Complete Mac OS Special Character Combinations – The Ultimate 2025 Guide By Roman Guliev February 27, 2025
Unlike Windows Alt codes, macOS uses Option key (⌥) combinations to input special characters. Here's a comprehensive guide to accessing special characters on macOS.
Tips for macOS Special Characters
These combinations work across most macOS applications
Some combinations are sequential (press first key combination, release, then press the letter)
Keyboard layouts may affect some combinations
You can set up Text Replacement (System Preferences → Keyboard → Text) for frequently used characters
For language-specific layouts, switch your input source in the menu bar
Common Symbol Combinations
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
⌥ + 1
¡
Inverted exclamation
⌥ + Shift + 1
⁄
Fraction slash
⌥ + 2
™
Trademark
⌥ + Shift + 2
€
Euro sign
⌥ + 3
£
Pound sterling
⌥ + Shift + 3
‹
Left angle quote
⌥ + 4
¢
Cent
⌥ + Shift + 4
›
Right angle quote
⌥ + 5
∞
Infinity
⌥ + Shift + 5
fi
fi ligature
⌥ + 6
§
Section
⌥ + Shift + 6
fl
fl ligature
⌥ + 7
¶
Paragraph
⌥ + Shift + 7
‡
Double dagger
⌥ + 8
•
Bullet
⌥ + Shift + 8
°
Degree
⌥ + 9
ª
Feminine ordinal
⌥ + Shift + 9
·
Middle dot
⌥ + 0
º
Masculine ordinal
⌥ + Shift + 0
‚
Single low quotation
Letters with Accents
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
⌥ + e, then a
á
a with acute
⌥ + e, then e
é
e with acute
⌥ + e, then i
í
i with acute
⌥ + e, then o
ó
o with acute
⌥ + e, then u
ú
u with acute
⌥ + e, then y
ý
y with acute
⌥ + u, then a
ä
a with umlaut
⌥ + u, then e
ë
e with umlaut
⌥ + u, then i
ï
i with umlaut
⌥ + u, then o
ö
o with umlaut
⌥ + u, then u
ü
u with umlaut
⌥ + u, then y
ÿ
y with umlaut
⌥ + i, then a
â
a with circumflex
⌥ + i, then e
ê
e with circumflex
⌥ + i, then i
î
i with circumflex
⌥ + i, then o
ô
o with circumflex
⌥ + i, then u
û
u with circumflex
⌥ + `, then a
à
a with grave
⌥ + `, then e
è
e with grave
⌥ + `, then i
ì
i with grave
⌥ + `, then o
ò
o with grave
⌥ + `, then u
ù
u with grave
⌥ + n, then a
ã
a with tilde
⌥ + n, then n
ñ
n with tilde
⌥ + n, then o
õ
o with tilde
⌥ + c, then c
ç
c with cedilla
Mathematical and Technical Symbols
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
⌥ + p
π
Pi
⌥ + Shift + p
∏
Product sign
⌥ + s
ß
Sharp s (eszett)
⌥ + Shift + s
Í
I with acute
⌥ + d
∂
Partial differential
⌥ + Shift + d
Î
I with circumflex
⌥ + f
ƒ
Function
⌥ + Shift + f
Ï
I with umlaut
⌥ + g
©
Copyright
⌥ + Shift + g
Ì
I with grave
⌥ + h
˙
Dot above
⌥ + Shift + h
Ó
O with acute
⌥ + j
∆
Increment
⌥ + Shift + j
Ô
O with circumflex
⌥ + k
˚
Ring
⌥ + Shift + k
Apple logo (in some fonts)
⌥ + l
¬
Not sign
⌥ + Shift + l
Ò
O with grave
⌥ + z
Ω
Omega
⌥ + Shift + z
¸
Cedilla
⌥ + x
≈
Almost equal
⌥ + Shift + x
˝
Double acute accent
⌥ + c
ç
c with cedilla
⌥ + Shift + c
Ç
C with cedilla
⌥ + v
√
Square root
⌥ + Shift + v
◊
Diamond
⌥ + b
∫
Integral
⌥ + Shift + b
ı
Dotless i
⌥ + m
µ
Micro
⌥ + Shift + m
Â
A with circumflex
⌥ + w
∑
Sum sign
⌥ + Shift + w
„
Double low-9 quotation
⌥ + q
œ
oe ligature
⌥ + Shift + q
Œ
OE ligature
⌥ + r
®
Registered
⌥ + Shift + r
‰
Per mille
⌥ + t
†
Dagger
⌥ + Shift + t
ˇ
Caron
⌥ + y
¥
Yen
⌥ + Shift + y
Á
A with acute
⌥ + u
¨
Umlaut
⌥ + Shift + u
¨
Umlaut
⌥ + i
ˆ
Circumflex
⌥ + Shift + i
ˆ
Circumflex
⌥ + o
ø
o with stroke
⌥ + Shift + o
Ø
O with stroke
⌥ + -
–
En dash
⌥ + Shift + -
—
Em dash
⌥ + =
≠
Not equal
⌥ + Shift + =
±
Plus-minus
⌥ + [
"
Left double quote
⌥ + Shift + [
"
Right double quote
⌥ + ]
'
Right single quote
⌥ + Shift + ]
'
Left single quote
⌥ + \
«
Left double angle quote
⌥ + Shift + \
»
Right double angle quote
⌥ + ;
…
Ellipsis
⌥ + Shift + ;
Ú
U with acute
⌥ + '
æ
ae ligature
⌥ + Shift + '
Æ
AE ligature
⌥ + ,
≤
Less than or equal
⌥ + Shift + ,
¯
Macron
⌥ + .
≥
Greater than or equal
⌥ + Shift + .
˘
Breve
⌥ + /
÷
Division
⌥ + Shift + /
¿
Inverted question
Currency Symbols
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
⌥ + 3
£
Pound sterling
⌥ + 4
¢
Cent
⌥ + y
¥
Yen
⌥ + Shift + 2
€
Euro
⌥ + $
₽
Ruble (Russian)
⌥ + Shift + 4
$
Dollar
⌥ + Shift + b, then h
₿
Bitcoin (in newer macOS versions)
Punctuation and Quotation Marks
Key Combination
Symbol
Description
⌥ + 1
¡
Inverted exclamation
⌥ + Shift + /
¿
Inverted question
⌥ + [
"
Left double quote
⌥ + Shift + [
"
Right double quote
⌥ + ]
'
Right single quote
⌥ + Shift + ]
'
Left single quote
⌥ + \
«
Left double angle quote
⌥ + Shift + \
»
Right double angle quote
⌥ + ;
…
Ellipsis
⌥ + -
–
En dash
⌥ + Shift + -
—
Em dash
Using Character Viewer
For characters not listed above, macOS provides a Character Viewer:
Press Control + Command + Space to open Character Viewer
Browse or search for symbols
Double-click a character to insert it
Use the "Favorites" section to save frequently used characters
