Using a word processor such as Microsoft Word
Using a word processor will probably be the easiest way to enter accents with your text, not only for compositions, but also for electronic messages that you can type first and then paste it into the CUBBoard. (You should also take advantages of your word processor's spelling checker—if a French dictionary is installed, it will check and correct your answers with your spelling).
Microsoft Word will allow you to insert characters with accents by clicking Insert-Symbol. Even better, however, are the keyboard shortcuts available since Word 97:
é: Press Ctrl and type '' (apostrophe). Release both keys and type 'e'.
à-è-ù: Press Ctrl and type '`' key (left-hand side, top of the keyboard). Release both keys and type 'e', 'a', or 'u'.
â-ê-î-ô-û: Press Ctrl and Shift and type '^' key. Release both keys and type 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', or 'u'.
ç: Press Ctrl, and type ',' key. Release both keys and type 'c'.
ä-ë-ï-ü: Press Ctrl, Shift, and type ':' key. Release both keys and type 'a', 'e', 'i', or 'u'.
œ: Press Ctrl, Shift, and type '&' key. Release both keys and type 'o'.
Using Extended ASCII characters
If you need to write a message directly into Columbia's electronic bulletin board—if you are, for example, at a public terminal that does not have a word processor—you will need to use Extended ASCII codes to enter accents. (You can use Extended ASCII codes in a word processor such as Microsoft Word, but they are more complicated than Word's own codes). These characters are generated by holding down the 'ALT' key and typing in a three-digit numeric code with the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard. In addition, Windows also uses an extra system of keystrokes for entering these ASCII characters, which uses 'ALT' plus a four-digit numeric code. In a Windows application, either code can be used. For example, typing ALT + 130 or ALT+ 0233 will produce 'é':
â: ALT + 131 or 0226
à: ALT + 133 or 0224
ä: ALT + 132 or 0228
ç: ALT + 135 or 0231
é: ALT + 130 or 0233
è: ALT + 138 or 0233
ê: ALT + 136 or 0234
ë: ALT + 137 or 0235
î: ALT + 140 or 0238
ï: ALT + 139 or 0239
ô: ALT + 147 or 0244
ù: ALT + 151 or 0249
û: ALT + 150 or 0251
ü: ALT + 129 or 0252
œ: ALT + 0157
For a complete table of ASCII codes, see www.asciitable.com; for a table of Windows Extended ASCII codes, see http://www.waunakee.k12.wi.us/midlschl/ascii.htm
Using a built-in keyboard
You can switch the keyboard settings to reflect the standard French keyboard layout. You might want to use stickers to indicate which keys are which, since the French keyboard is somewhat different from the standard U.S. keyboard. Check your computer's Settings folder to see if this option is available.
The iPhone's built-in keyboard lets you insert accent marks and other diacritical symbols in any iPhone app that uses it. This is very useful when you're writing in French, Spanish, or other non-English languages. Every iPhone has a set of accents and alternate characters built in, but they're not immediately apparent on the keyboard, but they're easy to find.
First, make sure you're using the iPhone's default keyboard. If you haven't installed any third-party keyboards, you're ready to go. If you do use a third-party keyboard, you'll need to use the third-party keyboard's option to switch to the iPhone keyboard.
To see the available accents and diacritical symbols, tap and hold the letter or punctuation mark you want to add the accent to. A row of accented versions of the letter will pop up. If nothing pops up, that letter or punctuation does not have an accent.
To insert the accent you want, keep holding your finger down and slide it across the screen to the accented letter you want and then remove your finger from the screen.
If you've got an iPhone with a 3D touchscreen, such as the iPhone 6, 6S series, 7 series, 8 series, or iPhone X, this is a little trickier. That's because a hard press on the keyboard activates a cursor that you can move around the screen, not the accents menu. On those devices, be careful not to push too hard on the screen when you tap and hold a letter. Doing that will make the phone think you're trying to use 3D Touch, and it won't show the accents. On those models, a light tap and hold is best.
The letters with accent options and the accents available for each letter are listed here:
Letters aren't the only keys on the iPhone's keyboard that have alternate versions. There are all sorts of hidden symbols and punctuation marks on the following characters (access them the same way you do accents, by tapping and holding to bring up the alternate characters):
The accents and special characters that come built into the iPhone are good for many uses, but they don't cover every option. If you need advanced mathematical symbols, arrows, fractions, or other specialized characters, you'll need to look elsewhere. There are a number of third-party keyboards that offer these characters.
You'll need to understand how to install third-party keyboards on your iPhone. Here are a few apps that may offer the keyboard style and character options you may need:
The words café and résumé are originally French, and in English we often write those words without the accents. In French, however, the accent marks are not optional.
French has several different accent marks, also known as “diacritics”. They serve several different purposes in the language. Sometimes they affect pronunciation, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they can completely change the meaning of a word.
Getting your accents right is the difference between being a pêcheur (fisherman) and a pécheur (sinner). Which one would you rather have on your résumé?
So let's look at the different types of French accent and how they're used. We'll cover all the different types of accent, how they're pronounced (if they're pronounced at all), and the effect they have on a word's grammar and/or meaning. We'll also look at plenty of examples of French words with accents which should help make things clear.
French uses five different types of diacritic. In no particular order, they are:
So how do you read, write, or pronounce these letters? What do the accent marks mean?
Let’s take a look at how to pronounce each of the five French accent marks. I’ll also explain the purpose of each of the accents.
The cedilla in French looks like a little squiggle beneath the letter “c”: “ç”. This accent mark only goes with the letter “c” — it's not found under any other letter.
It's a simple symbol to understand: a ç (c with a cedilla) is pronounced like an “s”.
You'll only ever see a “ç” before an “a”, “o”, or “u”. (Remember that “c” before an “e” or “i” is pronounced like an “s” anyway, so adding a cedilla wouldn't change anything.)
Two common words that contain cedillas are garçon (“boy”, or “waiter” in a restaurant) and français (French!). You can also occasionally see it in English in loanwords like façade.
The acute accent is only ever found above an “e”, as in “é”. Its role is to change the pronunciation of the vowel.
An unaccented “e” can be pronounced several different ways, but when you see “é”, there's no ambiguity. An é (e with an acute accent) is always pronounced the same way.
So what way is that? Many books and websites will tell you that “é” is pronounced like the English “ay”, as in “say” or “way”.
There's just one problem with this piece of advice: it's wrong. Sure, the “ay” sound is close to the French “é” sound, but it's not quite the same. If you pronounce “é” like an “ay”, it will be a dead giveaway that your native language is English.
To understand how “é” is pronounced, let's examine the English “ay” sound a little closer.
Try saying “say” or “way” very slowly, drawing out the vowel at the end. Notice that as you say “aaaaaay”, your tongue moves.This is because “ay” is secretly not one but two vowels said in quick succession. (Linguists call such double vowels “diphthongs”.)
The French “é” is the first of the two vowel sounds that make up the English “ay” diphthong. To pronounce “é” accurately, position your tongue like you're about to say “ay”, but once you start making noise, don't move your tongue or lips. Keep them steady for the entire duration of the sound.
As native English speakers, we often find it hard to shake the habit of “doubling up” this sound and pronouncing it like an “ay” – but with practice, you should remember.
(If you're familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet, note that the IPA for the “é” sound is /e/. Also note that the French “é” sound is the same as the Spanish “e” sound, which I explained in detail in point #2 of this article. Ek rishta full movie hd. Even if you don't speak Spanish, you may find that explanation helpful for your French).
The grave accent can be found above an “a”, an “e”, or a “u” (à/è/ù). It does a few different things.
Firstly, it's used above an “a” or “u” to distinguish words which have the same pronunciation but different meanings:
a vs à:
ça vs çà
la vs là
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ou vs où:
You can also find a grave accent in déjà (“already”) and deçà (“closer than”), although “déja” and “deça” without the accent aren't words.
Above an “a” or a “u”, a grave accent doesn't change the pronunciation. Above an “e”, however, it tells you that the vowel is pronounced “eh”, like the “e” in “get” (IPA /ɛ/).
There are many ways to pronounce an unaccented “e” in French. The grave accent makes it clear that you must say /ɛ/, when otherwise the “e” might be a different sound, or silent.
The circumflex, which looks like a little pointy hat, can be found above all five vowels in French: â, ê, î, ô, or û. Its usage is somewhat complicated.
First, it tells you how to pronounce “a”, “e”, and “o”:
When placed over an “i” or “u”, a circumflex doesn't change the pronunciation, except in the combination “eû”. Jeûne (“fast” as in a dietary fast) is pronounced differently from jeune (“young”).
So why bother writing a circumflex when it doesn't affect pronunciation? The answer takes us back hundreds of years.
Take the word forêt, which means “forest”. As you might guess, the English and French words share a common root. As time went on, French people stopped pronouncing the “s”, but they continued to write it – it was a silent letter, of which English has many.
Eventually, it was decided to change the spelling of the word to remove the superfluous “s”. But for whatever reason, the French intelligentsia didn't want to erase all trace that this “s” had ever existed – so it was decided to add a circumflex to the “e” in its place. The circumflex is an etymological tombstone – it tells you “hey, there used to be an extra letter here!”
Compare these French words to their English cognates:
Most commonly, a circumflex denotes a missing “s”, but it's sometimes used for other letters. For example, âge (age) and bâiller (to yawn) were once spelt aage and baailler.
The circumflex is also handy for distinguishing certain pairs of identically-pronounced words:
sur vs. sûr:
– sur is a preposition meaning “on”, or an adjective meaning “sour”.
– sûr means “sure” or “certain”. Note that the circumflex is still present in inflected forms like the feminine sûre, or in derived words like sûreté (security).
du vs. dû:
– du means “of the” – it's a contraction of de (of) and le (masculine form of “the”).
– dû is the past participle of devoir – “to have to”. Unlike sûr, the circumflex is not kept in the inflected forms: so it's dû in the masculine singular but due, dus, and dues in the other three forms.
mur vs. mûr:
– un mur is “a wall”.
– mûr means “ripe” or “mature”, as well as being a slang term for “drunk”. The circumflex is preserved in the inflected forms (mûre, mûrs, mûres), and in related words like mûrir (to ripen.)
Finally, we have the trema: two little dots above a letter. It can be found above an “e”, “i”, or “u”: ë, ï, ü.
The trema is also sometimes called a “diaeresis” or “umlaut”, although technically it's not an umlaut. The umlaut and diaeresis are unrelated things that evolved in different places and only look the same by coincidence – but that doesn’t matter here.
You may recognise the trema from the names Zoë and Chloë. Here, the trema tells you that the “o” and “e” are pronounced separately – so they rhyme with “snowy”, not “toe”.
(If only David Jones had taken the stage name “Boë” instead of “Bowie”, all the confusion about its pronunciation could have been avoided).
Some English style guides suggest you use the trema (also known as a “diaeresis”, pronounced “die-heiresses”) for a host of other words, like reëlect or coöperate. However, in practice almost no-one does this.
In French, the trema works the same way, and it's much more common than in English. It's written over the second of two vowels to tell you that they must be pronounced separately, whereas without the accent they might combine into a completely different sound:
This is by far the most common use of the trema.
There a confusing exception when you consider adjectives which end in a “gu” – like our friend aigu (acute), as in l'accent aigu.
Why we want to use aigu with a feminine noun, like douleur (pain)? Normally we'd add a silent “e”. The problem is that “gue” in French is pronounced as “g”, with a silent “e” and “u” (You can see the same rule in English words like “fugue” or “vague”).
To get around this problem, French uses a trema: the feminine form of aigu is aigüe, as in douleur aigüe. Since the French Spelling Reform of 1990, the trema is officially supposed to go on the “u”, although you'll often still see people writing aiguë.
French computers generally use the AZERTY keyboard layout, which has some major differences from our familiar QWERTY – including some special keys for typing accents.
Learn to type in a new layout if you’re feeling hardcore. For everyone else, there are fairly convenient ways to type accents in French (or any other language) on QWERTY. Here's how you can do it on Windows or a Mac:
The following shortcuts should work in newer versions of Windows:
If that doesn't work, you can try inputting the character code directly.
Each accented character can be entered with a four-digit code. Simply press the “alt” key, then enter the French accent codes below. (Note: you'll need to enter them with the number pad on the right-hand side of your keyboard, not the number keys above the letters.)
Character | Code Lowercase | Code Uppercase |
---|---|---|
ç | Alt + 0199 | Alt + 0231 |
é | Alt + 0233 | Alt + 0201 |
â | Alt + 0226 | Alt + 0194 |
ê | Alt + 0234 | Alt + 0202 |
î | Alt + 0238 | Alt + 0206 |
ô | Alt + 0244 | Alt + 0212 |
û | Alt + 0251 | Alt + 0219 |
à | Alt + 0224 | Alt + 0192 |
è | Alt + 0232 | Alt + 0200 |
ì | Alt + 0236 | Alt + 0204 |
ò | Alt + 0242 | Alt + 0210 |
ù | Alt + 0249 | Alt + 0217 |
ë | Alt + 0235 | Alt + 0203 |
ï | Alt + 0239 | Alt + 0207 |
ü | Alt + 0252 | Alt + 0220 |
Generally, you can type “special characters” on a Mac by using the Option/Alt key. That's the one labelled “⌥”, between “ctrl” and “cmd”. Here's what you need to know for French:
Character | Keys |
---|---|
cedilla | Alt + c |
acute accent | Alt + e |
circumflex | Alt + n |
grave accent | Alt + ` |
trema | Alt + u |
To add a letter with a diacritic, press the appropriate key combination, then press the key for the letter you want the diacritic to belong to. For example, to type “ì”, press “alt” + “`” together, then release them and press “i”.
The exception is the cedilla – pressing “alt” + “c” inputs a “ç” directly, without the need to press “c” again afterwards.
Depending on your keyboard and system settings, you may also be able to type special characters by holding down a regular letter key. For example, when I hold down “e” on my Mac for a second or so:
Now to get the accented “é”, I just press “2”.
That covers it! As you can see, the accent rules are a bit complicated, but they're not impossible. Remember that they don't always affect pronunciation: so if your focus is speaking, not every accent rule needs to be studied in great detail just yet.
Do you have any tricks or tips for remembering the French accent rules? Let us know in the comments.
And finally.. One of the best ways to learn a new language is with podcasts. Read more about how to use podcasts to learn a language.
In window you can use grave key to switch between keyboard languages. How do you type grave and Tilda symbols after that?
You can always do it with its Alt code: Alt+96 for the grave accent, and Alt+126 for the tilda.
If you want to use those accents in combination of other letters, you have mainly 3 solutions:
Apart from @m4573r answer, you can type ` and ~ by just push and hold the key for longer than 1 second.
it will appear like this
now you got the these characters :0
You don't need to buy a French keyboard or any software to type French accents. There are several different ways to type them on Windows, Apple, and Linux computers.
You have several options, based on your computer and current keyboard:
For U.S. English keyboard users, the international keyboard (which is not a physical keyboard, but rather a simple Control Panel setting) is the easiest and most convenient method for typing French accents because it maintains the QWERTY layout, with just a few changes and additions:
Note: The minor disadvantage of the international keyboard is that when you want to type the 'helping' character (e.g., single or double quotes) by itself rather than above a vowel, you have to type the symbol then hit the space bar. For example, to type c'est, type c then ' then hit the spacebar then type e s t. It takes a little while to get used to typing that extra space when you just want to type ' or '
Troubleshooting the international keyboard
If you are plagued by strangeness such as cést when you try to type c'est, re-read the note above.
In order to use the international keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.
If you currently use a UK keyboard, you will probably find the UK extended keyboard the easiest way to type French accents. The keyboard layout will be maintained, but you can type most accents with the AltGr key, which is located to the right of the spacebar.
In order to use the UK extended keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.
The layout of the French keyboard, known as AZERTY, is somewhat different than the layouts of other keyboards. If you're used to QWERTY, I recommend that you use the international keyboard.
Otherwise, with the French keyboard layout, you'll find - among other changes - that the A and Q have switched places, W and Z have switched, and M is where the semi-colon used to be. In addition, numbers require the shift key.
On the other hand, you can type the grave accent (à, è, ù) and acute accent (é) with a single key, and the other accented letters with a combination of two keys:
In order to use the French keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.
The layout of this keyboard is similar to QWERTY, making it somewhat simpler if that is what you are used to (though I still believe that the international keyboard is better).
Typing accents on the Canadian French keyboard is fairly simple:
In order to use the Canadian French keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.
In order to use one of these alternate keyboard layouts, you need to add it to Windows. Once you've done this, you can either set it as your default keyboard or use alt plus shift to toggle between two or more layouts. The way to do this is slightly different for each operating system.
*Layout names:
International Keyboard: English (United States), US-Int'l UK Extended Keyboard: English (UK - extended) French Keyboard: French (Standard) French Canadian Keyboard: French (Canadian)
The best way to type accents on a PC is by using the international keyboard, which requires a simple control panel configuration - there is no keyboard to purchase or software to download.
If you're really set against the international keyboard, you can type accented characters with ALT codes, which use the ALT key and a 3 or 4 digit code. However, ALT codes only work with the numeric keypad, not the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard. So they won't work on a laptop unless you hit number lock to activate the number pad 'built into' the right-side of your keyboard, which is a big hassle because then the letters won't work. Bottom line, if you're on a laptop, choose a different keyboard rather than messing around with ALT codes.
To type accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here. When you release the ALT key, the character will appear.
a with grave accent
à ALT + 133 À ALT + 0192
a with circumflex
â ALT + 131 Â ALT + 0194
a with tréma
ä ALT + 132 Ä ALT + 142
a e ligature
æ ALT + 145 Æ ALT + 146
c with cedilla
ç ALT + 135 Ç ALT + 128
e with acute accent
é ALT + 130 É ALT + 144
e with grave accent
è ALT + 138 È ALT + 0200
e with circumflex
ê ALT + 136 Ê ALT + 0202
e with tréma
ë ALT + 137 Ë ALT + 0203
i with circumflex
î ALT + 140 Î ALT + 0206
i with tréma
ï ALT + 139 Ï ALT + 0207
o with circumflex
ô ALT + 147 Ô ALT + 0212
o e ligature
œ ALT + 0156 Œ ALT + 0140
u with grave accent
ù ALT + 151 Ù ALT + 0217
u with circumflex
û ALT + 150 Û ALT + 0219
u with tréma
ü ALT + 129 Ü ALT + 154
French quotation marks
« ALT + 174 » ALT + 175
Euro symbol
€ ALT + 0128
To type accents on an Apple with the option key, hold down the option key while pressing the key(s) in bold in this list. For example, to type ê, hold the option key while typing i, then release both and type e. To type î, hold option, type i, release and type i again.
Note: In these instructions, 'and' means to keep holding the option key and the first key listed while typing the second. 'Then' means to release the option key and the first key before typing the second.
To type any of the above as capital letters, add shift key to the first step. So for É, hold shift key, option key, and e, then e.
French quotation marks « Hold option key and
» Hold option key and shift key and
Euro symbol € Hold option key and shift key and 2
KeyCaps (OS9 and below) is similar, but it gives you a keyboard to click.
Opening the special character palette to type accents on a Mac:
You can type French accents and immerse yourself in French at the same time on an Apple OSX by setting your system language to French so that your OS, as well as most Apple software, use French:
Here are two ways to type accents in Linux:
Right-click on the top bar and click on 'Add to Panel,' select and add 'Character Palette.' The small arrow on the left will give a choice of palettes which you can modify to contain any accented or other character required. Left-click a character, then hold down Control Key and type V to insert it at the cursor position.
Specify a particular unused key (e.g., the Windows key) to be the Compose Key, then you can hold down Compose Key and type e` to get è, or o' to get ö. The combinations are pretty intuitive. Where to specify the Compose Key changes from system to system. On a SuSE installation, go to Control Center > Accessibility Options > Keyboard Properties > Options > Compose Key option.
If you have an Android tablet or smartphone, you can download the app Smart Keyboard to get access to accented letters.
You're all set! Now you can type accents by pressing and holding the button for the unaccented letter for a moment. A list of accented letters will pop up for you to choose from.
For example, to type à, press and hold the letter a, then choose à. To type é, è, ê, or ë, press and hold e, then make your selection. For ç, press and hold the letter c.
To type accented letters on an iPhone or iPad, press and hold the button for the unaccented letter for a moment. A list of accented letters will pop up for you to choose from.For example, to type à, press and hold the letter a, then choose à. To type é, è, ê, or ë, press and hold e, then make your selection. For ç, press and hold the letter c.