Mac Option key characters
Hold Option, or Option and Shift, and most keys on a Mac type a symbol: π, ©, €, —. Switch layers on the keyboard below, find the key for a character, or click a key to copy what it types.
Showing what each key types with Option. Peach keys are accents that wait for the next letter.
Option+P types π
Greek small letter pi · U+03C0
Accents with dead keys
Press the Option combination, let go, then type the letter. Click a letter to copy it.
Option+`thenletter Grave accent
Option+Ethenletter Acute accent
Option+Ithenletter Circumflex
Option+Nthenletter Tilde
Option+Uthenletter Umlaut (diaeresis)
How the Option key works
The Option key (⌥, also marked alt on many keyboards) switches a Mac keyboard to a second layer of characters, and Option with Shift to a third. Nothing needs installing: the characters are part of the keyboard layout. This page shows the U.S. layout; the ABC layout types the same characters on these keys, while other layouts, such as British or French, move them around.
Five combinations are dead keys: Option+E, Option+U, Option+I, Option+N and Option+` type nothing at first, and the next letter comes out accented. Type a space instead of a letter to get the accent on its own. You can also hold down a letter key for a moment and pick an accent from the menu that appears.
One character is special: Option+Shift+K types the Apple logo, which sits in Unicode's private use area and only shows up as the logo on Apple devices.
Every Option key character on the U.S. layout
| Key | Option + key | Option + Shift + key |
|---|---|---|
| ` | ` Grave accent, dead key: type a letter next | ` Grave accent |
| 1 | ¡ Inverted exclamation mark | ⁄ Fraction slash |
| 2 | ™ Trade mark sign | € Euro sign |
| 3 | £ Pound sign | ‹ Single left-pointing angle quotation mark |
| 4 | ¢ Cent sign | › Single right-pointing angle quotation mark |
| 5 | ∞ Infinity | fi Latin small ligature fi |
| 6 | § Section sign | fl Latin small ligature fl |
| 7 | ¶ Pilcrow sign | ‡ Double dagger |
| 8 | • Bullet | ° Degree sign |
| 9 | ª Feminine ordinal indicator | · Middle dot |
| 0 | º Masculine ordinal indicator | ‚ Single low-9 quotation mark |
| - | – En dash | — Em dash |
| = | ≠ Not equal to | ± Plus-minus sign |
| Q | œ Latin small ligature oe | Œ Latin capital ligature oe |
| W | ∑ N-ary summation | „ Double low-9 quotation mark |
| E | ´ Acute accent, dead key: type a letter next | ´ Acute accent |
| R | ® Registered sign | ‰ Per mille sign |
| T | † Dagger | ˇ Caron |
| Y | ¥ Yen sign | Á Latin capital letter a with acute |
| U | ¨ Diaeresis, dead key: type a letter next | ¨ Diaeresis |
| I | ˆ Modifier letter circumflex accent, dead key: type a letter next | ˆ Modifier letter circumflex accent |
| O | ø Latin small letter o with stroke | Ø Latin capital letter o with stroke |
| P | π Greek small letter pi | ∏ N-ary product |
| [ | “ Left double quotation mark | ” Right double quotation mark |
| ] | ‘ Left single quotation mark | ’ Right single quotation mark |
| \ | « Left-pointing double angle quotation mark | » Right-pointing double angle quotation mark |
| A | å Latin small letter a with ring above | Å Latin capital letter a with ring above |
| S | ß Latin small letter sharp s | Í Latin capital letter i with acute |
| D | ∂ Partial differential | Î Latin capital letter i with circumflex |
| F | ƒ Latin small letter f with hook | Ï Latin capital letter i with diaeresis |
| G | © Copyright sign | ˝ Double acute accent |
| H | ˙ Dot above | Ó Latin capital letter o with acute |
| J | ∆ Increment | Ô Latin capital letter o with circumflex |
| K | ˚ Ring above | Apple logo (private use character) |
| L | ¬ Not sign | Ò Latin capital letter o with grave |
| ; | … Horizontal ellipsis | Ú Latin capital letter u with acute |
| ' | æ Latin small letter ae | Æ Latin capital letter ae |
| Z | Ω Greek capital letter omega | ¸ Cedilla |
| X | ≈ Almost equal to | ˛ Ogonek |
| C | ç Latin small letter c with cedilla | Ç Latin capital letter c with cedilla |
| V | √ Square root | ◊ Lozenge |
| B | ∫ Integral | ı Latin small letter dotless i |
| N | ˜ Small tilde, dead key: type a letter next | ˜ Small tilde |
| M | µ Micro sign | Â Latin capital letter a with circumflex |
| , | ≤ Less-than or equal to | ¯ Macron |
| . | ≥ Greater-than or equal to | ˘ Breve |
| / | ÷ Division sign | ¿ Inverted question mark |
| Space | NBSP No-break space | NBSP No-break space |
Letters you can make with dead keys
| Accent | Keys | Letters you can make |
|---|---|---|
| Grave accent | Option+`, then the letter | à è ì ò ù À È Ì Ò Ù |
| Acute accent | Option+E, then the letter | á é í ó ú Á É Í Ó Ú |
| Circumflex | Option+I, then the letter | â ê î ô û Â Ê Î Ô Û |
| Tilde | Option+N, then the letter | ã ñ õ Ã Ñ Õ |
| Umlaut (diaeresis) | Option+U, then the letter | ä ë ï ö ü ÿ Ä Ë Ï Ö Ü Ÿ |
Questions
How do I type é on a Mac?
Press Option+E, let go, then press E. The same dead key gives á, í, ó and ú; for a capital, hold Shift as you press the letter.
How do I type the euro sign or the degree symbol on a Mac?
On the U.S. layout, Option+Shift+2 types € and Option+Shift+8 types °. Other keyboard layouts can put them on different keys, so check the Keyboard Viewer if yours is not U.S. or ABC.
How can I see these characters on my own screen?
Choose Show Keyboard Viewer from the input menu in the menu bar (turn that menu on in Keyboard settings), then hold Option, or Option and Shift, and watch the keys change.