COPY & TYPE / E WITH ACCENT
Choose the form that matches your word, then select it to copy. Compare the marks below or find a typing method for your device.
Click a character, then paste with Ctrl+V or ⌘V.
Prefer to select and copy? Select the characters you need from this line: É é È è Ê ê Ë ë Ē ē
CHARACTER GUIDE
The most common E forms use an acute, grave, circumflex, diaeresis, or macron. Look at the direction and shape of the mark before choosing a character.
| Character | Mark | Example or use |
|---|---|---|
| É / é | Acute | café: cafe. |
| È / è | Grave | caffè: coffee in Italian. |
| Ê / ê | Circumflex | forêt: forest in French. |
| Ë / ë | Diaeresis | Noël: Christmas in French. |
| Ē / ē | Macron | tēnā: a Māori greeting word. |
KEYBOARD METHODS
Turn Num Lock on. Hold Alt, enter all four digits on the numeric keypad, then release Alt.
0233 / 02010232 / 02000234 / 02020235 / 0203Include the leading zero. The number row is not a numeric keypad. These legacy codes depend on Windows and the active character set; use Character Map or Word Unicode conversion for forms without a listed Alt code.
With the US or ABC input layout, press the first combination, release both keys, then type lowercase e:
Hold Shift with the final letter for uppercase. In supported apps, holding E opens an accent menu. Use Character Viewer for forms absent from that menu, such as ē. Other input layouts may use different keys.
Keep your finger on E, slide to the accented character, then release. Switch to uppercase before holding the key for a capital letter.
Available forms depend on the keyboard and enabled languages. Add a language keyboard that supports a missing letter, or copy the exact character above.
In Microsoft Word for Windows, type 00E9 and press Alt + X for é. Omit U+. Select only the code before converting if another letter or number immediately precedes it. Find other values in the character-code table.
With the US-International keyboard enabled, type apostrophe then E for é, grave then E for è, Shift + 6 then E for ê, or quotation mark then E for ë. Press Space after a dead key when you want the punctuation mark by itself.
For é, press Ctrl + apostrophe, release, then e. For ē, use 0113 then Alt+X in Word for Windows.
On desktop, choose Insert → Symbols → Special characters. Search by the letter and mark, then select the exact result. For one known letter, copying is usually quicker.
Use an international or language keyboard for repeated writing. ChromeOS also supports Unicode entry with Ctrl+Shift+U, the hexadecimal code, then Enter.
CHARACTER REFERENCE
| Letter | Mark | Unicode | Windows Alt | HTML named | HTML decimal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| É | Acute | U+00C9 | Alt+0201 | É | É |
| é | Acute | U+00E9 | Alt+0233 | é | é |
| È | Grave | U+00C8 | Alt+0200 | È | È |
| è | Grave | U+00E8 | Alt+0232 | è | è |
| Ê | Circumflex | U+00CA | Alt+0202 | Ê | Ê |
| ê | Circumflex | U+00EA | Alt+0234 | ê | ê |
| Ë | Diaeresis | U+00CB | Alt+0203 | Ë | Ë |
| ë | Diaeresis | U+00EB | Alt+0235 | ë | ë |
| Ē | Macron | U+0112 | Not standard | Ē | Ē |
| ē | Macron | U+0113 | Not standard | ē | ē |
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.
MEANING & SPELLING
É is common in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and many loanwords. È appears in languages including French and Italian. Ê and ë have their own language-specific jobs, while ē commonly represents a long vowel in writing systems that use a macron.
In French, é and è normally represent different vowel qualities. The diaeresis in Noël indicates that adjacent vowels are pronounced separately. These examples explain the marks, but pronunciation still depends on the language and word.
English often preserves é in borrowed words and names, such as café, résumé, and Beyoncé. Use the spelling preferred by the person or publication. A plain e may be understood in informal text, but it is not always the exact spelling.
The acute accent in é rises to the right. The grave accent in è falls to the right. Ê has a pointed circumflex, ë has two dots, and ē has a horizontal macron.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Copy the exact letter here, use Windows Character Map, or enable a suitable keyboard layout. In Word for Windows, type 00E9 then press Alt+X for é; use 0113 then Alt+X for ē. The Word conversion does not require a numeric keypad.
No. They use different accent marks and can represent different sounds or meanings. Copy the version found in the original spelling.
On the US or ABC layout, press Option + E, release the keys, and press E. Hold Shift for É. You can also hold the E key and choose é from the accent menu.
The two-dot mark is called a diaeresis in words such as Noël, where it can show that neighboring vowels are pronounced separately. Its function can differ in another language.
Sources: Unicode Latin-1 Supplement, Unicode Latin Extended-A, Unicode Latin Extended Additional, Apple Support, Microsoft Support, Microsoft US-International layout.