Macron vowels
Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū Ȳ ȳ
A macron often marks a long vowel in orthographies, dictionaries, and romanization.
ACCENT MARK REFERENCE
Macron letters to copy and paste
Copy vowels and consonants with a macron, including ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ȳ, and ḡ. Learn when the horizontal line marks length or belongs to a transcription system.
Click a character, then paste with Ctrl+V or ⌘V.
Characters 14Groups 2Format Unicode text
QUICK REFERENCE
Find the right character
Macron consonant
Ḡ ḡ
G with macron is used in particular transliteration systems.
KEYBOARD METHODS
How to type and insert these characters
Copy a precomposed macron letter
Select the exact letter above for ordinary text. Precomposed characters are convenient for search, forms, and character limits.
Use an extended input source
ABC Extended and language-specific layouts provide dead-key access to macron vowels. Keyboard Viewer shows the active sequence.
Use Unicode and Alt+X
In Word, enter the hexadecimal code and press Alt+X. For example, 0101 becomes ā and 016B becomes ū.
Hold the vowel or add a language
Long-press menus may include macron vowels. Add a language keyboard such as Māori when the needed form is missing.
UNICODE REFERENCE
Character codes
| Character | Name | Group | Unicode | Windows Alt | HTML named | HTML decimal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ā | Capital A with macron | Macron letters | U+0100 | Not standard | Ā | Ā |
| ā | Lowercase a with macron | Macron letters | U+0101 | Not standard | ā | ā |
| Ē | Capital E with macron | Macron letters | U+0112 | Not standard | Ē | Ē |
| ē | Lowercase e with macron | Macron letters | U+0113 | Not standard | ē | ē |
| Ī | Capital I with macron | Macron letters | U+012A | Not standard | Ī | Ī |
| ī | Lowercase i with macron | Macron letters | U+012B | Not standard | ī | ī |
| Ō | Capital O with macron | Macron letters | U+014C | Not standard | Ō | Ō |
| ō | Lowercase o with macron | Macron letters | U+014D | Not standard | ō | ō |
| Ū | Capital U with macron | Macron letters | U+016A | Not standard | Ū | Ū |
| ū | Lowercase u with macron | Macron letters | U+016B | Not standard | ū | ū |
| Ȳ | Capital Y with macron | Macron letters | U+0232 | Not standard | Not listed | Ȳ |
| ȳ | Lowercase y with macron | Macron letters | U+0233 | Not standard | Not listed | ȳ |
| Ḡ | Capital G with macron | Macron letters | U+1E20 | Not standard | Not listed | Ḡ |
| ḡ | Lowercase g with macron | Macron letters | U+1E21 | Not standard | Not listed | ḡ |
For ordinary writing, copy and paste the character itself. Use an HTML entity only in HTML source. A listed Windows Alt code requires a numeric keypad and may depend on the active character set.
USAGE GUIDE
What does a macron mean?
A macron is a straight horizontal mark above a letter. It commonly indicates vowel length, but its exact function depends on the language or transcription system.
Māori commonly uses macron vowels to mark vowel length. Latin-learning materials, dictionaries, and several romanization systems also use the mark. Removing it can erase a spelling or pronunciation distinction.
A macron letter can be encoded as one precomposed character or as a base letter followed by a combining macron. These sequences can look identical but contain different code points.
A macron is not a line below or circumflex
The macron is a horizontal line above the letter. A line-below character places the line underneath, and a circumflex uses a pointed roof shape.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about Macron letters
What is the line over a vowel called?
A straight horizontal line above a letter is called a macron.
How do I type ā in Word?
Type 0101 and press Alt+X for ā. Type 0100 and press Alt+X for Ā.
Does a macron always mean a long vowel?
No. Vowel length is common, but the function depends on the language, dictionary, or transcription system.
Should I omit a Māori macron?
Preserve the macron in Māori spelling whenever the destination supports it.
Related character pages
References: Unicode Latin Extended-A, Unicode Latin Extended Additional, Apple accent entry guidance, Microsoft Word character codes.