Icelandic keeps the old letters þ (thorn) and ð (eth) and uses the acute on all vowels plus æ and ö.
How to type Icelandic letters on Windows
Alt codes
Hold Alt, type the code on the numeric keypad with Num Lock on, then release Alt. The number row above the letters does not work.
| Letter | Alt code | Capital | Alt code |
|---|---|---|---|
Alt+0225 | Alt+0193 | ||
Alt+0240 | Alt+0208 | ||
Alt+0233 | Alt+0201 | ||
Alt+0237 | Alt+0205 | ||
Alt+0243 | Alt+0211 | ||
Alt+0250 | Alt+0218 | ||
Alt+0253 | Alt+0221 | ||
Alt+0254 | Alt+0222 | ||
Alt+0230 | Alt+0198 | ||
Alt+0246 | Alt+0214 |
Add the Icelandic keyboard layout
Go to Settings → Time & Language → Language & region, add Icelandic (or open Options under your language and add a keyboard), and choose Icelandic. Switch layouts with Win+Space. The Icelandic layout puts ð right of P, æ right of L and þ right of M, with ö on the key right of æ.
US-International dead keys
If you would rather keep a US layout, add United States-International. Press the accent key, release it, then press the letter:
- ' then the letter for the acute (gives á)
- Shift+' (") then the letter for the umlaut (gives ö)
- AltGr+A gives á directly
- AltGr+Z gives æ directly
- AltGr+E gives é directly
- AltGr+I gives í directly
- AltGr+O gives ó directly
- AltGr+P gives ö directly
- AltGr+U gives ú directly
- AltGr+D gives ð directly
- AltGr+T gives þ directly
Emoji and symbol panel
Press Win+., open the Symbols tab (Ω) and choose Latin symbols, or search the letter's name. Works in every app and needs no numpad.
The Icelandic layout has þ, ð, æ and ö as dedicated keys; the acute is a dead key next to the right Shift.
How to type Icelandic letters on a Mac
Press and hold
Hold a letter key for a second and a menu of accented forms appears; press the number under the one you want. On the English keyboard this covers á é í ó ú æ ö, but not ð ý þ.
- Hold A for à á â ä æ ã å ā
- Hold E for è é ê ë ē ė ę
- Hold I for î ï í ī į ì
- Hold O for ô ö ò ó œ ø ō õ
- Hold U for û ü ù ú ū
Option dead keys
Press the Option combination, release it, then press the letter:
- Option+E, A gives á
- Option+E, E gives é
- Option+E, I gives í
- Option+E, O gives ó
- Option+E, U gives ú
- Option+E, Y gives ý
- Option+' gives æ
- Option+U, O gives ö
Icelandic input source and Character Viewer
For regular Icelandic typing add Icelandic under System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources and switch with Control+Space. For a one-off letter, press Control+⌘+Space to open the Character Viewer, search the letter's name and double-click it.
Alt codes exist for all of them: þ is Alt+0254, ð is Alt+0240.
How to type Icelandic letters on iPhone, iPad and Android
- Press and hold the base letter (A, E, I, O, U).
- A pop-up shows the accented forms, including á é í ó ú.
- Slide your finger onto the one you want and release. Gboard on Android works the same way.
To add the keyboard on iPhone go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Icelandic and switch with the globe key. On Android open Gboard → Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Icelandic. For a letter you type often, save a shortcut under Text Replacement (iPhone) or the Personal dictionary (Gboard).
Word, Excel and Google Docs
Microsoft Word
Word has built-in accent shortcuts. Press the combination, release it, then type the letter:
- Ctrl+', a gives á
- Ctrl+', d gives ð
- Ctrl+', e gives é
- Ctrl+', i gives í
- Ctrl+', o gives ó
- Ctrl+', u gives ú
- Ctrl+', y gives ý
- Ctrl+Shift+&, t gives þ
- Ctrl+Shift+&, a gives æ
- Ctrl+Shift+:, o gives ö
For any letter, type its Unicode hex code and press Alt+X: 00E1 → á, 00F0 → ð, 00E9 → é, 00ED → í, and so on (the table above has every code). Insert → Symbol → More Symbols lists them under Latin-1 Supplement and Latin Extended-A. With AutoCorrect (File → Options → Proofing) you can make Word replace a code of your choosing, such as a~, with á as you type.
Excel and Google Sheets
Alt codes and paste work in cells. For a formula, use =UNICHAR(225) in Excel or =CHAR(225) in Google Sheets to get á.
Google Docs
Use Insert → Special characters and search the letter's name, or draw it in the sketch box. Docs accepts Alt codes on Windows and Option dead keys on a Mac, and Tools → Preferences → Substitutions can auto-replace a short code with the letter.
Icelandic punctuation and other marks
Beyond the letters, Icelandic text uses kr (króna). Click to copy; the codes work the same way as for letters.
| Mark | Name | Unicode | Alt code | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Króna | U+006B | — | k |
Frequently asked questions
How do I type Icelandic letters on an English keyboard? +
On Windows, hold Alt and type the code on the numeric keypad (for example Alt+0225 for á). On a Mac, iPhone or Android, press and hold the base letter and pick á, é, í, ó from the pop-up. Or click any letter on this page to copy it.
Which keyboard layout do I add for Icelandic? +
Windows: Icelandic. Mac: Icelandic. iPhone and iPad: Icelandic. Android (Gboard): Icelandic. The Icelandic layout puts ð right of P, æ right of L and þ right of M, with ö on the key right of æ..
Do Icelandic letters have Alt codes? +
Yes, all of them: á Alt+0225, ð Alt+0240, é Alt+0233, í Alt+0237, ó Alt+0243, ú Alt+0250 and more in the table above. Alt codes need Num Lock on and a numeric keypad.
How do I type Icelandic accents in Microsoft Word? +
Word has accent shortcuts: press the combination, release, then type the letter. Ctrl+', a gives á; Ctrl+', d gives ð; Ctrl+', e gives é. For any letter, type its Unicode hex code and press Alt + X (00E1 becomes á), or use Insert → Symbol.
Will copied Icelandic letters work in Word, Google Docs and social media? +
Yes. They are standard Unicode characters, so they paste as real text into any app that supports Unicode, which includes Word, Docs, Excel, WhatsApp, Instagram and email.