Spanish ñ, accents, ¿ and ¡: characters to keep when typing
The Spanish keyboard lets you combine ordinary typing with buttons for accented vowels, ñ, ü and opening punctuation. It inserts the character you choose; it does not decide the spelling of your sentence.
Keep ñ in the original spelling
Changing the ñ in año to n produces a different word, ano. When entering a name or copying a quotation, use the actual letter instead of treating it as decoration. The keyboard provides Ñ as well as ñ.
Some accents distinguish words
| With an accent | Without it | Example distinction |
|---|---|---|
| tú | tu | You / your |
| sí | si | Yes / if |
| té | te | Tea / a pronoun |
These are examples of a diacritical accent. They are not a rule to apply to every short word. Check the sentence and a dictionary when you are unsure; the FundéuRAE reference below gives further cases.
Do not confuse ü with ú
The two dots in pingüino and vergüenza form ü. The RAE explains their use to show that u is pronounced in güe and güi. The acute in ú is a different mark. Practice the two buttons by entering pingüino and tú separately.
Include opening punctuation
Try typing ¿Cómo estás? and ¡Hola!. Use the ¿ or ¡ button for the opening sign, and your normal keyboard for ? or ! at the end. When copying, check that the beginning of the sentence has not been left out of the selection. These short examples are a starting point; consult a language reference for the punctuation of more complex sentences.
Enter the example with buttons first
- Place the caret where the accented letter belongs and click its button.
- Type the ordinary letters using your keyboard.
- Use Shift+click or ⇧ when a capital is needed.
- Use Copy all, then compare the pasted spelling with the source.
The default Ctrl shortcuts use A/E/I/O/U for accented vowels. Immediately repeating Ctrl+U cycles between ú and ü. For ñ, use Alt+N on Windows/Linux and Ctrl+N on Mac. Windows Ctrl+N belongs to the browser and may open a new window.
Ctrl+A inserts á on this keyboard. For selecting all text on a computer, use the toolbar button or turn symbol shortcuts off. You can also rely entirely on the visible buttons. See device-specific accent input and copying and font troubleshooting for related help.