How to Type Accented Characters on a Chromebook (3 Ways)

Writing in Spanish, French, or any language with accent marks gets frustrating fast on a standard US keyboard. The good news is ChromeOS has three different built-in ways to type accented characters, and none of them need an extension. Here’s the fastest method first, followed by two backups for characters the quick method can’t reach.

Method 1: Press and Hold the Letter (Fastest, No Setup)

This works right away on any Chromebook, no settings to change first.

1. Open any text field, like a Google Doc or a search bar.
2. Press and hold the base letter key, for example e.
3. A small popup appears above the key showing every accented version available, like é, è, ê, ë, each with a number underneath.
4. Press the number shown, click the character, or use the arrow keys and press Enter or Space to insert it.

Not every letter has an accented version, which is expected since plenty of letters don’t take accents in any language.

Method 2: Turn On the US International Keyboard

This is the better option if you type in another language often, since it gives you direct key combinations instead of a popup every time.

Setup, one time only:

1. Click the time in the bottom right corner, then click the gear icon for Settings.
2. Select Device, then Keyboard and inputs.
3. Click Inputs, then Add input methods.
4. Check the box for English (US) with International keyboard, then click Add.

Once it’s added, press Ctrl + Shift + Space at any time to switch between your normal keyboard and the International one. A small US or INTL label appears in your status area showing which one is active.

With the International keyboard active, use these combinations:

• Acute accent (é, á, í, ó, ú): press the AltGr key (the Alt key on the right side of your keyboard) plus the letter.
• Tilde (ñ): AltGr + n
• Umlaut (ü, ö, ä): AltGr + y, AltGr + p, or AltGr + q
• Cedilla (ç): AltGr + ,
• Circumflex (â, ê, î): Shift + 6, then the letter
• Grave accent (à, è, ì): type the backtick ` key, then the letter
• Inverted question mark (¿) and exclamation point (¡): AltGr + ? and AltGr + !

Switch back to your regular US keyboard when you’re done, otherwise punctuation like apostrophes can behave differently than you expect.

Method 3: Type Any Character With a Unicode Code

This works for characters that don’t have a dedicated key combination at all, like math symbols, currency signs, or less common letters.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U. An underlined u appears where your cursor is.
2. Type the character’s four-digit Unicode code. For ñ, that’s 00f1.
3. Press Enter or Space to convert it into the actual character.

A few useful codes to remember: 00e9 for é, 00fc for ü, 00df for the German ß, and 2014 for an em dash. You can look up any other Unicode code online by searching the character’s name plus “unicode.”

Bonus: Special Characters Inside Google Docs

If you’re writing in Docs specifically, there’s a visual picker that doesn’t require remembering any codes.

1. Click Insert, then Special characters.
2. Type a description in the search box, like “e with acute” or “n with tilde.”
3. Click the character that matches what you need.

You can also draw the character by hand in the same window, and Docs will guess which letter you meant.

Good to Know

• The press-and-hold method and the International keyboard both work in any app, not just Google Docs, including Gmail, search bars, and most Android apps.
• If you switch to the International keyboard and notice your apostrophes or quotation marks behave oddly, that’s expected. Some punctuation keys double as accent keys on that layout.
• You can add more than one input method at once and cycle through all of them with Ctrl + Shift + Space, useful if you regularly switch between two or more languages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which method should I use if I only need accents once in a while?
Press and hold the letter. It needs no setup and covers the most common accented characters instantly.

Which method is best for typing in Spanish or French every day?
Turn on the US International keyboard. The direct key combinations are faster once you’ve memorized a handful of them.

Does this work the same way on the on-screen keyboard?
Yes. Press and hold a letter on the on-screen keyboard and the same accent popup appears.

Can I type accents on a Chromebook without an internet connection?
Yes, all three methods work completely offline since they’re built into ChromeOS itself.

Between the press-and-hold popup, the International keyboard, and Unicode entry, there’s a built-in way to type just about any accented character ChromeOS supports, all without installing anything.