The letter F takes a diacritic in a small set of Unicode characters: Ḟ and ḟ (F with a dot above) and Ƒ and ƒ (F with a hook). The quickest ways to type them are Word’s Alt+X method—type the hex code, then press Alt+X, or copying the exact glyph you need from the table below. Every code point, Word shortcut, and HTML form is listed so you can pick whichever route fits the app you’re in.
F accent characters at a glance
| Glyph | Character name | Code point | Windows Alt code | Word (Alt+X) | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ḟ | Latin capital letter F with dot above | U+1E1E | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 1E1E then Alt+X | Type 1E1E, then Alt+X | Ḟ |
| ḟ | Latin small letter F with dot above | U+1E1F | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 1E1F then Alt+X | Type 1E1F, then Alt+X | ḟ |
| Ƒ | Latin capital letter F with hook | U+0191 | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 0191 then Alt+X | Type 0191, then Alt+X | Ƒ |
| ƒ | Latin small letter F with hook | U+0192 | Alt+0131 | Type 0192, then Alt+X | ƒ |
Which accent marks these characters use
Two different features are at work in this set, and neither is a stress or tone accent in the everyday sense. The dot above in Ḟ and ḟ is a diacritic placed over the letter, while the hook in Ƒ and ƒ is a structural change to the letterform itself. That is why the two pairs can look quite different from one another.
Each mark comes in a matched case pair. Ḟ is the uppercase form and ḟ the lowercase form of the dotted F, and Ƒ and ƒ are the uppercase and lowercase hooked F. They are separate Unicode characters, so uppercasing ḟ should return Ḟ rather than a plain F—though some fonts and apps handle that case mapping imperfectly.
The small hooked f, ƒ, is the same character widely known as the florin sign and used as a function symbol in mathematics. Because it serves those roles, it appears in far more fonts than the other three, which are less common and more likely to be missing from decorative typefaces.
How to type F with an accent on every platform
Windows
Windows has no dead-key shortcut for these letters, so use one of two reliable routes. Open Character Map (search “charmap” in the Start menu), locate the glyph, and copy it, or use the Word method below and paste the result. The small hooked f is the one exception here: with Num Lock on, hold Alt and type 0131 on the numeric keypad to produce ƒ.
Mac
macOS does not offer F diacritics through the usual long-press accent popover. The dependable path is the Character Viewer: press Control+Command+Space, search by name such as “f with dot above” or “f with hook,” then double-click to insert. If you enable the Unicode Hex Input keyboard in System Settings, you can also hold Option and type a four-digit hex code like 1E1E in apps that support it.
Microsoft Word
Word gives you the cleanest keyboard method. Type the hex code and immediately press Alt+X: 1E1E becomes Ḟ, 1E1F becomes ḟ, 0191 becomes Ƒ, and 0192 becomes ƒ. Insert > Symbol > More Symbols works as well, switch the subset to Latin Extended to browse the characters visually.
Excel and PowerPoint
Neither app supports Alt+X, so use Insert > Symbol in both and pick the character from the Latin Extended range. In Excel you can also build a glyph from its decimal code with a formula: =UNICHAR(7710) returns Ḟ, and 7711, 401, and 402 return the other three. For a single character in PowerPoint, pasting from the table is usually fastest.
Google Docs and Sheets
In Google Docs, open Insert > Special characters and search “f with dot above” or draw the shape in the sketch box. Google Sheets has no special-character menu, so use the CHAR function—=CHAR(7710) yields Ḟ, or paste the glyph directly into the cell.
iPhone and Android
Mobile keyboards don’t offer these forms when you long-press the F key, so copy and paste is the most dependable approach on both iPhone and Android. Copy the character from this page or a note and it will carry into any app. Gboard and several third-party keyboards also let you paste from a clipboard manager for repeat use.
Chromebook
On a Chromebook, use Unicode input inside any text field: hold Ctrl+Shift+U, type the hex code such as 1e1e, then press Enter or Space. The underlined code converts to the finished character. If that shortcut is turned off, the Google Docs special-character picker still works in the browser.
Notion, Slack, Discord and Canva
These apps have no built-in symbol picker for Latin diacritics, so paste the glyph you copied from the table. It renders reliably in Notion pages, Slack and Discord messages, and Canva text boxes because each one is a standard Unicode code point. For characters you use often, keep them in a saved snippet or pinned message.
If you move between accented letters a lot, our on-screen accent keyboard tool lets you click and copy them without memorising any codes.
Precomposed characters versus combining marks
Ḟ can exist in two forms that look identical on screen. One is the single precomposed code point U+1E1E; the other is a plain F followed by a combining dot above (U+0307), which stacks the mark onto the base letter. Your eyes can’t tell them apart, but software can.
The distinction matters the moment text is compared rather than just displayed. A filename, password field, search box, or database lookup treats the two byte sequences as different strings, so a search for the precomposed Ḟ can miss text that was built from combining marks, and copy/paste between systems can silently switch one form for the other.
Unicode normalization resolves this. NFC composes characters into their precomposed forms, while NFD splits them apart into base plus combining marks. When in doubt, prefer the precomposed characters in the table and normalise to NFC, the most widely compatible form for web forms, URLs, and file systems.
Troubleshooting
- Empty box or question mark: the font lacks the glyph. Switch to a broad Unicode font such as Segoe UI, Arial, or Noto Sans; the hooked and dotted forms are missing from many decorative fonts.
- Wrong character: it’s easy to confuse Ƒ (capital F with hook) with ƒ (small f with hook, the florin), and to mistake a dot above for another mark. Check the code point in the table before pasting anywhere permanent.
- Alt code won’t type: Windows Alt codes need Num Lock on and a numeric keypad. On laptops without one, enable the Fn number layer or skip Alt codes and use Word’s Alt+X instead. Only ƒ has a standard Windows Alt code in this set.
- Alt+X does nothing: that shortcut is exclusive to Microsoft Word. In other apps, use their symbol picker or paste the finished character.
- Search or match fails: this is almost always a normalization mismatch between precomposed and combining forms. Normalise both the query and the stored text to NFC before comparing.
Quick examples
To type ḟ in Word, type 1E1F and press Alt+X; the code flips to the finished letter in place. To drop Ƒ into a Discord message, copy it from the table and paste, no code needed. To fill a spreadsheet column with dotted capitals, enter =UNICHAR(7710) in Excel or =CHAR(7710) in Google Sheets.
Related guides
If you work with other letters that take similar marks, these guides use the same methods you just learned:
- E with Accent: every way to type it on a keyboard
- How to type G with an accent mark
- H with Accent: every way to type it on a keyboard
- Typing C with accents on Windows, Mac and mobile
For the full reference across the alphabet, see the complete guide to typing accented letters, or browse more accented-letter guides for a specific character.
Frequently asked questions
Is ƒ the same as the florin or function symbol?
Yes. U+0192 is one character that serves as the small f with hook, the florin currency sign, and the mathematical function symbol. They are the same code point, not separate characters.
Does F with a dot above have a Windows Alt code?
No. Ḟ and ḟ have no standard Windows Alt code. Type 1E1E or 1E1F in Word and press Alt+X, or copy them straight from the table above.
Why does my F accent show up as an empty box?
The font you’re using doesn’t include that glyph. Switch to a comprehensive Unicode font such as Noto Sans, Arial, or Segoe UI and the character will display correctly.
What’s the difference between Ḟ and an F with a combining dot?
Ḟ is a single precomposed code point (U+1E1E), while the combining version is a plain F followed by U+0307. They look identical but count as different text in searches, filenames, and comparisons.
Can I type these letters on my phone?
Not from the standard keyboard, since long-pressing F offers no accented options. Copy and paste the character instead; it works reliably in every app on iPhone and Android.
Why won’t Alt+X convert my code outside Word?
Alt+X is a Microsoft Word feature only. Other programs need their own symbol picker or a character you’ve pasted in from elsewhere.
How do I make sure a search finds my accented F?
Normalise both your search term and the stored text to NFC so that precomposed and combining forms match. Otherwise two visually identical strings can fail to compare as equal.