Romanian uses ă, â, î and the comma-below letters ș and ț. The cedilla forms ş and ţ are a legacy of older fonts and are considered incorrect today.
How to type Romanian 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+0226 | Alt+0194 | ||
Alt+0238 | Alt+0206 |
ă ș ț have no classic Alt code. Use the layout, the symbol panel, or Alt+X in Word for those.
Add the Romanian keyboard layout
Go to Settings → Time & Language → Language & region, add Romanian (or open Options under your language and add a keyboard), and choose Romanian (Standard). Switch layouts with Win+Space. The Romanian (Standard) layout puts ă and î right of P, and ș and ț right of L, with â right of ț.
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 â)
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.
The Romanian (Standard) layout on Windows types the correct comma-below letters with Alt Gr.
How to type Romanian 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 â î, but not ă ș ț.
- Hold A for à á â ä æ ã å ā
- Hold I for î ï í ī į ì
Option dead keys
Press the Option combination, release it, then press the letter:
- Option+I, A gives â
- Option+I, I gives î
The breve is not on the US layout. Add ABC Extended (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), which adds dead keys: Option+B for the breve.
Romanian input source and Character Viewer
For regular Romanian typing add Romanian 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, the Romanian layout has ă, â, î, ș, ț as dedicated keys.
How to type Romanian letters on iPhone, iPad and Android
- Press and hold the base letter (A, I).
- A pop-up shows the accented forms, including â î.
- 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 → Romanian and switch with the globe key. On Android open Gboard → Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Romanian. 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+^, a gives â
- Ctrl+Shift+^, i gives î
For any letter, type its Unicode hex code and press Alt+X: 0103 → ă, 00E2 → â, 00EE → î, 0219 → ș, 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 a~, with ă as you type.
Excel and Google Sheets
Alt codes and paste work in cells. For a formula, use =UNICHAR(259) in Excel or =CHAR(259) in Google Sheets to get ă.
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.
Romanian punctuation and other marks
Beyond the letters, Romanian text uses ş (s with cedilla) and ţ (t with cedilla). Click to copy; the codes work the same way as for letters.
| Mark | Name | Unicode | Alt code | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S with Cedilla | U+015F | — | ş | |
| T with Cedilla | U+0163 | — | ţ |
Frequently asked questions
How do I type Romanian letters on an English keyboard? +
On Windows, hold Alt and type the code on the numeric keypad (for example Alt+0226 for â). On a Mac, iPhone or Android, press and hold the base letter and pick â, î from the pop-up. Or click any letter on this page to copy it.
Which keyboard layout do I add for Romanian? +
Windows: Romanian (Standard). Mac: Romanian. iPhone and iPad: Romanian. Android (Gboard): Romanian. The Romanian (Standard) layout puts ă and î right of P, and ș and ț right of L, with â right of ț..
Do Romanian letters have Alt codes? +
2 of the 5 do: â Alt+0226, î Alt+0238. Alt codes need Num Lock on and a numeric keypad. The rest (ă ș ț) are outside the Windows-1252 code page, so use Alt + X in Word or the symbol panel.
How do I type Romanian accents in Microsoft Word? +
Word has accent shortcuts: press the combination, release, then type the letter. Ctrl+Shift+^, a gives â; Ctrl+Shift+^, i gives î. For any letter, type its Unicode hex code and press Alt + X (0103 becomes ă), or use Insert → Symbol.
Will copied Romanian 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.