Are accents required in Spanish?

Yes, in correct writing. They can change the meaning of a word: sí (yes) vs. si (if), tú (you) vs. tu (your).

What are the Alt codes for Spanish accents?

Hold Alt and type on the number pad: á 0225, é 0233, í 0237, ó 0243, ú 0250, ñ 0241, ü 0252, ¿ 0191, ¡ 0161.

Does Typing Derby count accents?

Accents are optional, so á and a both count as correct.

How to Type Spanish Accents and Ñ

Spanish uses five accented vowels (á é í ó ú), ñ, ü and the opening marks ¿ and ¡. Here is how to type every one of them on Windows, Mac and phones, without changing to a Spanish keyboard.

Character	Windows (US-International)	Windows Alt code	Mac	Phone
á	`' a`	`Alt + 0225`	`⌥ E, A`	Long-press a
é	`' e`	`Alt + 0233`	`⌥ E, E`	Long-press e
í	`' i`	`Alt + 0237`	`⌥ E, I`	Long-press i
ó	`' o`	`Alt + 0243`	`⌥ E, O`	Long-press o
ú	`' u`	`Alt + 0250`	`⌥ E, U`	Long-press u
ñ	`~ n`	`Alt + 0241`	`⌥ N, N`	Long-press n
ü	`" u`	`Alt + 0252`	`⌥ U, U`	Long-press u
¿	`Right Alt + /`	`Alt + 0191`	`⌥ ⇧ ?`	Long-press ?
¡	`Right Alt + 1`	`Alt + 0161`	`⌥ 1`	Long-press !

Windows: the US-International keyboard

Add it in Settings → Time & language → Language & region → your language → Keyboards → United States-International.
Type an apostrophe then a vowel for á é í ó ú. Type ~ then n for ñ, and " then u for ü.
Right Alt + 1 gives ¡ and Right Alt + / gives ¿.
To type a normal apostrophe, press the apostrophe key and then Space.

Mac

Option + E, then a vowel: á é í ó ú.
Option + N, then N: ñ. Option + U, then U: ü.
Option + 1 gives ¡ and Option + Shift + ? gives ¿.
Or press and hold a letter and choose the accent from the menu.

Phones and tablets

Press and hold a letter (a, e, i, o, u, n) and slide to the accented version. Hold ? or ! for ¿ and ¡.

Spanish and Latin American keyboards

Keyboards sold in Spain and Latin America have their own Ñ key and an accent key (´): press the accent key, then the vowel.

💡 In Typing Derby Spanish typing tests, accents are optional: you can type á as a and ñ as n, so you can practise Spanish typing on any keyboard.

Start the Spanish typing test ▸

FAQ

Are accents required in Spanish?: Yes, in correct writing. They can change the meaning of a word: sí (yes) vs. si (if), tú (you) vs. tu (your).
What are the Alt codes for Spanish accents?: Hold Alt and type on the number pad: á 0225, é 0233, í 0237, ó 0243, ú 0250, ñ 0241, ü 0252, ¿ 0191, ¡ 0161.
Does Typing Derby count accents?: Accents are optional, so á and a both count as correct.