Tilde vowels
à ã Ẽ ẽ Ĩ ĩ Õ õ Ũ ũ
Tilde vowels can mark nasalization, tone, or another language-specific distinction.
ACCENT MARK / TILDE
Letters with a tilde
Copy letters with a tilde, including ã, ẽ, ĩ, ñ, õ, ũ, ṽ, and ỹ. Uppercase and lowercase forms are included.
Click a character, then paste with Ctrl+V or ⌘V.
Characters 16Groups 2Format Unicode text
QUICK REFERENCE
Find the right character
Tilde consonants and extended forms
Ñ ñ Ṽ ṽ Ỹ ỹ
Spanish treats ñ as a separate letter. V and Y with tilde occur in particular orthographies and Vietnamese text.
KEYBOARD METHODS
How to type and insert these characters
Use Alt codes for ã, ñ, and õ
With Num Lock on, use the listed four-digit Alt codes for common Latin-1 forms. Use Character Map, a language layout, or Word Unicode entry for ẽ, ĩ, ũ, ṽ, and ỹ.
Press Option + N, then the letter
On the US or ABC layout, press Option + N, release, and type A, N, or O. Other combinations may work by layout, while Character Viewer covers the complete set.
Hold the base letter
Touch and hold the letter, then slide to the tilde form. Add a Spanish, Portuguese, or Vietnamese keyboard when the required character is missing.
Use Ctrl + Shift + tilde or Alt+X
Press Ctrl + Shift + tilde, release, and type a supported letter. For any listed form, enter its hexadecimal Unicode value and press Alt+X.
UNICODE REFERENCE
Character codes
| Character | Name | Group | Unicode | Windows Alt | HTML named | HTML decimal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ã | Capital A with tilde | Vowels | U+00C3 | Alt+0195 | Ã | Ã |
| ã | Lowercase a with tilde | Vowels | U+00E3 | Alt+0227 | ã | ã |
| Ẽ | Capital E with tilde | Vowels | U+1EBC | Not standard | Not listed | Ẽ |
| ẽ | Lowercase e with tilde | Vowels | U+1EBD | Not standard | Not listed | ẽ |
| Ĩ | Capital I with tilde | Vowels | U+0128 | Not standard | Not listed | Ĩ |
| ĩ | Lowercase i with tilde | Vowels | U+0129 | Not standard | Not listed | ĩ |
| Õ | Capital O with tilde | Vowels | U+00D5 | Alt+0213 | Õ | Õ |
| õ | Lowercase o with tilde | Vowels | U+00F5 | Alt+0245 | õ | õ |
| Ũ | Capital U with tilde | Vowels | U+0168 | Not standard | Not listed | Ũ |
| ũ | Lowercase u with tilde | Vowels | U+0169 | Not standard | Not listed | ũ |
| Ñ | Capital N with tilde | Consonants | U+00D1 | Alt+0209 | Ñ | Ñ |
| ñ | Lowercase n with tilde | Consonants | U+00F1 | Alt+0241 | ñ | ñ |
| Ṽ | Capital V with tilde | Extended letters | U+1E7C | Not standard | Not listed | Ṽ |
| ṽ | Lowercase v with tilde | Extended letters | U+1E7D | Not standard | Not listed | ṽ |
| Ỹ | Capital Y with tilde | Extended letters | U+1EF8 | Not standard | Not listed | Ỹ |
| ỹ | Lowercase y with tilde | Extended letters | U+1EF9 | Not standard | Not listed | ỹ |
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 a tilde does above a letter
A tilde is the wavy mark seen above letters such as ñ, ã, and õ. Its job changes by language. It can indicate nasalization, tone, or a distinct alphabet letter.
Spanish ñ is a separate letter called eñe. Portuguese commonly uses ã and õ for nasal vowels. Vietnamese uses tilde-marked vowels as part of its tone system, including forms that may carry more than one visible mark.
The standalone tilde ~ used in computing and the small tilde ˜ are not substitutes for a finished letter. A keyboard may use the tilde key as a dead key that waits for the base letter.
A tilde is not a macron or breve
The tilde is wavy: ã. A macron is straight: ā. A breve is curved like a shallow bowl: ă. These shapes represent different marks and characters.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about Tilde letters
Which letters can have a tilde?
Common precomposed Latin forms include Ã, Ẽ, Ĩ, Ñ, Õ, and Ũ with lowercase equivalents. Unicode also includes V and Y with tilde.
Is ñ just N with an accent?
It has a visible tilde, but Spanish treats ñ as a separate alphabet letter called eñe.
What is the Alt code for ñ?
On Windows with a numeric keypad, use Alt+0241 for ñ or Alt+0209 for Ñ.
How do I type ã on a Mac?
Press Option + N, release the keys, and press A. Hold Shift with the final A for Ã.
Is ~ the same character as the mark over ñ?
No. The standalone tilde is a spacing symbol. The visible mark in ñ is part of the completed letter or a combining sequence.
Related character pages
References: Unicode tilde record, RAE Spanish orthography, Unicode Combining Diacritical Marks, Unicode Latin Extended-A, Unicode Latin Extended Additional, Apple accent entry guidance, Microsoft character code guidance.