Type accents without switching keyboards
You do not need a Spanish or German keyboard sticker set to practice conjugations. Learn a few OS shortcuts — or tap the character pad under our typing tools.
On this site
Quick practice, Cloze practice, and Script trainer recall include an on-screen Special characters pad. Pick a language set (Spanish ñ, German äöüß, French accents, and more), tap a character, and it inserts at the cursor. Collapses when you want a clean screen.
Try Quick practice Cloze practice
Windows
- US International layout (recommended): Settings → Time & language → Language → Options → Add a keyboard → United States-International. Then
'+e→ é,"+u→ ü,~+n→ ñ,`+a→ à. Right-Alt (AltGr) shortcuts also work for many glyphs. - Emoji & symbols panel: Win + . (period) → Symbols. Fine for occasional characters; slow for drills.
- Alt codes (numeric keypad): e.g. Alt+0241 → ñ, Alt+0225 → á. Useful as a fallback; easy to mistype under time pressure.
macOS
- Hold the key: hold
a,e,n, etc., then pick the accented form from the popup. Fast for Spanish and French. - Option (⌥) shortcuts: ⌥+e then e → é; ⌥+u then u → ü; ⌥+n then n → ñ; ⌥+u then a → ä. Once muscle memory lands, this is often faster than the hold menu.
- ABC – Extended or language-specific input sources under System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources if you type in several languages daily.
Linux
- Compose key: set one in your desktop’s keyboard settings (often Caps Lock or Right Alt). Then Compose +
'+e→ é, Compose +"+u→ ü, Compose +~+n→ ñ. - US International / AltGr: same idea as Windows — enable a variant with dead keys in GNOME, KDE, or your distro’s layout picker.
- IBus / Fcitx: useful if you also study Chinese, Japanese, or Korean; keep a Latin layout with dead keys for Romance and German drills.
What to learn first
- Your language’s five most common marks (Spanish: á é í ó ú ñ; German: ä ö ü ß).
- One OS method you can do eyes-up — hold-key on Mac, dead keys or Compose elsewhere.
- Use the on-screen pad while the habit is forming, then wean off once shortcuts stick.
Mobile
On iOS and Android, hold a letter to open accent variants. For drills on a laptop, prefer the OS shortcuts or the site pad so your hands stay on the keyboard.