Ogonek vowels
Ą ą Ę ę
A and E with ogonek are nasal-vowel letters. The hook below is not a cedilla.
POLISH CHARACTER SET
Polish letters to copy and paste
Copy the nine Polish letters with ogonek, acute, stroke, or dot marks. Uppercase and lowercase forms are provided in one complete practical set.
Click a character, then paste with Ctrl+V or ⌘V.
Characters 18Groups 5Format Unicode text
QUICK REFERENCE
Find the right character
Acute consonants
Ć ć Ń ń Ś ś Ź ź
The acute-marked consonants represent sounds distinct from their plain base letters.
L with stroke
Ł ł
Ł is a separate Polish alphabet letter and is not an accented L.
O with acute
Ó ó
Ó is a Polish alphabet letter whose spelling must be preserved even when its sound resembles U.
Z with dot above
Ż ż
Ż and Ź are two distinct Polish Z letters with different marks and sounds.
KEYBOARD METHODS
How to type and insert these characters
Enable Polish Programmers
The Polish Programmers layout keeps familiar QWERTY positions and commonly uses right Alt with a base letter for Polish characters. It is the practical choice for frequent writing.
Add a Polish input source
Use the Polish input source and Keyboard Viewer to see each character position. Character Viewer or copy and paste is useful for occasional entry.
Add Polish to the keyboard
A Polish mobile keyboard provides long-press access and language-aware suggestions. Hold the relevant base letter when a marked form is not visible directly.
Use Unicode and Alt+X
Type the hexadecimal code from the table and press Alt+X. Examples include 0105 for ą, 0142 for ł, 017A for ź, and 017C for ż.
UNICODE REFERENCE
Character codes
| Character | Name | Group | Unicode | Windows Alt | HTML named | HTML decimal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ą | Capital A with ogonek | Ogonek | U+0104 | Not standard | Ą | Ą |
| ą | Lowercase a with ogonek | Ogonek | U+0105 | Not standard | ą | ą |
| Ć | Capital C with acute | Acute consonants | U+0106 | Not standard | Ć | Ć |
| ć | Lowercase c with acute | Acute consonants | U+0107 | Not standard | ć | ć |
| Ę | Capital E with ogonek | Ogonek | U+0118 | Not standard | Ę | Ę |
| ę | Lowercase e with ogonek | Ogonek | U+0119 | Not standard | ę | ę |
| Ł | Capital L with stroke | Stroke | U+0141 | Not standard | Ł | Ł |
| ł | Lowercase l with stroke | Stroke | U+0142 | Not standard | ł | ł |
| Ń | Capital N with acute | Acute consonants | U+0143 | Not standard | Ń | Ń |
| ń | Lowercase n with acute | Acute consonants | U+0144 | Not standard | ń | ń |
| Ó | Capital O with acute | Acute vowel | U+00D3 | Alt+0211 | Ó | Ó |
| ó | Lowercase o with acute | Acute vowel | U+00F3 | Alt+0243 | ó | ó |
| Ś | Capital S with acute | Acute consonants | U+015A | Not standard | Ś | Ś |
| ś | Lowercase s with acute | Acute consonants | U+015B | Not standard | ś | ś |
| Ź | Capital Z with acute | Polish Z forms | U+0179 | Not standard | Ź | Ź |
| ź | Lowercase z with acute | Polish Z forms | U+017A | Not standard | ź | ź |
| Ż | Capital Z with dot above | Polish Z forms | U+017B | Not standard | Ż | Ż |
| ż | Lowercase z with dot above | Polish Z forms | U+017C | Not standard | ż | ż |
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 are the nine special Polish letters?
The Polish alphabet includes ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, and ż in addition to the unmarked Latin letters it uses. Each has an uppercase form and its own alphabetic identity.
Ź has an acute accent, while ż has a dot above. They are different letters. The marks on ć, ń, ś, and ź are also part of the spelling, not optional stress indicators.
Polish also uses digraphs such as cz, sz, rz, and dź. A digraph contains multiple characters, so it is not an additional single-character copy button on this page.
Ł is not L with an accent
Ł uses a stroke through the letter. Ą and ę use an ogonek, while ć, ń, ó, ś, and ź use an acute accent. Ż uses a dot above. These visual distinctions map to separate Polish letters.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about Polish letters
What are all the special Polish letters?
They are Ą ą, Ć ć, Ę ę, Ł ł, Ń ń, Ó ó, Ś ś, Ź ź, and Ż ż.
What is the difference between ź and ż?
Ź has an acute accent and Ż has a dot above. They represent different sounds and are separate Polish letters.
Is the hook under ą a cedilla?
No. It is an ogonek, a hook-shaped mark used on Polish ą and ę.
What is the best Windows keyboard for Polish?
Polish Programmers is widely practical for people who want QWERTY-style letter positions with Polish characters accessed through right Alt combinations.
Can Polish accents be omitted?
They may be omitted in constrained informal systems, but doing so changes the spelling and can create ambiguity. Preserve the Polish characters whenever possible.
Related character pages
References: Polish language information from gov.pl, Unicode character charts, Apple accent entry guidance, Microsoft character code guidance.