and PowerPoint can use the operating-system shortcut or Insert → Symbol. Do not confuse a typed umlaut character with a font effect: ä is a single searchable letter, not a plain a with two manually positioned periods.

Microsoft lists these sequences in its Word and Outlook accent-shortcut reference.

Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Chromebook

In Google Docs, choose Insert → Special characters and search for “a with diaeresis,” “o with diaeresis,” or another Unicode name. Searching “umlaut” may work, but the formal Unicode names use diaeresis.

Google Sheets relies mainly on the device keyboard. Copying once or switching the input layout is faster than reopening a character window for every cell.

Chromebook users can hold a vowel where the accent menu is supported, or add US International/German in keyboard input settings. Google’s Chromebook accent guide lists the available international-key combinations.

iPhone, iPad, and Android

Touch and hold the plain vowel, then slide to the version with two dots before lifting your finger. The gesture works for common umlaut/diaeresis letters on Apple’s keyboard and Gboard.

If the expected character is missing, add German, French, or the relevant language in keyboard settings. A German mobile keyboard also improves word suggestions and makes ä, ö, and ü easier to reach during full-sentence typing.

Umlaut versus diaeresis

The marks look identical, but the language decides what they mean. German umlaut changes the vowel quality and can distinguish related forms: Buch (“book”) becomes Bücher (“books”), with u changing to ü.

A diaeresis usually tells readers that a vowel begins a separate syllable rather than joining the vowel before it. Examples include French Noël and the English spelling naïve. The same Unicode character is used; the terminology describes its job.

German typically uses ä, ö, and ü, while other language families assign the same mark a different job. Continue through FluentSlang’s broader Meaning archive or use letters with accents for the larger copy library.

The focused guides for E with an accent and N with an accent cover marks that behave differently. Spanish learners can see language in context through Spanish slang for friend, while the arrow symbol library handles non-letter characters.

Troubleshooting

Quotation marks appear instead of an umlaut

The international dead key either is not active or was followed by Spacebar. Confirm the layout with Windows+Space, press the quotation-mark key once, and then type the vowel.

Two separate dots appear beside the letter

Do not construct the letter with punctuation. Use the precomposed Unicode character from the table, a proper dead key, or Word’s Unicode conversion.

Alt codes do nothing

Use the numeric keypad with Num Lock enabled and include the leading zero. Remote-desktop software and some web applications can intercept Alt, so switch to a symbol picker when necessary.

The dots disappear in uppercase text

Correct German uppercase Ä, Ö, and Ü retain their marks. A font with poor small-cap support may render them badly, but removing the umlaut changes the spelling.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Mac shortcut for an umlaut?

Press Option+U, release, then type the vowel. Use Shift with the vowel for uppercase.

What is the Word shortcut?

Press Ctrl+Shift+:, release, then type A, E, I, O, U, or Y.

Is ü always German?

No. Many languages use ü, and Spanish uses it as a diaeresis in words such as pingüino to show that the u is pronounced.

Can I write German umlauts as ae, oe, and ue?

Those spellings are practical fallbacks when the characters are unavailable, but they are not preferable when the keyboard and font support ä, ö, and ü.