Letters With Accents › W with accent
Looking for a w with accent? Copy any one below in a click. The main forms are Welsh: ŵ, the w with circumflex (a “long w”), plus ẃ, ẁ and ẅ. In Welsh the letter w can act as a vowel, which is why it takes accents at all. Every accented w is gathered here.
How do I type ŵ (the Welsh w)? Windows: hold Alt, type 0373. Mac: Option + i then w. Phone: press and hold w. Steps below.
Copy & Paste W With Accent
Click any w with accent to copy it.
Small letter w
Capital letter W
How to type W with accent on every device
The w with accent you want is almost always Welsh. Here is how to enter ŵ and its siblings on each device.
Windows, ALT code
Num Lock on. Hold Alt, type the number, release. Alt 0373 gives ŵ; capital Ŵ is Alt 0372. The full w with accent alt code list is in the table below.
Windows, Word (Alt+X)
Type the hex and press Alt + X: 0175 then Alt + X gives ŵ. The circumflex shortcut Ctrl + Shift + ^ then w also works in many builds.
Windows, emoji & symbol panel
Press Win + ., open the Symbols tab, and click the character.
Mac, Option key
Use Option + i (which arms the circumflex), then press w for ŵ. For the grave ẁ, use Option + ` then w. Holding the w key also opens an accent menu.
iPhone & iPad
Press and hold w. On a Welsh keyboard the accented options appear; otherwise use the copy grid above.
Android (Gboard / SwiftKey)
With a Welsh layout enabled, hold w and slide to the variant. Otherwise copy ŵ from the grid at the top.
Linux
Ctrl + Shift + U, type 0175, Enter for ŵ. A Compose key works too: Compose, then ^, then w.
HTML & web
On the web, ŵ is ŵ and Ŵ is Ŵ. See the technical table.
Excel & Google Sheets
Use =UNICHAR(373) for ŵ, or the matching decimal for another form.
Typing W with accent on different language keyboards
Accented W is almost entirely a Welsh affair, so a Welsh keyboard is where these letters feel at home.
Welsh keyboard
In Welsh, W is often a vowel, so it takes a circumflex to mark a long vowel: ŵ, as in ŵy (egg) and gŵr (man). A Welsh (UK Extended) layout makes ŵ with the AltGr circumflex dead key then w. The grave ẁ, acute ẃ and diaeresis ẅ are made the same way with their dead keys.
UK Extended keyboard
On Windows, the “United Kingdom Extended” layout lets English speakers type Welsh accents: AltGr + ^ then w gives ŵ. This is the usual choice for anyone typing Welsh on a British keyboard.
Chichewa (rare)
The circumflex ŵ also appears rarely in Chichewa, a Bantu language, for a specific consonant sound, though the Welsh use is far more common.
US-International keyboard (English speakers)
This layout does not make ŵ directly, so for a one-off the ALT code or the copy grid above is the quickest way to get a w with accent.
Keyboard shortcuts for W with accent (Microsoft Word)
In Word and most Office apps, hold the combination, release it, then press w (or W for a capital).
| Accent letter | Keyboard shortcut |
|---|---|
| ŵ, Ŵ | Ctrl + Shift + ^ (caret), then w or W |
| ẃ, Ẃ | Ctrl + ' (apostrophe), then w or W |
| ẁ, Ẁ | Ctrl + ` (grave), then w or W |
| ẅ, Ẅ | Ctrl + Shift + : (colon), then w or W |
Languages that use W with accent, with examples
Each w with accent belongs to specific languages. Here is what each one means and where it is used.
ŵ, w with circumflex (the “long w”)
This is the common one. In Welsh, the letter w often works as a vowel, and the circumflex, called to bach (“little roof”), marks it as long: ŵ. You see it in ŵy (egg), gŵr (man) and dŵr (water). It is a genuine part of Welsh spelling, not decoration.
ẃ, w with acute and ẁ, w with grave
Welsh also uses ẃ (acute) and ẁ (grave) on W to mark stress and vowel length in particular words, though they are less frequent than ŵ.
ẅ, w with diaeresis
ẅ (w-diaeresis) appears in Welsh to show that the W is pronounced as a separate vowel from an adjacent one, keeping two vowels from blurring together.
Why does W take accents at all?
In English, W is only ever a consonant, so it never needs a mark. Welsh is different: because W does double duty as a vowel there, it needs the same length and stress marks the other vowels get. That is the whole reason the accented w family exists.
W with accent, full ALT code list
Every w with accent mark has its own Windows ALT code, so you can find the exact w with accent alt code below. Hold Alt and type the number on the numeric keypad, then release Alt.
↔ Swipe the table sideways to see the language column.
| ALT code | Symbol | Description → (scroll right) | Used in (languages) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALT 373 | ŵ | Small Letter w with circumflex | Welsh |
| ALT 7809 | ẁ | Small Letter w with grave | Welsh |
| ALT 7811 | ẃ | Small Letter w with acute | Welsh |
| ALT 7813 | ẅ | Small Letter w with diaeresis | Welsh |
| ALT 7815 | ẇ | Small Letter w with dot above | Rare: transliteration / phonetic notation |
| ALT 7817 | ẉ | Small Letter w with dot below | Rare: transliteration / phonetic notation |
| ALT 7832 | ẘ | Small Letter w with ring above | Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Czech |
| ALT 372 | Ŵ | Capital Letter W with circumflex | Welsh |
| ALT 7808 | Ẁ | Capital Letter W with grave | Welsh |
| ALT 7810 | Ẃ | Capital Letter W with acute | Welsh |
| ALT 7812 | Ẅ | Capital Letter W with diaeresis | Welsh |
| ALT 7814 | Ẇ | Capital Letter W with dot above | Rare: transliteration / phonetic notation |
| ALT 7816 | Ẉ | Capital Letter W with dot below | Rare: transliteration / phonetic notation |
Technical codes for developers (Unicode, HTML, CSS, JS)
For designers and developers: the Unicode code point and HTML, CSS and JavaScript escapes for every w with accent variant.
| Symbol | Unicode | HTML (dec) | HTML (hex) | CSS | JS / Java |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ŵ | U+0175 |
ŵ |
ŵ |
175 |
u0175 |
| ẁ | U+1E81 |
ẁ |
ẁ |
1E81 |
u1E81 |
| ẃ | U+1E83 |
ẃ |
ẃ |
1E83 |
u1E83 |
| ẅ | U+1E85 |
ẅ |
ẅ |
1E85 |
u1E85 |
| ẇ | U+1E87 |
ẇ |
ẇ |
1E87 |
u1E87 |
| ẉ | U+1E89 |
ẉ |
ẉ |
1E89 |
u1E89 |
| ẘ | U+1E98 |
ẘ |
ẘ |
1E98 |
u1E98 |
| Ŵ | U+0174 |
Ŵ |
Ŵ |
174 |
u0174 |
| Ẁ | U+1E80 |
Ẁ |
Ẁ |
1E80 |
u1E80 |
| Ẃ | U+1E82 |
Ẃ |
Ẃ |
1E82 |
u1E82 |
| Ẅ | U+1E84 |
Ẅ |
Ẅ |
1E84 |
u1E84 |
| Ẇ | U+1E86 |
Ẇ |
Ẇ |
1E86 |
u1E86 |
| Ẉ | U+1E88 |
Ẉ |
Ẉ |
1E88 |
u1E88 |
Other letters with accents you may need
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W with accent, frequently asked questions
How do I type ŵ (the Welsh w)?
Windows Alt + 0373, or the UK Extended layout with AltGr + ^ then w; Mac, Option + i then w; phone, press and hold w on a Welsh keyboard. Or click it in the grid above. Any w with accent mark copies the same way.
Why does W have an accent in Welsh?
Because in Welsh the letter w is often a vowel, not just a consonant. The circumflex (to bach) marks it as a long vowel, as in dŵr (water). English never needs this since W is always a consonant there.
What is the w with accent alt code?
The main w with accent alt code values are ŵ = Alt 0373 (capital Ŵ = Alt 0372), ẃ = Alt 7811, ẁ = Alt 7809. The full table lists them all.
What is “to bach”?
To bach means “little roof” in Welsh, and it is the Welsh name for the circumflex accent (ŵ, ê, and so on). It marks a long vowel.
How do you write a lowercase cursive w?
In handwriting, a lowercase cursive w starts on the baseline, loops up and back down, and joins to the next letter with a small exit stroke. Cursive is a handwriting style rather than an accent, so there is no single “correct” printed shape, but here is a script version of the letter you can copy and paste:
How do you write a capital cursive W?
A capital cursive W is larger and more decorative, usually begun with a flourish before the main body of the letter. Practising on lined paper helps you keep the slant consistent. Copy the script capital here to use in a title or name: