The é — an e with an acute accent — is probably the single most common accented character in European writing. You’ll find it in French (café, résumé, étudiant), Spanish (también, después, él), Portuguese (você, é, café), and Italian (perché, né, sé). If you type in any of these languages, here’s every method for getting é on your keyboard, organized by platform.
Windows
Method 1: Alt Code
Hold the left Alt key, type the four-digit code on a recognized numeric keypad—not the top number row—and then release Alt. Make sure Num Lock is on if your keypad requires it. These are traditional leading-zero Windows Alt codes, not universal Unicode input commands; results can depend on the application and active code page.
- Alt + 0233 → é (lowercase)
- Alt + 0201 → É (uppercase)
Note: A compatible embedded laptop keypad or external numeric keypad may work. If your laptop has no recognized numeric-keypad input, Method 2 is a better fit.
Method 2: United States-International Keyboard Layout
If you have the United States-International keyboard layout enabled:
- Press ‘ (apostrophe) then e → é
- Press ‘ then Shift + E → É
This is the fastest method for regular use and works in most standard Windows applications and text fields without a numeric keypad.
Method 3: Copy and Paste
Need é immediately without any setup? Copy it directly:
é É
Paste it wherever you need it.
You can also use our interactive Accent Character Finder to copy any accented character instantly and see keyboard shortcuts for every device.
Mac
Method 1: Option Key Shortcut
- Press Option + e, then press e → é
- Press Option + e, then press Shift + E → É
This works in most Mac applications with a compatible input source, including Pages, Word, Google Docs, and Messages. Once it’s in muscle memory, it is a fast method on Mac.
Method 2: Hold-Key Popup
Hold down the e key and a small popup will appear showing accented versions — é, è, ê, ë, and more. Slide to é and release. This works in supported apps with no setup required.
Method 3: ABC Extended Keyboard
If you use the ABC – Extended keyboard layout on Mac, the same Option + e combination applies. This is a Mac input source comparable to the Windows United States-International layout and provides broad support for Latin-script accent combinations.
Takes 10 seconds. No spam.
iPhone and Android
iPhone and iPad
Tap and hold the e key. A popup will appear showing é, è, ê, ë, and other variations. Slide to é and release. Works in every app with no setup required — it’s built right into the iOS keyboard.
Android
Same method: tap and hold e and select é from the popup. If your keyboard doesn’t show accented options, switch to Gboard (Google’s keyboard), which supports accented characters across all major languages.
Chromebook
Method 1: English (US) with International Keyboard
With the English (US) with International keyboard enabled:
- Press ‘ then e → é
- Press ‘ then Shift + E → É
To enable it, go to Settings → Device → Keyboard → Change input settings. Under Input methods, select Add, then choose English (US) with International. ChromeOS may also offer a separately named US International (PC) layout.
Method 2: Unicode Input
Enter é by Unicode without changing your keyboard layout:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U
- Type 00e9 (the hexadecimal input for Unicode code point U+00E9)
- Press Enter
This can work without changing the keyboard layout in many ChromeOS text fields, though it is not supported in every application or field and is slower for regular use.
Quick Reference
| Platform | Method | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Alt code | Alt + 0233 |
| Windows | United States-International | ‘ then e |
| Mac | Option shortcut | Option + e, e |
| Mac | Hold key | Hold e → select é |
| iPhone | Hold key | Hold e → select é |
| Android | Hold key | Hold e → select é |
| Chromebook | English (US) with International | ‘ then e |
| Chromebook | Unicode | Ctrl+Shift+U, 00e9 |
When Do You Need é?
Some of the most common words where é appears:
French: café (coffee), résumé (CV), étudiant (student), après (after), été (summer), préférer (to prefer), déjà (already)
Spanish: también (also), después (after), él (he), qué (what), sé (I know), café (coffee)
Portuguese: você (you), é (is), café (coffee), até (until)
Italian: perché (because/why), né (neither), sé (oneself), è (is)
English loanwords: résumé, café, fiancé, naïveté — é appears in English more often than people realize
If you’re typing in French regularly, our French Accents guide covers every character you’ll need — é, è, ê, ë, ç, and more — in one place. For Spanish, see our Spanish Accents guide.
é vs. è vs. ê — What’s the Difference?
Worth knowing: these three characters look similar but are distinct:
- é (acute accent, slanting right) — common in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian
- è (grave accent, slanting left) — common in French and Italian
- ê (circumflex, hat shape) — common in French and Portuguese
On Windows: è is Alt + 0232, ê is Alt + 0234. On Mac: è is Option + ` then e, ê is Option + i then e. On mobile, all three appear in the hold-key popup when you hold the e key.
Need other accented characters? See our guides on how to type á, how to type í, how to type ó, how to type ñ, and how to type ü.
