# A with tilde: Ã and ã

Copy uppercase à or lowercase ã and learn how to type the exact character on Windows, Mac, mobile devices, and international keyboards.

## Characters available in this tool

- Ã: Capital A with tilde (U+00C3)
- ã: Lowercase a with tilde (U+00E3)

## Uppercase à and lowercase ã

à and ã are Latin A with tilde. They are especially important in Portuguese spelling, where the tilde marks a nasal vowel, and they also occur in Vietnamese and other writing systems.

Ã

### A with tilde

**Tilde**  
SÃO uppercase Portuguese form

ã

### a with tilde

**Tilde**  
maçã apple in Portuguese

## How to type a with tilde

### Use the numeric keypad

Turn Num Lock on. Hold Alt, enter `0227` on the numeric keypad, and release Alt to produce ã.

Use the numeric keypad for listed Alt codes, not the number row. A listed code may depend on Windows and the active character set.

### Use an accent key or menu

On the US or ABC layout, press Option + N, release both keys, then press A. Use Shift with the final A for Ã. Holding A may also open an accent menu that includes ã.

Shortcuts described here assume the US or ABC input layout. Another selected layout can assign different keys.

### Hold the base letter

Touch and hold A on the on-screen keyboard. Keep your finger down, slide to the character you need, and release. Switch to uppercase before holding the key for a capital letter.

The available characters depend on your keyboard and enabled languages. Add a relevant language keyboard if the required form does not appear.

### Convert a code or use dead keys

In Microsoft Word for Windows, type a hexadecimal value without `U+`, then press Alt + X. For example, type `00E3` and convert it to ã. Select only the code before converting if another letter or number comes immediately before it.

With the US-International keyboard enabled, press Shift + grave to create the tilde dead key, then press A. Use Shift with A for Ã. In Microsoft Word, type 00E3 and press Alt+X for ã, or 00C3 and Alt+X for Ã.

[![Typing methods for uppercase à and lowercase ã on Windows, Mac, US-International, iPhone, and Android](/images/keyboard-guides/a-with-tilde-multi-platform.webp)](https://umlautletters.com/images/keyboard-guides/a-with-tilde-multi-platform.webp)

Type A with tilde using a verified Windows Alt code, Mac Option sequence, US-International dead key, or mobile long press.[Open full-size diagram](https://umlautletters.com/images/keyboard-guides/a-with-tilde-multi-platform.webp)

## A with tilde codes

| Letter | Mark | Unicode | Windows Alt | HTML named | HTML decimal |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ã | Tilde | `U+00C3` | `Alt+0195` | `Ã` | `Ã` |
| ã | Tilde | `U+00E3` | `Alt+0227` | `ã` | `ã` |

Paste the character itself into normal text. HTML entities belong in HTML source. Unicode labels use hexadecimal notation, while HTML decimal entities and Windows Alt codes use decimal numbers.

## Using a with tilde correctly

Portuguese uses ã in words such as maçã and manhã, and à in uppercase text and proper names such as São Tomé. The tilde is part of the spelling and often signals a nasal vowel. Do not remove it merely because an unaccented keyboard is active.

Vietnamese also uses ã, but there the tilde represents a tone mark and may combine with the vowel conventions of Vietnamese. Similar-looking marks can therefore perform different linguistic jobs in different languages.

A stray à in otherwise ordinary text can be evidence of a character-encoding error. For example, UTF-8 text decoded with the wrong legacy encoding can display sequences such as é. That does not make à an error by itself. In Portuguese and other correct spellings, à is the intended letter.

**Ã is a real letter and can also reveal broken encoding**

Read the context. In São or manhã, à and ã are correct Portuguese characters. In a garbled sequence such as é where é was expected, the text was probably decoded using the wrong character encoding.

## Questions about a with tilde

### How do I type ã on Windows?

Hold Alt and type 0227 on the numeric keypad. For uppercase Ã, use Alt+0195. In Microsoft Word, 00E3 followed by Alt+X produces ã.

### How do I type ã on a Mac?

On the Mac US or ABC layout, press Option and N, release both keys, then press A. Use Shift with the final A for uppercase Ã.

### What does the tilde on ã mean in Portuguese?

In Portuguese spelling, the tilde indicates nasalization of the vowel. The precise pronunciation depends on the word and regional variety.

### Why does à appear in broken text?

A visible à can appear when UTF-8 bytes are decoded using the wrong character encoding. Check the surrounding characters and the document encoding before replacing it.

### Is ã the same in Portuguese and Vietnamese?

It is the same Unicode character, but its linguistic role differs. Portuguese uses the tilde to mark a nasal vowel, while Vietnamese uses it as a tone mark.

## Related accented letters

- [All A accentsCompare à with Á, À, Â, Ä, Å, and Ā →](https://umlautletters.com/a-with-accent/)
- [Tilde lettersCompare A, N, O, I, U, and Y with tilde →](https://umlautletters.com/tilde-letters/)
- [Portuguese accented lettersUse à and ã in the complete Portuguese set →](https://umlautletters.com/portuguese-accented-letters/)
- [Vietnamese lettersSee ã in its Vietnamese tone system →](https://umlautletters.com/vietnamese-letters/)
- [Ñ Ń Ǹ Ň ŅN with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/n-with-accent/)
- [Á À Â Ã Ä Å ĀA with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/a-with-accent/)
- [É È Ê Ë ĒE with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/e-with-accent/)
- [Ó Ò Ô Õ Ö ŌO with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/o-with-accent/)
- [Ú Ù Û Ü ŪU with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/u-with-accent/)
- [Í Ì Î Ï ĪI with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/i-with-accent/)
- [Ç Ć Ĉ Č ĊC with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/c-with-accent/)
- [Ś Š Ş Ș ŜS with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/s-with-accent/)
- [Ď Ḋ Ḍ ḎD with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/d-with-accent/)
- [Ŕ Ř Ŗ Ṙ ṚR with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/r-with-accent/)
- [Ğ Ĝ Ġ Ģ ǦG with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/g-with-accent/)
- [Ź Ż Ž Ẑ ẒZ with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/z-with-accent/)
- [Ý Ŷ ŸY with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/y-with-accent/)
- [Ť Ț Ţ Ṫ ṬT with accents →](https://umlautletters.com/t-with-accent/)
- [All accented lettersBrowse the collection →](https://umlautletters.com/accented-letters/)

## Browse by accent mark

- [TildeSee every matching letter →](https://umlautletters.com/tilde-letters/)
- [All accent marksCompare the main marks →](https://umlautletters.com/accent-marks/)

## Browse in a language context

- [All language collectionsBrowse by writing system →](https://umlautletters.com/languages/)

Sources: [Unicode Latin-1 Supplement](https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0080.pdf), [W3C Latin-1 entities](https://www.w3.org/2003/entities/xhtml1doc/xhtml1-lat1.html), [Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-us/guide/mac-help/mh27474/mac), [Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/insert-ascii-or-unicode-character-codes-in-word).

[View this page on Umlaut Letters](https://umlautletters.com/a-with-tilde/)

Publisher: Sören Schmidt