Y With Accent: Copy, Paste & Type

Y with an accent, dots, or a line

Ý, Ỳ, and Ŷ use three different marks

The acute accent on ý is a sloping line. The grave on ỳ leans the other way, and the circumflex on ŷ looks like a roof. Their capitals are Ý, Ỳ, and Ŷ. Match the mark in your word before copying.

The capital of ÿ is Ÿ

The letter ÿ has two dots above it, called a diaeresis. Its capital, Ÿ, keeps both dots. You can copy the capital directly here instead of relying on an app to change the case. A y with just one dot above is a different character: ẏ.

Y with a tone mark or a macron

Vietnamese uses y forms such as ỷ, ỹ, and ỵ. Their marks are a hook above, a tilde, and a dot below. The straight line on ȳ is a macron, not a tilde. Keep the full marked letter when you paste it into a name or a sentence.

For a single letter, use the copy buttons above. Paste with Ctrl + V on Windows or Command + V on Mac; on a phone, touch and hold a text field and choose Paste. To write a longer message, open the online accent keyboard. You can also browse all accent letters from A to Z.

ALT codes and typing help for y with an accent

Windows ALT shortcuts and Unicode decimal values are different ways of referring to characters. Entries marked “Unicode decimal” below are reference numbers, not standard Windows ALT shortcuts. For those letters, copy the character or use the Word method below.

How to type y with an accent on Windows

Using a numeric keypad

For ý, try Alt + 0253 with the usual Western Windows character set. Keep the first zero. The result can depend on your app and system settings.

• Turn on Num Lock and click where you want the letter.
• Press and hold the ALT key.
• Type 0253 on the numeric keypad, not the number row above the letters.
• Release ALT and check that you get ý.

Type ý with Alt + X in Word

Word for Windows can turn a Unicode hexadecimal code into a letter. For ý, use 00FD. You don’t need a numeric keypad for this method.

• Click where the letter belongs in your Word document.
• Type 00FD, without the U+ prefix.
• Select just that code and press ALT + X.
• The selected code changes to ý.

See Microsoft’s character-code instructions for more about these two methods. To look up another letter, use the ALT code directory.

On a Mac, phone, or tablet

In supported Mac apps, holding a letter key opens an accent menu. The choices depend on the letter, and less common forms may be missing. You can always copy ý from this page and paste it with Command + V. On a phone or tablet, tap a copy button here, then use Paste in the app where you’re writing.

Unicode and HTML codes for accented y

Use this table when you need the character’s code rather than the letter itself. Unicode identifies the character; the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript columns show ways to write it in code. For a normal message or document, copying the letter is enough.