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Three Ways to Insert Accent Marks in Microsoft Word

By Erin Wright

Accent marks, formally called diacritical marks, are extra marks that appear above and below individual letters. Their usual purpose is to influence pronunciation. Merriam-Webster lists ten common diacritical marks, including the acute accent (ˊ), grave accent (ˋ), and cedilla (¸).1 Today’s tutorial explains three ways to insert accent marks in Microsoft Word:

1. Insert Accented Letters

2. Add Accent Marks to Existing Letters

3. Insert Individual Accent Marks

Please note that accent marks are part of font files, so the font you’re using in Word determines which accent marks are available to you. All the standard fonts that come with Word include an exhaustive number of accent marks. However, decorative fonts and third-party fonts typically offer fewer options. For this tutorial, I’m using the Calibri font.

This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016, and are similar for Word 2013 and Word 2010.

Insert Accented Letters

Most standard fonts include commonly used accented letters, such as É, ã, and ç. Use this method if you want to insert accent marks and letters at the same time.

1. Place your cursor where the accented letter should appear in your text.

2. Select the Insert tab in the ribbon.

Image of Word 365 / Word 2019 Insert Tab
Figure 1. Insert tab

3. Select Symbol in the Symbols group.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Symbols Group
Figure 2. Symbols group

4. Select More Symbols in the Symbol drop-down menu.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 More Symbols Option in the Symbol Drop-Down Menu
Figure 3. More Symbols in the Symbol drop-down menu

5. Select the Symbols tab in the Symbol dialog box.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Symbols Tab in the Symbol Dialog Box
Figure 4. Symbols tab in the Symbol dialog box

6. Ensure that normal text is selected in the Font drop-down menu so that the accented letter you select matches your current font.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Normal Text Option i the Symbol Tab of the Symbol Dialog Box
Figure 5. Normal text in the Symbol dialog box

7. Select Latin Extended-A in the Subset drop-down menu for most of the common accented letters. Explore Latin Extended-B, Latin Extended Additional, and the remainder of the subsets for additional options.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Latin Extended-A Subset in the Symbol Dialog Box
Figure 6. Latin Extended-A Subset in the Symbol dialog box

8. Select the required accented letter.

9. Select the Insert button to insert the accented letter.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Insert Button in the Symbol Dialog Box
Figure 7. Insert button in the Symbol dialog box

10. Select the Close button to close the Symbol dialog box.

Image of Word 365 / Word 2019 Close Button in the Symbol Dialog Box
Figure 8. Close button in the Symbol dialog box

The accented letter should now appear in your text.

Add Accent Marks to Existing Letters

Use this method if you want to add accent marks to existing letters in your text.

1. Place your cursor to the right of the letter that should receive the accent mark.

2. Select the Insert tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).

3. Select Symbol in the Symbols group (see figure 2).

4. Select More Symbols in the Symbol drop-down menu (see figure 3).

5. Select the Symbols tab in the Symbol dialog box (see figure 4).

6. Ensure that (normal text) is selected in the Font drop-down menu so that the accent mark you select matches your current font (see figure 5).

7. Select Combining Diacritical Marks in the Subset drop-down menu. Explore Combining Diacritical Marks Supplement and the remainder of the subsets for additional options.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Combining Diacritical Marks in the Symbol Dialog Box
Figure 9. Combining Diacritical Marks in the Symbol dialog box

8. Select the required combining accent mark.

9. Select the Insert button (see figure 7).

10. Select the Close button to close the Symbol dialog box (see figure 8).

The accent mark should now be connected to the letter chosen in step 1 above.

Insert Individual Accent Marks

Use this method if you want to insert individual accent marks, such as (ˊ),(ˋ), and (¸).

1. Place your cursor where the accent mark should appear in the text.

2. Select the Insert tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).

3. Select Symbol in the Symbols group (see figure 2).

4. Select More Symbols in the Symbol drop-down menu (see figure 3).

5. Select the Symbols tab in the Symbol dialog box (see figure 4).

6. Ensure that (normal text) is selected in the Font drop-down menu so that the accent mark you select matches your current font (see figure 5).

7. Select Latin-1 Supplement in the Subset drop-down menu for most of the common accent marks. Explore Spacing Modifier Letters and the remainder of the subsets for additional options.

Image of the Word 365 / Word 2019 Individual Accent Marks in the Symbol Dialog Box
Figure 10. Individual accent marks in the Symbol dialog box

8. Select the required accent mark.

9. Select the Insert button (see figure 7).

10. Select the Close button to close the Symbol dialog box (see figure 8).

The accent mark should now appear in your text.

Accent marks can also be inserted with shortcut keys and alt codes. This tutorial focuses on the Symbol dialog box method because I believe it is the most convenient method for most Word users.

Further Reading: How to Insert Special Characters in Word

Reference

1. Merriam-Webster, s.v. “diacritic,” accessed March 03, 2022.

Updated March 03, 2022

Filed Under: Microsoft Word Tagged With: formatting, spelling, Word 2010, Word 2013, Word 2016, Word 2019, Word 365

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