An Umlaut is a diacritical mark (two dots) placed over a letter.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to type any Umlaut Letters on the keyboard.
Without further ado let’s get into it.
Umlaut Letters Alt Code Shortcut (Windows)
On Windows, alt codes are used to type symbols or characters that are not available on the keyboard.
This method is extremely beneficial because it saves a significant amount of time when trying to type special characters.
The following are the steps you can take to type the Umlaut Letters on Windows using the Alt Code keyboard shortcut:
- Open your document in which you want to type the Umlaut Letters.
- The cursor should be positioned in the desired location.
- Press and hold on to one of your keyboard’s Alt Keys.
- As you hold down the Alt key, use the numeric keypad on the right to type the Umlaut Letters Alt code (see table below for all the Alt codes)
- Release the alt key after typing the code.
As soon as you let go of the Alt key, the Umlaut Letters will appear.
Below are the Alt codes listed in a table:
Umlaut Description | Umlaut Letters | Umlaut Alt Codes |
A umlaut – Uppercase | Ä | Alt 0196 |
a umlaut – Lowercase | ä | Alt 0228 |
E umlaut – Uppercase | Ë | Alt 0203 |
e umlaut – Lowercase | ë | Alt 0235 |
I umlaut – Uppercase | Ï | Alt 0207 |
i umlaut – Lowercase | ï | Alt 0239 |
O umlaut – Uppercase | Ö | Alt 0214 |
o umlaut – Lowercase | ö | Alt 0246 |
U umlaut – Uppercase | Ü | Alt 0220 |
u umlaut – Lowercase | ü | Alt 0252 |
Y umlaut – Uppercase | Ÿ | Alt 0159 |
y umlaut – Lowercase | ÿ | Alt 0255 |
You must obey the Alt code rules below to be able to type the umlaut letters on the keyboard.
- Before typing the code, you must hold down the Alt key.
- To type the alt code, use the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard.
- The NumLock must be enabled as you must use the 10-key numeric keypad to enter the Alt code. When you turn off NumLock, the number keys become disabled, and you won’t be able to type the numbers.
- If you’re using a laptop that doesn’t have a numeric keypad, you’ll need to activate the hidden numeric keypad first. On most laptops, you can turn it on by pressing the Fn + NmLk keys at the same time. This hidden numeric keypad isn’t found on every laptop and you won’t be able to type symbols using the alt code method unless you connect an external keyboard with a numeric keypad or use the on-screen keyboard. Yet still, you can use the other methods discussed in this guide.
Umlaut Letters Shortcut (Mac)
The Alt code method can be used to type these characters on Windows only.
However, the shortcuts below will work for you if you’re using a Mac PC.
The table below has all the Umlaut letters shortcut for Mac.
Umlaut Description | Umlaut Letter | Umlaut Shortcut on Mac |
Umlaut a | ä | [OPTION]+[u] then a |
Umlaut e | ë | [OPTION]+[u] then e |
Umlaut i | ï | [OPTION]+[u] then i |
Umlaut o | ö | [OPTION]+[u] then o |
Umlaut u | ü | [OPTION]+[u] then u |
Umlaut y | ÿ | [OPTION]+[u] then y |
You can type the Umlaut Letters anywhere with your Mac keyboard if you use the above shortcuts.
Shortcut to type Umlaut Letters Sign (MS Word)
Alternatively, there are shortcuts that you can use to type Umlaut letters specifically in Microsoft Word.
You can find these shortcuts in the table below.
Umlaut Letters | MS Word Shortcut |
ä | [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[;], then a |
ë | [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[;], then e |
ï | [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[;], then i |
ö | [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[;], then o |
ü | [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[;], then u |
ÿ | [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[;], then y |
To use these shortcuts, press (Ctrl) + (Shift) + (; semicolon) then press the letter on which you want to put the diaeresis or umlaut.
Insert Umlaut Letters from Office Symbol Library
If using the keyboard isn’t your thing, there’s also a mouse-based method for getting the Umlaut Letters in Office apps like Microsoft Word.
To explain the steps, we’ll use screenshots from Microsoft Word. You can, however, use the same method in Excel and PowerPoint.
Without further ado, here are the steps to take:
- Launch MS Word or Excel or PowerPoint.
- Place your cursor at the desired place.
- Navigate to the Insert tab.
- Click the Symbols button in the Symbols group, then select More Symbols from the drop-down menu.
The Symbol window will appear. It contains a gazillion of symbols which include the Umlaut Letters.
- Find the Umlaut Letters in the symbol library.
To easily locate this symbol, use the Subset dropdown list to display specific types of symbols. You can find the Umlaut Letters in the Latin-1 Supplement group.
- To insert it into your document, simply double-click on it. Alternatively, click the Insert button.
- Close the Dialog.
If you follow the above steps carefully, you can insert the Umlaut Letters in Word or any other symbol or character not available on the keyboard.
Copy and Paste Umlaut Letters
This is by far the simplest way to obtain any character, including the Umlaut Letters.
You simply need to copy the symbol somewhere, such as a web page, and then press Ctrl + V after switching to the document where you need it.
If you want to copy these letters you can do so below.
Umlaut Letters |
Ä |
ä |
Ë |
ë |
Ï |
ï |
Ö |
ö |
Ü |
ü |
Ÿ |
ÿ |
If you have a Windows PC, the steps below will show you how to copy this symbol from the Character Map.
- Search and Launch the Character Map app.
- Near the button, select the Advance View checkbox to expand more Character map options.
- In the Advanced view, you will see a search box. Type diaeresis in this text box and press Enter.
- The symbols will appear in the search results.
- Simply double click on the one you need and hit on the Copy button after it is selected in the Characters to copy text box.
Conclusion
Obtaining symbols that do not have keys on the keyboard can be difficult.
However, with the assistance of the methods discussed, it should no longer be a difficult task to type or insert any umlaut letters.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this guide.