How to Type N With Tilde on Top (Ñ ñ): Full Guide

Ñ (pronounced eñe) is part of the Latin alphabet. It’s used in words such as jalapeño or piña colada, as well as other Spanish-based words and phrases that have become common in English. We’ll cover how to type n with tilde, how to add this character to your keyboard layout, keyboard shortcuts, and how to find it on your phone or mobile devices. 

How to Type Ñ With Your Keyboard

Typing this symbol with your keyboard is simple. Here’s how:

Use Alt code

Because of the prevalence of the eñe symbol, it’s part of the standard keyboard layout, although you need these Alt codes to access it:

1. Make sure that Num Lock is on
2. Select within a text where you want to add an eñe
3. Hold down the Alt key and type the following codes:
   • 165 or 0209 for Ñ
   • 164 or 0241 for ñ
     
4. Release the Alt key. 

Note: Depending on what type of keyboard you have, you may have a tilde symbol assigned to a key. If that’s the case, another shortcut is: 

• CTRL+Shift+tilde+n

Windows laptop without a number pad

If you have a Windows laptop without a number pad, you can still access the ñ character and other symbols. Here’s how: 

1. Select the Windows icon on the bottom left of your screen
2. Scroll down and click Windows Accessories
3. Find and click Character Map
4. From there, you should be able to find the lowercase ñ
   
   

For the capitalized version: 

1. Follow the same steps above
2. Check the small box for Advanced View
3. In the “search for” field, type n then hit the search button
4. Several characters will appear, including the capitalized Ñ
   
   
5. If you want this to be available multiple times, select the character from the characters to copy field and then hit copy
6. The ñ is easily pasted from your clipboard

Change your PC’s keyboard layout to US International

Windows PCs support a wide range of keyboard layouts, including US-International, which is helpful for eñe.  

How to install the US-International keyboard layout for Windows 10:

1. Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu
2. Go to Settings
   • It’s the cog-shaped button from the Start Menu
3. Select Time & Language
   

6. Navigate to the Language menu
7. Under Preferred languages, press Add a language
   
   
8. Select English (United States) from the list, and install it
9. Once installed, click on English (United States), and press the Options button
10. In the newly-opened menu, select Add a keyboard
11. Scroll down the list until you find US-International, and install it
    

Now that you’ve installed the new layout, switch to it so that you can easily write eñe

While typing, go to your Taskbar to the Input Indicator, select English (United States) > United States – International keyboard

Once you’ve switched keyboard layouts, use one of the following methods to write eñe:

• Hold down right Alt (or Alt GR), and press n 
• Type in ~ followed by n

If you’re using Windows 11, the steps are similar but a little different: 

1. Click the Windows icon on your taskbar
2. A menu will pop up, select the Settings icon
   
   
3. Choose Time and Language from the side menu
   
4. Go to Language and Region
5. Find English in the list and click the 3 horizontal dots to reveal language options
   
   
6. Go to Keyboards
7. Add a Keyboard
8. Scroll down until you find United States-International and select it
   

9. If you want to delete it, just click the 3 dots next to it and choose the remove option

Windows Virtual Keypad

If you don’t have a physical keyboard, you can use the Windows virtual keyboard. Here’s how: 

1. Go to Settings (the Windows logo key is one way to access this)
2. Go to Ease of Access
   
   
3. On the left, scroll down and select Keyboard
   
   
4. Toggle the “On-Screen-Keyboard” to on. A shortcut for this is the Windows key + ctrl+ O
   
   
5. A virtual keyboard should appear. You can minimize it as needed to get it out of your way. From here, to type the ñ character, you click ctrl + shift + tilde + n
   
   

How to type Ñ on smartphones

If you’re using your smartphone, it’s easy to select this character. Regardless of type, most phones have the same instructions: 

1. Wherever you’re placing the character (such as an email or text) hold down the regular “n” letter
2. Several “n” based characters will appear
3. Select the one with the tilde over it
   
   
4. If you want it capitalized, make sure your initial “N” character is capitalized first

Ñ Character on MacOS

Depending on which Mac product you have, you can create ñ by: 

1. Hold down the “n” key
2. You’ll get a popup menu with the ñ option

Or, the keyboard shortcut is: 

• Option + n, then press nagain without holding down Option

To do a capital Ñ, the shortcut is:

• Option + n, then hold down Shift and press n again. So it’s Option + n, Shift + n

Conclusion

You can always find the ñ symbol online and copy/paste it into your document. Feel free to use this article for reference.

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