How to Type a U With Dots (ü or Ü) on a Keyboard

The umlaut — here’s every method on every platform

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The letter U with two dots above it — ü (lowercase) and Ü (uppercase) — is called a U with umlaut or U with diaeresis. It’s a distinct letter in German, used in several other languages, and appears in loanwords and names across English text.

Every platform has a reliable method to type it, and on most of them the fastest approach requires no setup at all.

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The Two U With Dots Characters

ü — lowercase U with umlaut (Unicode U+00FC). Used in German words like über, München, grüß. Also appears in Turkish, Hungarian, and various other languages.

Ü — uppercase U with umlaut (Unicode U+00DC). The capitalized version used at the start of sentences and proper nouns.

Both are covered in every method below.

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Mac

Method 1: Long Press the U Key

Hold down the U key and a popup appears showing accent variants including ü. Press 5 or click ü to insert the lowercase version. For Ü, activate Caps Lock first or use the dead key method below.

This is the easiest method for occasional use — no setup, works in every app, appears immediately.

Method 2: Dead Key Shortcut

Press Option + U first — this places a floating umlaut. Then press U again to apply it:

• ü (lowercase): Option + U, then U
• Ü (uppercase): Option + U, then Shift + U

The Option + U dead key works for any vowel — Option + U then A gives ä, Option + U then O gives ö, and so on.

Method 3: Character Viewer

Press Control + Command + Space, search “umlaut” or “u with diaeresis,” and double-click to insert.

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Windows

Method 1: Alt Codes (Numpad)

Hold Alt and type the code on the numeric keypad:

• ü (lowercase): Alt + 0252
• Ü (uppercase): Alt + 0220

Num Lock must be on. Use the numeric keypad only — not the number row at the top.

Method 2: US International Keyboard Layout

With the US International keyboard active, the umlaut is typed as a dead key sequence:

• ü: press Shift + ‘ (quotation mark) then U
• Ü: press Shift + ‘ then Shift + U

The quotation mark acts as a floating diaeresis when followed by a vowel.

To add the US International keyboard: Go to Settings → Time and Language → Language and Region → your language → Options → Add a Keyboard → United States-International. Switch between keyboards using Windows + Space.

Note: With US International active, typing a quotation mark followed by a space produces the standalone ” character. The dead key only activates when followed by a compatible vowel.

Method 3: German Keyboard Layout

If you type German regularly, adding the German keyboard puts Ü directly on a dedicated key — Shift + Ü for uppercase, Ü key for lowercase. Go to Settings → Time and Language → Language → Add a Language → German (Germany) and add the German keyboard. Switch using Windows + Space.

Method 4: System-Wide Text Expansion

Use AutoHotkey or Espanso to map triggers:

::ue::ü
::UE::Ü

This mirrors the common German romanization convention where “ue” represents “ü” when umlaut characters aren’t available.

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iPhone and iPad

Method 1: Long Press the U Key

Tap and hold the U key on the iOS keyboard. A popup appears showing accented variants — ü appears alongside ú, ù, û, and others. Slide your finger to ü and release.

This is the built-in iOS method and requires no setup. For Ü, long press while Shift is active or tap the Shift key before long pressing.

Method 2: Add German Keyboard

Go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → German. With the German keyboard active, ü has its own dedicated key. Switch using the globe icon.

Method 3: Text Replacement

Go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and map ue to ü and UE to Ü for quick expansion.

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Android

Method 1: Long Press the U Key

On Gboard and most Android keyboards, tap and hold the U key. Accented variants including ü appear in a popup. Slide to ü and release.

Works immediately without any setup on virtually every Android keyboard.

Method 2: Add German Keyboard

In Gboard settings, go to Languages → Add Keyboard → German (Germany). With German active, ü has its own key directly on the keyboard.

Method 3: Gboard Symbol Search

Tap the G logo in Gboard and search “u umlaut” or “u diaeresis” to find and insert ü directly.

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Chromebook

Method 1: Unicode Input

Press Ctrl + Shift + U, then type the hex code, then press Enter or Space:

• ü: Ctrl + Shift + U, 00fc, Enter
• Ü: Ctrl + Shift + U, 00dc, Enter

Method 2: Add German Input Method

Go to Settings → Device → Keyboard → Input Methods and add German. With German active, ü is on a dedicated key.

Method 3: Special Characters Picker

Press Search + Shift + Space to open the emoji and special characters panel. Search “u diaeresis” or “umlaut” and select the character.

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Linux

Method 1: Unicode Input

Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the hex code, then press Enter:

• ü: Ctrl + Shift + U, 00fc, Enter
• Ü: Ctrl + Shift + U, 00dc, Enter

Method 2: Compose Key

With a Compose key configured:

• ü: Compose + “ + u
• Ü: Compose + “ + U

The Compose key sequence is logical — the diaeresis looks like two dots, which looks like the quotation mark symbol.

Method 3: German Keyboard Layout

Add the German keyboard through your desktop environment’s input settings. Ü and ü are on dedicated keys.

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Microsoft Word (Any Platform)

Method 1: Built-In Shortcut

Word has its own keyboard shortcut that works on both Windows and Mac regardless of keyboard layout:

• ü: Press Ctrl + Shift + : (colon), then press U
• Ü: Press Ctrl + Shift + :, then press Shift + U

The colon key is used because the umlaut visually resembles a colon placed above a letter.

Method 2: Alt + X

Type the Unicode code point then immediately press Alt + X:

• Type 00FC then Alt + X → ü
• Type 00DC then Alt + X → Ü

Method 3: AutoCorrect

Go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Find ü in the Latin-1 Supplement block, insert it, and click AutoCorrect to set a trigger like ue that Word converts automatically.

Method 4: Alt Code

Hold Alt and type 0252 on the numpad for ü, 0220 for Ü.

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Google Docs

Option + U then U on Mac works in Google Docs exactly as elsewhere. Alt codes work on Windows inside Docs.

Go to Insert → Special Characters, search “u diaeresis” or “u umlaut,” and click to insert for occasional use.

For regular use, the OS-level keyboard method — long press on Mac, US International or German keyboard on Windows — is more efficient than the Insert menu.

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HTML and Web Development

html

<!-- Lowercase ü -->
&uuml;      <!-- named entity -->
&#252;      <!-- decimal -->
&#xFC;      <!-- hex -->
ü           <!-- direct character in UTF-8 -->

<!-- Uppercase Ü -->
&Uuml;      <!-- named entity -->
&#220;      <!-- decimal -->
&#xDC;      <!-- hex -->
Ü           <!-- direct character in UTF-8 -->

Named entities ü and Ü are the most readable in HTML source code.

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LaTeX

latex

% Umlaut in text mode
\"u     % ü lowercase
\"U     % Ü uppercase

% With inputenc package — type directly
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
% Then type ü and Ü directly in source

% In German documents, use the babel package
\usepackage[ngerman]{babel}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
% Then type ü directly

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Quick Reference Table

Character	Platform	Fastest Method	Shortcut
ü	Windows	Alt code	Alt + 0252
Ü	Windows	Alt code	Alt + 0220
ü	Mac	Long press or dead key	Hold U, or Option + U, U
Ü	Mac	Dead key	Option + U, Shift + U
ü / Ü	iPhone / iPad	Long press U key	Hold U, slide to ü
ü / Ü	Android	Long press U key	Hold U, slide to ü
ü	Chromebook	Unicode input	Ctrl + Shift + U, 00fc
Ü	Chromebook	Unicode input	Ctrl + Shift + U, 00dc
ü	Microsoft Word	Built-in shortcut	Ctrl + Shift + :, U
Ü	Microsoft Word	Built-in shortcut	Ctrl + Shift + :, Shift + U
ü / Ü	HTML	Named entities	ü / Ü
ü / Ü	LaTeX	Text command	“u / “U

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For German Writers Specifically

If you regularly write in German, the most practical long-term setup is adding the German keyboard layout to your system and switching to it when writing German text. With the German keyboard active, ü, ö, ä, and ß each have their own dedicated keys — no shortcuts or long presses needed.

Windows: Settings → Time and Language → Language → Add German → add German keyboard. Switch with Windows + Space.

Mac: System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → add German. Switch with Ctrl + Space or the input menu in the menu bar.

The German keyboard layout moves some punctuation keys compared to a US layout — the Z and Y keys are swapped, and some symbols are in different positions. For people who type German occasionally rather than regularly, the US International keyboard’s dead key approach may be more practical than switching full keyboard layouts.

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The Bottom Line

On Mac, long press or Option + U then U are the two methods to know — long press for occasional use, the dead key for faster regular typing. On Windows, the US International keyboard dead key sequence (Shift + ‘ then U) is the most natural approach for regular use; Alt + 0252 covers one-off needs with a numpad. On mobile, long pressing the U key works immediately on both iPhone and Android without any setup.

For German writing in Word specifically, Ctrl + Shift + : then U is worth memorizing — it works consistently across both Windows and Mac versions of Word without needing to change keyboard layouts.

Long press on mobile. Option + U on Mac. US International dead key on Windows. Ctrl + Shift + : in Word. Every platform has a clean path to ü — pick the one that fits how often you need it.