The Simple Way to Find and Use Accents on Your iPhone

Updated on Sep 27, 2017 at 6:00 PM

POPSUGAR Photography | Matthew Barnes

As someone who has an accent in her last name, it took me longer than it should've to figure out how to use an accent mark on an iPhone. In case you're like me and wonder how to find accent marks and other symbols on an iPhone and Mac computer, we've got you covered with a step-by-step guide ahead.

While I don't necessarily use them more than emoji or emoticons, accent marks are crucial when you're trying to communicate in a different language or spell something appropriately. Once you're done memorizing how to use this tip like a pro, don't forget to see how to add and use the interrobang.

First, start an iMessage or text message as you normally would.

Then, hold down the letter you'd like an accent mark for.

You should see a row of different accents available, depending on the letter. If you have an iPhone 6S or 6S Plus, be careful and don't push down on the screen too hard or you'll activate a 3D Touch feature instead.

You can also press down on certain symbols to see other ones you can pick from.

The -, $, &, “, ., ?, !, ‘, %, and / each show different symbols after pressing down.

You can also use the same trick to get accents on your Mac.

Just press down on whatever letter you need an accent for and easily pick out what you need. If you hit the escape button, the row of options will disappear.

You can also easily use other symbols or emoji on your Mac.

To access this screen, just press command, control, and space at the same time. At first, you'll see the emoji keyboard. To see symbols, press on the tiny keyboard icon at the top right corner. After that, you should see a list of the different types of symbols you can use. To use one, have your doc ready and open. Just click on the symbol and it should appear in your doc. Pretty easy, right?