The most common N with accent is ñ. On Windows, hold Alt and type 0241 on the numeric keypad for ñ, or 0209 for Ñ.
On Mac, press Option+n, release, then press n again. The other accented forms (ń ņ ň Ń Ņ Ň) have no standard Windows Alt code, so use the Word Alt+X method or Character Map below.
Click any glyph above to copy it. If you only need one character once, that is the fastest route on any device. For repeated typing, pick the method that matches your keyboard below.
Quick reference: every N with accent
This table lists all eight accented N characters with a verified Alt code where one exists. The Alt code column takes decimal digits on the numeric keypad; the Word column takes the hexadecimal code point followed by Alt+X. They are different numbers, so do not swap them.
| Glyph | Name | Unicode (hex) | Windows Alt code (decimal) | Word: type then Alt+X | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ñ | Small n with tilde | U+00F1 | Alt+0241 | 00F1 | ñ |
| Ñ | Capital N with tilde | U+00D1 | Alt+0209 | 00D1 | Ñ |
| ń | Small n with acute | U+0144 | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 0144 then Alt+X | 0144 | ń |
| Ń | Capital N with acute | U+0143 | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 0143 then Alt+X | 0143 | Ń |
| ņ | Small n with cedilla | U+0146 | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 0146 then Alt+X | 0146 | ņ |
| Ņ | Capital N with cedilla | U+0145 | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 0145 then Alt+X | 0145 | Ņ |
| ň | Small n with caron | U+0148 | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 0148 then Alt+X | 0148 | ň |
| Ň | Capital N with caron | U+0147 | No standard Windows Alt code; Word: 0147 then Alt+X | 0147 | Ň |
The four accent marks on N
This set uses four different diacritics, and each one changes the character’s identity, not just its look. Mixing them up produces the wrong letter, so it helps to know them apart before you type.
- Tilde (ñ Ñ) — the wavy line on top, U+00F1 and U+00D1.
- Acute (ń Ń), a single stroke rising to the right, U+0144 and U+0143.
- Cedilla (ņ Ņ), a hook attached below the letter, U+0146 and U+0145.
- Caron (ň Ň), a small v-shaped wedge on top, U+0148 and U+0147.
Uppercase and lowercase are separate Unicode characters with their own code points. Ñ is not “ñ made bigger”, it has its own value, its own Alt code, and its own HTML entity. When you hold Shift, or when a caps-lock rule fires in a form, the software swaps to the matching capital code point for you.
Windows
Alt codes need the numeric keypad on the right of a full keyboard, with Num Lock on. The row of numbers above the letters will not work. On a laptop without a keypad, see the options at the end of this section or our guide to typing accents without a numeric keypad.
- ñ, hold Alt, type 0241, release Alt.
- Ñ, hold Alt, type 0209, release Alt.
The acute, cedilla, and caron forms have no Alt code, so use Character Map instead. Press the Windows key, type charmap, and open it. Find the character, click Select, then Copy, and paste it where you need it.
If you type Spanish often, add the US-International keyboard under Settings → Time & Language → Language. It turns the tilde key into a dead key: press ~ then n for ñ.
Mac
Mac has no Alt codes. It uses Option-key dead keys and the Character Viewer instead.
- ñ / Ñ, press Option+n, release, then type n (or Shift+n for the capital). This works on every standard Mac layout.
- ń / ň — switch to the ABC Extended layout, then use the acute dead key Option+e then n, and the caron dead key Option+v then n.
- ņ / Ņ, the cedilla-on-n forms are not on standard layouts, so open the Character Viewer.
Open the Character Viewer any time with Control+Command+Space. Search for “n with caron” or paste a code point into the search box, then double-click to insert.
Word, and the same route in PowerPoint
Word has the most reliable method for every character in this set, including the six with no Alt code. Type the hex code point from the table, then press Alt+X, and Word converts it in place.
- Type 0148 then press Alt+X → ň
- Type 0143 then press Alt+X → Ń
Watch the character just before the cursor. If letters sit in front of the code, Word may read too many digits, put a space before the code or select only the four characters first. Alt+X also works in Outlook and OneNote.
The menu route works everywhere in Office: Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, set the subset to Latin Extended-A, pick the character, and click Insert. The same Insert → Symbol dialog is in PowerPoint, so you do not need a separate method there. To make ñ automatic, add it under File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect and map a shortcut like n~ to ñ.
Excel and Google Sheets
Alt+X does not work in Excel. For the tilde forms, the Alt codes still work: Alt+0241 for ñ, Alt+0209 for Ñ, typed on the numeric keypad while editing a cell. For any character, use the UNICHAR function with the decimal value:
=UNICHAR(324)→ ń=UNICHAR(328)→ ň=UNICHAR(209)→ Ñ
The decimal value equals the hex code point converted to base 10. U+0148 is 328.
Google Sheets has no Insert Symbol menu, but the same =UNICHAR() formula works, and you can paste from the copy buttons above. In a Sheets cell, press F2 to enter edit mode before pasting.
Google Docs
Go to Insert → Special characters. Type a name such as “latin small letter n with acute” into the search box, or draw the accent in the sketch pad on the right, then click the result to drop it into your document.
For frequent use, set up Tools → Preferences → Substitutions and map a shortcut like nn to ñ. Docs then swaps it as you type.
iPhone and Android
On both phones, press and hold the n key on the on-screen keyboard. A small popup shows the accented options, slide onto ñ, ń, ň, or ņ and lift your finger. Hold N after tapping Shift for the capitals.
If ñ is missing from the popup, add a Spanish keyboard: on iPhone under Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards, on Android under Settings → System → Languages & input. For anything you type often, create a text replacement (iPhone: Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement) so a short trigger expands to the full character.
Chromebook
ChromeOS has no Alt codes, and a USB numpad will not change that. Use the Unicode shortcut instead: hold Ctrl+Shift+U, release, type the hex code, then press Enter or Space. Type the code only, with no U+ prefix.
- Ctrl+Shift+U, then 00f1, then Enter → ñ
- Ctrl+Shift+U, then 0148, then Enter → ň
An underlined u appears while you type the code to confirm input mode. Some web fields swallow the shortcut; if nothing appears, use the emoji and symbol picker at Launcher+Shift+Space, or paste from the buttons above.
Notion, Slack, Discord, and Canva
None of these apps has a dedicated accent shortcut. The reliable method is the same in all four: copy the character from the widget at the top of this page and paste it. On desktop they also accept your operating system’s input, so a Mac Option+n or a Windows Alt+0241 typed into the message box works normally.
For a name or brand you paste often, say Español in Slack, set a text replacement. Slack does not have its own, so rely on the macOS or Windows system replacement, and the accented character will expand inside Slack too.
HTML and CSS for the web
In HTML, use the entity from the reference table. Named entities exist only for the tilde forms (ñ and Ñ); the rest use numeric entities like ń for ń. Both decimal (ń) and hex (ń) forms are valid, note the x on the hex version.
In CSS content, escape with a backslash and the hex code point, for example content: "\0148". If your page is saved as UTF-8, you can also paste the raw character straight into the markup with no escape at all.
Precomposed characters vs combining marks
Every glyph in the table is a precomposed character: a single code point that already carries its accent, like ñ at U+00F1. There is a second way to build the same shape — type a plain n followed by a combining tilde (U+0303). It looks identical on screen but is two code points, not one.
That difference is invisible until it matters. Search, sorting, filenames, and form validation compare the underlying bytes, so a combined n + ◌̃ and a precomposed ñ can fail to match each other even though they look the same. Copy and paste can carry either version.
The fix is normalization. Systems apply Unicode NFC to fold the two-code-point form into the single precomposed character.
When a filename or password with ñ “works on one site but not another,” this mismatch is usually why. Sticking to the precomposed characters in this guide avoids it in most cases.
Troubleshooting
The Alt code gives the wrong character. The tilde forms only respond to the leading-zero codes 0241 and 0209, read from the Windows-1252 table.
A zero-less code like Alt+0241 reads from the old OEM code page instead and produces a different symbol, and that symbol varies by region. CP437 on US machines, CP850 across the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia. Always keep the leading zero.
Nothing happens when you type the Alt code. Num Lock is probably off, or you used the top-row number keys.
Alt codes only read the numeric keypad. On a keypad-less laptop, use Character Map, the Word Alt+X method, or paste.
You get a box, a question mark, or a blank. The font lacks that glyph.
The acute, cedilla, and caron forms live in the Latin Extended-A block, which some decorative and older fonts skip. Switch to Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or another broad font and the character appears.
You typed the wrong accent. ń (acute) and ñ (tilde) are easy to confuse at small sizes, and ň (caron) reads as a tiny v rather than a check. Compare against the reference table, and remember the cedilla (ņ) hangs below the letter, not above it.
Word “corrects” your character. AutoCorrect or autocapitalization can flip a lowercase form after a period. Undo once with Ctrl+Z right after the change to keep your typed character, or turn off the rule under AutoCorrect Options.
Where these letters are used
You will meet ñ most in Spanish words like año and señor, and in names such as Núñez. The acute ń and caron ň appear in Polish, Czech, and Slovak text; ņ, the cedilla form, shows up in Latvian. All eight turn up in personal names, place names, and brand spellings that any English keyboard still has to reproduce correctly.
Related letters and marks
- O with accents, ó ô õ ö and more, the vowel you will type right after ñ in Spanish words.
- M with an accent mark, rarer than N, and useful when a name pairs the two.
- L with accents, including the Polish ł, often typed alongside ń.
- K with accent, the caron and cedilla forms that mirror ň and ņ.
- P with an accent mark, for the less common Latin Extended letters.
Frequently asked questions
Is ñ the same letter as n in Spanish?
No. In Spanish, ñ is a separate letter of the alphabet with its own sound and its own dictionary position after n. Replacing ñ with a plain n changes the word, so año and ano are not the same.
Why does my ñ break in a filename or URL?
Some systems store ñ as the two-part combining form (n plus a combining tilde) while others expect the single precomposed U+00F1. When the two do not match, the name fails to resolve. Re-typing the character from a source that uses the precomposed form usually fixes it.
What is the difference between ń and ñ?
ń carries an acute accent, a single stroke leaning right, and is common in Polish. ñ carries a tilde, the wavy line, and is Spanish. They are different code points (U+0144 and U+00F1) and are not interchangeable.
Can I type ń on a normal US keyboard without switching layouts?
Not with a single keystroke. Use the Word method (type 0144 then Alt+X), Character Map on Windows, the Character Viewer on Mac, or paste it. Adding a keyboard layout is only worth it if you type Polish regularly.
Why do the caron and cedilla forms have no Alt code?
Windows Alt codes with a leading zero cover the Windows-1252 character set, which only includes ñ and Ñ from this group. The acute, cedilla, and caron letters sit outside that set, so there is no genuine Alt code for them, use Alt+X in Word or Character Map instead.
Why does ň look like an N with a little v?
That mark is a caron (also called a háček). It genuinely is a small v-shaped wedge, so the character is displaying correctly. It is different from the caret ^ and from the breve, which is curved rather than pointed.
Related guides and tools
Working through a whole word or a full name? The complete guide to typing accented letters covers every diacritic in one place, and you can browse more accented-letter guides by letter. To build a character without memorizing codes, open the on-screen accent keyboard and click the mark you need.