How to Type Common Symbols and Special Characters on macOS

Need to type the Apple logo , copyright ©, an em dash —, or a degree symbol °? macOS gives you fast options: keyboard shortcuts (Option/Shift combos), the on-screen Keyboard Viewer, and the searchable Emoji & Symbols panel.

Keyboard Shortcuts (quick list)

Hold Option (⌥) — and sometimes Shift (⇧) — with a key to produce symbols. If a combo doesn’t match your keyboard layout, use the methods below.

Punctuation & Quotes

• … (ellipsis): ⌥ + ;
• – (en dash): ⌥ + –
• — (em dash): ⌥ + ⇧ + –
• “ / ” (smart double quotes): ⌥ + [ / ⌥ + ⇧ + [
• ‘ / ’ (smart single quotes): ⌥ + ] / ⌥ + ⇧ + ]
• • (bullet): ⌥ + 8
• ¿ (inverted question): ⌥ + ⇧ + /

Math

• ÷ (division): ⌥ + /
• ≤ / ≥: ⌥ + , / ⌥ + .
• ≠ (not equal): ⌥ + =
• ± (plus/minus): ⌥ + ⇧ + =
• √ (square root): ⌥ + V
• ∞ (infinity): ⌥ + 5
• ∑ (sigma): ⌥ + W
• ∫ (integral): ⌥ + B
• ∂ (partial differential): ⌥ + D

Common Symbols

• © (copyright): ⌥ + G
• ® (registered): ⌥ + R
• ™ (trademark): varies by layout — see search/replacements below
• ° (degree): ⌥ + ⇧ + 8
• (Apple logo): ⌥ + ⇧ + K (in Apple fonts)

Emoji & Symbols (search anything)

Press Control + Command + Space (or the 🌐 Globe key) to open the panel. Search by name (e.g. degree, sigma, en dash, tm) and double-click to insert. Add favourites for quick reuse.

Examples: search “degree” → °; “tm” → ™; “arrow” → ← ↑ → ↓ ↔ ⇧; “math” → full operator set.

Keyboard Viewer

System Settings ▸ Keyboard → enable Show keyboard and emoji viewers in menu bar. From the input icon in the menu bar choose Show Keyboard Viewer. Hold ⌥ or ⌥+⇧ to reveal every hidden symbol for your layout; click keys to type them.

Character Viewer

Open via the same menu bar icon (Show Emoji & Symbols) or with Control + Command + Space. Browse categories (Math, Punctuation, Currency, Arrows) or search. Double-click to insert; the info sidebar shows Unicode and related characters.

Accents & Diacritics

• Press-and-hold a letter (e.g., e) for a popup: é è ê ë ē. Press the number or click.
• Dead-key combos (type accent, then letter):
  • Acute (´): ⌥ + E, then a → á
  • Grave (`): ⌥ + `, then a → à
  • Circumflex (^): ⌥ + I, then o → ô
  • Umlaut/Diaeresis (¨): ⌥ + U, then u → ü
  • Tilde (˜): ⌥ + N, then n → ñ

Unicode Hex Input (type any code point)

System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Text Input ▸ Input Sources → + → add Unicode Hex Input. Switch to it from the menu bar when needed. Hold ⌥ and type the hex code, then release.

• ⌥ 00A9 → ©
• ⌥ 2122 → ™
• ⌥ 00B0 → °
• ⌥ 2192 → →

Tip: The Emoji & Symbols sidebar shows each character’s Unicode.

Text Replacements (auto-expand shortcuts)

Create custom expansions so typing (c) becomes ©, -- becomes – , or tm becomes ™.

System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Text Replacements → + → add your shortcut and replacement. These sync via iCloud to your other Apple devices.

Currency & Layout Notes

Currency and a few symbols vary by keyboard:

• UK layouts have a dedicated £ key.
• €, ¢, and ™ shortcuts differ by region. If unsure, use Keyboard Viewer or search in Emoji & Symbols.
• The Apple logo displays only with Apple fonts (e.g., SF, Helvetica Neue on macOS); avoid it on the web unless you’ve tested fallback.

Quick Reference Table

If in doubt, open Emoji & Symbols (Ctrl+Cmd+Space) and search — it’s the most reliable across versions and layouts.