Afrikaans uses the circumflex (sê, môre), the diaeresis (reën) and occasionally the acute and grave. The word ’n is always lowercase.
How to type Afrikaans letters on Windows
Alt codes
Hold Alt, type the code on the numeric keypad with Num Lock on, then release Alt. The number row above the letters does not work.
| Letter | Alt code | Capital | Alt code |
|---|---|---|---|
Alt+0234 | Alt+0202 | ||
Alt+0235 | Alt+0203 | ||
Alt+0232 | Alt+0200 | ||
Alt+0233 | Alt+0201 | ||
Alt+0244 | Alt+0212 | ||
Alt+0246 | Alt+0214 | ||
Alt+0251 | Alt+0219 | ||
Alt+0252 | Alt+0220 | ||
Alt+0239 | Alt+0207 | ||
Alt+0238 | Alt+0206 | ||
Alt+0225 | Alt+0193 | ||
Alt+0224 | Alt+0192 |
Add the Afrikaans keyboard layout
Go to Settings → Time & Language → Language & region, add Afrikaans (or open Options under your language and add a keyboard), and choose United States-International. Switch layouts with Win+Space. The Afrikaans layout has all of its letters on dedicated keys or dead keys; the on-screen keyboard (Win + Ctrl + O) shows you where.
US-International dead keys
If you would rather keep a US layout, add United States-International. Press the accent key, release it, then press the letter:
- Shift+6 (^) then the letter for the circumflex (gives ê)
- Shift+' (") then the letter for the umlaut (gives ë)
- ` then the letter for the grave (gives è)
- ' then the letter for the acute (gives é)
- AltGr+A gives á directly
- AltGr+E gives é directly
- AltGr+P gives ö directly
- AltGr+Y gives ü directly
Emoji and symbol panel
Press Win+., open the Symbols tab (Ω) and choose Latin symbols, or search the letter's name. Works in every app and needs no numpad.
South African keyboards are usually US layout, so most people use US-International dead keys: ^ then e for ê.
How to type Afrikaans letters on a Mac
Press and hold
Hold a letter key for a second and a menu of accented forms appears; press the number under the one you want. On the English keyboard this covers ê ë è é ô ö û ü ï î á à.
- Hold E for è é ê ë ē ė ę
- Hold O for ô ö ò ó œ ø ō õ
- Hold U for û ü ù ú ū
- Hold I for î ï í ī į ì
- Hold A for à á â ä æ ã å ā
Option dead keys
Press the Option combination, release it, then press the letter:
- Option+I, E gives ê
- Option+U, E gives ë
- Option+`, E gives è
- Option+E, E gives é
- Option+I, O gives ô
- Option+U, O gives ö
- Option+I, U gives û
- Option+U, U gives ü
- Option+U, I gives ï
- Option+I, I gives î
- Option+E, A gives á
- Option+`, A gives à
Afrikaans input source and Character Viewer
For regular Afrikaans typing add ABC Extended under System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources and switch with Control+Space. For a one-off letter, press Control+⌘+Space to open the Character Viewer, search the letter's name and double-click it.
On a Mac, Option+I then the vowel gives the circumflex.
How to type Afrikaans letters on iPhone, iPad and Android
- Press and hold the base letter (E, O, U, I, A).
- A pop-up shows the accented forms, including ê ë è é ô.
- Slide your finger onto the one you want and release. Gboard on Android works the same way.
To add the keyboard on iPhone go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Afrikaans and switch with the globe key. On Android open Gboard → Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Afrikaans. For a letter you type often, save a shortcut under Text Replacement (iPhone) or the Personal dictionary (Gboard).
Word, Excel and Google Docs
Microsoft Word
Word has built-in accent shortcuts. Press the combination, release it, then type the letter:
- Ctrl+Shift+^, e gives ê
- Ctrl+Shift+:, e gives ë
- Ctrl+`, e gives è
- Ctrl+', e gives é
- Ctrl+Shift+^, o gives ô
- Ctrl+Shift+:, o gives ö
- Ctrl+Shift+^, u gives û
- Ctrl+Shift+:, u gives ü
- Ctrl+Shift+:, i gives ï
- Ctrl+Shift+^, i gives î
- Ctrl+', a gives á
- Ctrl+`, a gives à
For any letter, type its Unicode hex code and press Alt+X: 00EA → ê, 00EB → ë, 00E8 → è, 00E9 → é, and so on (the table above has every code). Insert → Symbol → More Symbols lists them under Latin-1 Supplement and Latin Extended-A. With AutoCorrect (File → Options → Proofing) you can make Word replace a code of your choosing, such as e~, with ê as you type.
Excel and Google Sheets
Alt codes and paste work in cells. For a formula, use =UNICHAR(234) in Excel or =CHAR(234) in Google Sheets to get ê.
Google Docs
Use Insert → Special characters and search the letter's name, or draw it in the sketch box. Docs accepts Alt codes on Windows and Option dead keys on a Mac, and Tools → Preferences → Substitutions can auto-replace a short code with the letter.
Afrikaans punctuation and other marks
Beyond the letters, Afrikaans text uses ʼn (n preceded by apostrophe). Click to copy; the codes work the same way as for letters.
| Mark | Name | Unicode | Alt code | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N preceded by apostrophe | U+0149 | — | ʼn |
Frequently asked questions
How do I type Afrikaans letters on an English keyboard? +
On Windows, hold Alt and type the code on the numeric keypad (for example Alt+0234 for ê). On a Mac, iPhone or Android, press and hold the base letter and pick ê, ë, è, é from the pop-up. Or click any letter on this page to copy it.
Which keyboard layout do I add for Afrikaans? +
Windows: United States-International. Mac: ABC Extended. iPhone and iPad: Afrikaans. Android (Gboard): Afrikaans.
Do Afrikaans letters have Alt codes? +
Yes, all of them: ê Alt+0234, ë Alt+0235, è Alt+0232, é Alt+0233, ô Alt+0244, ö Alt+0246 and more in the table above. Alt codes need Num Lock on and a numeric keypad.
How do I type Afrikaans accents in Microsoft Word? +
Word has accent shortcuts: press the combination, release, then type the letter. Ctrl+Shift+^, e gives ê; Ctrl+Shift+:, e gives ë; Ctrl+`, e gives è. For any letter, type its Unicode hex code and press Alt + X (00EA becomes ê), or use Insert → Symbol.
Will copied Afrikaans letters work in Word, Google Docs and social media? +
Yes. They are standard Unicode characters, so they paste as real text into any app that supports Unicode, which includes Word, Docs, Excel, WhatsApp, Instagram and email.