If you create documents in languages other than English, you may need to use accented characters. In this article, we’ll look at adding the following accent marks to the letter U:
- Acute accent (Ú or ú)
- Grave accent (Ù or ù)
- Circumflex accent (Û or û)
- Umlaut accent (Ü or ü)
If you want to continue learning about Microsoft Word, I have other articles that talk about how to add letters with accents to a document.
Are you ready to add some diacritical marks to the letter U? I know I am!
3 Ways to Type the Letter U with an Accent Mark in Microsoft Word
Each of these techniques do exactly the same thing – they allow you to type the letter U with an accent in Microsoft Word. Choose the method you’re most comfortable with.
Method #1: Add U with Accent Using the Insert Symbol Dialog Box
To add the letter U with an accent using the Insert Symbol dialog box:
- Select the Insert tab on the ribbon in Microsoft Word then click Symbol in the Symbols group .
- Click More Symbols.
The character map dialog appears displaying symbols and special characters. - Select the Symbols tab, if necessary then choose (normal text) from the font drop-down menu.
- Scroll through the list of symbols and select an accented character.
- Click Insert then click Close.
In the screenshot above, I selected the letter U with an acute accent mark (ú).
Method #2: Use the Alt Key and Numeric Keypad
You can enter alt codes with your numeric keypad to add accented characters to your Word document. This method is often quicker than using the Insert Symbol dialog box.
Hold the Alt key as you type the following four digit codes on your numeric keypad:
- Alt + 0218 for Ú, upper case U with acute accent
- Alt + 0250 for ú, lower case u with acute accent
- Alt + 0217 for Ù, upper case U with grave accent
- Alt + 0249 for ù, lower case u with grave accent
- Alt + 0219 for Û, upper case U with circumflex accent
- Alt + 0251 for û, lower case u with circumflex accent
- Alt + 0220 for Ü, upper case U with umlaut accent
- Alt + 0252 for ü, lower case u with umlaut accent
These shortcuts work well if you have a full size keyboard layout with a numeric keypad – just make sure your num lock key is enabled.
If you’re working on a laptop without a numeric keypad, you likely don’t have a full size keyboard layout. This method probably won’t work. If you’re stuck, you can always copy and paste the accented u letters from this article into your Microsoft Word document!
Method #3: Use Ctrl Shortcut Keys to Add U with Accent
You can leverage Ctrl keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Word to add the letter U with an accent mark.
Here are the keyboard shortcuts:
- Ctrl + ‘ then press U for upper case Ú with an acute accent
- Ctrl + ‘ then press u for lower case ú with an acute accent
- Ctrl + ` then press U for upper case Ù with a grave accent
- Ctrl + ` then press u for lower case ù with a grave accent
- Ctrl + ^ (Ctrl + Shift + 6) then press U for upper case Û with a circumflex accent
- Ctrl + ^ (Ctrl + Shift + 6) then press u for lower case û with a circumflex accent
- Ctrl + : (Ctrl + Shift + semi-colon) then press U for upper case Ü with an umlaut accent
- Ctrl + : (Ctrl + Shift + semi-colon) then press u for lower case ü with an umlaut accent
I love these shortcuts because the symbol you type when you press Ctrl resembles the accent marks that appear above the letter U.
It’s Easy to Add the Letter U with an Accent Mark to a Word Document
Whether you need to type a U with an accent or add other accented letters to Microsoft Word, you can do it using one of the techniques mentioned above.
Who knew typing accents was this easy!