Spanish Keyboard

How to type Spanish accents with this keyboard

There are three ways to type Spanish characters here. Use whichever feels quickest:

1. Click or tap the blue accent buttons above the keyboard. Hold Shift while clicking (or press Shift on the on-screen keyboard first) for capitals such as Á or Ñ.
2. Alt shortcuts: hold Alt (Option on a Mac) and press the letter. Alt+A gives á, Alt+N gives ñ, and pressing Alt+U twice gives ü. Alt+? types ¿ and Alt+! types ¡.
3. Quick codes: switch on quick codes and type a letter followed by a symbol: a' → á, u" → ü, n~ → ñ, ?? → ¿, !! → ¡. Handy if you type fast and don't want to reach for the mouse.

Prefer a real Spanish layout? Choose Spain layout above the text box. Your keyboard then types like one bought in Spain: ñ sits next to L, and the ´ key adds an accent to the next vowel.

Spanish keyboard layout (Spain)

Keyboards sold in Spain put ñ right of L and have two accent keys: ´ (with ¨ on Shift) next to ñ, and ` (with ^ on Shift) right of P. Press the accent key, then the vowel: ´ then a gives á. The small letter on each key is the US key in the same place. Latin American keyboards are similar, with ñ in the same spot but some symbols moved.

Spanish accents and special characters

Spanish uses only a handful of special characters. Here is each one, with an example and the codes to type it elsewhere.

When do Spanish words take an accent?

• Stress that breaks the usual rule. Words ending in a vowel, n or s are normally stressed on the second-to-last syllable; words ending in other consonants on the last. An accent marks the exceptions: canción, café, árbol, música.
• Words that would otherwise look the same: sí (yes) vs si (if), tú (you) vs tu (your), él (he) vs el (the), más (more) vs mas (but).
• Question words: qué, cómo, dónde, cuándo, quién, cuál, por qué.
• ü is only used in güe and güi, to show the u is pronounced: pingüino, vergüenza.
• ñ is its own letter, not an n with decoration: año (year) and ano mean very different things.
• ¿ and ¡ open every question and exclamation: ¿Cómo estás? ¡Qué bien!

How to type Spanish accents on your own computer or phone

Mac

• Option+E, then the vowel: á é í ó ú
• Option+N, then N: ñ
• Option+U, then U: ü
• Option+Shift+?: ¿ and Option+1: ¡
• Or press and hold a letter key to pick an accent from the pop-up.

Windows

• Hold Alt and type the code on the number pad (see the table above), e.g. Alt+0241 for ñ.
• No number pad? Add the United States-International keyboard (Settings → Time & language → Language & region → ⋯ next to your language → Language options → Add a keyboard). Then type ' followed by a vowel for á, ~ then n for ñ, " then u for ü, and Right Alt+? for ¿.

Microsoft Word

• Ctrl+', then the vowel: á é í ó ú
• Ctrl+Shift+~, then n: ñ
• Ctrl+Shift+:, then u: ü
• Alt+Ctrl+Shift+?: ¿ and Alt+Ctrl+Shift+!: ¡

Google Docs

Use Insert → Special characters and search for the letter, or type the text here and paste it in.

Chromebook

Add the US International keyboard in Settings → Device → Keyboard and inputs → Input settings, then switch to it with Ctrl+Space. You can also type any character with Ctrl+Shift+U, its Unicode code (e.g. f1 for ñ), then Space.

iPhone and Android

Press and hold a letter on your phone's keyboard and slide to the accented version: hold a for á, n for ñ, ? for ¿. You can also add a Spanish keyboard in your phone's language settings.

Frequently asked questions