(à, á, â, ã, ä, å) How to Type A with Accent Letters on Keyboard (Windows & Mac)

The letter ‘a’ is often written with accents in languages like French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and the Scandinavian languages.

These accented versions are:

• à, á, â, ã, ä, å
• À, Á, Â, Ã, Ä, Å

In this guide, you’ll learn step-by-step how to type all of these using the keyboard on:

• Windows
• Mac
• Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

We’ll also look at copy and paste options, and using Character Map on Windows.

Quick Reference – all A with accent characters

• à – a with grave
• á – a with acute
• â – a with circumflex
• ã – a with tilde
• ä – a with umlaut / diaeresis
• å – a with a small circle on top

Uppercase versions:

• À, Á, Â, Ã, Ä, Å

Below are several different ways to type A with accent using your keyboard, depending on your device and app.

Method 1: Type A with accent using Alt codes (Windows)

On a Windows keyboard, you can type accented letters using Alt codes:

1. Make sure Num Lock is on.
2. Hold down the Alt key.
3. Type the 4-digit Alt code on the numeric keypad (See Alt Codes Below).
4. Release Alt, and the character appears.

Alt codes for lowercase a with accent

• à – Alt + 0224
• á – Alt + 0225
• â – Alt + 0226
• ã – Alt + 0227
• ä – Alt + 0228
• å – Alt + 0229

Alt codes for uppercase A with accent

• À – Alt + 0192
• Á – Alt + 0193
• Â – Alt + 0194
• Ã – Alt + 0195
• Ä – Alt + 0196
• Å – Alt + 0197

💡 Tip: This method only works with the numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard. On a laptop without a separate numpad, you may need to enable an embedded numeric keypad or use another method below.

Method 2: Type A with accent on Mac (keyboard shortcuts)

On a Mac, each accented a has its own shortcut. The pattern is:

1. Press and release Option + a special key.
2. Then type the letter a.

Shortcuts for lowercase a:

• à – press Option + ` (grave), then a
• á – press Option + e, then a
• â – press Option + i, then a
• ä – press Option + u, then a
• ã – press Option + n, then a

To type uppercase A with accents, use the same shortcuts while:

• Either turning Caps Lock on, or
• Holding Shift when you type the final A.

Method 3: Insert A with accent in Microsoft Word

You can use any of the methods above (Alt codes on Windows, shortcuts on Mac) directly in Word.

If you prefer a mouse-based method, use the Insert Symbol dialog.

Insert A with accent using the Symbol dialog

1. Open your Word document.
2. Place the cursor where you want the accented letter.
3. Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols.
4. In the Symbol dialog:
   • Set Subset to Latin-1 Supplement.
   • Scroll until you see À Á Â Ã Ä Å à á â ã ä å.
5. Double-click the character you want, or select it and click Insert.
6. Click Close when you’re done.

Word-only keyboard shortcuts (Windows)

Word also has some built-in shortcuts for accented letters:

• à – press Ctrl + ` (grave), then a
• á – press Ctrl + ‘ (apostrophe), then a
• â – press Ctrl + ^, then a
• ä – press Ctrl + Shift + ;, then a

Turn Caps Lock on if you want the uppercase versions (À, Á, Â, Ä).

Method 4: Insert A with accent in Excel (Windows & Mac)

You can also insert accented a letters in Excel using the Symbol dialog:

1. Open your workbook and select the cell where you want the character.
2. Go to Insert > Symbol.
3. In the Symbol dialog:
   • Choose Latin-1 Supplement in the Subset dropdown.
   • Look for À Á Â Ã Ä Å à á â ã ä å.
4. Double-click the one you want, or click Insert.
5. Click Close to exit the dialog.

You can also use:

• Alt codes on Windows (Method 1)
• Mac shortcuts (Method 2)

directly in Excel cells.

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Method 5: Insert A with accent in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, the steps are very similar to Word and Excel:

1. Open your presentation and go to the slide where you want the accented letter.
2. Place the cursor in a text box.
3. Go to Insert > Symbol.
4. Set Subset to Latin-1 Supplement.
5. Choose the desired A with accent and click Insert (or double-click it).
6. Close the dialog.

You can also use Alt codes (Windows) or Mac shortcuts directly in the text box.

Method 6: Copy and paste A with accent (à, á, â, ã, ä, å)

If you only need these characters occasionally, copy and paste is usually the fastest way.

1. Scroll up to the “Click to copy A with accent” box at the top of this page.
2. Click the accented A you need (for example à, á, â, ã, ä, å).
3. Go to your document and press Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac) to paste.

You can also copy any of these directly from here if you prefer:

• à á â ã ä å
• À Á Â Ã Ä Å

This method works in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Docs, email, and almost any other app.

Method 7: Use Character Map (Windows)

If you want any of the accented A letters from inside Windows:

1. Click Start and search for Character Map.
2. Open the Character Map app.
3. In the grid, find À Á Â Ã Ä Å or à á â ã ä å.
   • You can also change the font if needed.
4. Double-click the character to add it to Characters to copy.
5. Click Copy.
6. Go back to your document and press Ctrl + V to paste.

On newer versions of Windows, you can also open the emoji & symbol panel using:

• Windows key + . (period) or
• Windows key + ; (semicolon)

Then go to the symbols section and look for accented letters.

Conclusion

There are several ways to type A with accent letters (à, á, â, ã, ä, å):

• Windows Alt codes – best if you remember the codes and use a numeric keypad.
• Mac Option shortcuts – quick once you get used to the pattern.
• Insert > Symbol – good if you prefer clicking with the mouse in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
• Copy and paste / Character Map – easiest for occasional use.

If you type accented letters regularly, it can help to:

• Keep a small cheat sheet of the Alt codes and shortcuts, or
• Bookmark this page so you can quickly click to copy the exact character you need from the tool in the quick reference section.