Mac Keyboard Symbols: The Complete Reference (2026)

Mac keyboards are covered in symbols that are not printed on the keys. You see ⌘ in a menu and know that means Command, but what about ⌃? Or ⇧? And the Option key quietly produces well over a hundred special characters that most people never find.

This is the reference page. Every modifier symbol, the full Option key character map, and the accent combinations, all in one place.

Modifier key symbols

Mac menus show shortcuts as symbols rather than words. This is the complete set you will encounter:

Special key symbols

These appear in menus and documentation in place of the key name:

So a menu reading ⌘⇧N means Command+Shift+N. ⌥⌘Space means Option+Command+Space. Once you recognize the symbols, every Mac menu becomes readable.

Option key characters: letters

Hold Option and press a letter. This is the standard U.S. layout:

Option + Shift characters: letters

Option key characters: numbers and punctuation

Option + Shift: numbers and punctuation

Accented letters: the dead keys

Five Option combinations do nothing on their own. They arm an accent, and the next letter you type receives it. These are the dead keys:

Capitals work the same way: Option+E then Shift+E gives É.

There is a second method that many people find easier. Hold a letter key down for a moment and macOS shows a small accent menu above the cursor. Click the accent you want, or press the number shown beneath it. This works in nearly every app and requires nothing to memorize.

How to see every character on your layout

The tables above cover the standard U.S. layout. If you use a different layout, the map changes.

Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit and turn on “Show Input menu in menu bar.” Click the new menu bar icon and choose Show Keyboard Viewer. Hold Option, and the on-screen keyboard displays every character your layout can produce. Hold Option and Shift together for the second set.

The Character Viewer

For anything without a keyboard combination, use the Character Viewer.

Opening it:

• Choose Edit → Emoji & Symbols from any app’s menu bar
• Or press Control + Command + Space
• On Macs with a Globe key, press fn for the Emoji picker, then click the icon in the top right for the full viewer

Using it:

1. Search for what you want in the field at the top: “degree”, “copyright”, “arrow”, “cedilla”
2. Double-click a character to insert it at your cursor
3. Click “Add to Favorites” on characters you use often so they surface first next time

The Character Viewer contains every Unicode character: math symbols, arrows, currency, emoji, dingbats. It is thorough but slow, which makes it a good discovery tool and a poor everyday typing method.

When you type the same line repeatedly

For a symbol you need once, use the table above or the Character Viewer. A snippet is more useful when the symbol belongs to a line you type again and again. For example, if you add a copyright notice to product pages or documents, save the whole line in TypeSnap:

• Abbreviation: ;copyright
• Snippet text: © {{date:yyyy}} Your Company. All rights reserved.

Replace “Your Company” with your name. Type ;copyright followed by a space, and TypeSnap inserts the line with the current year. The {{date:yyyy}} macro updates the year when you use the snippet, so you do not have to edit it each January. You can also save single characters you use often, such as ;deg for °.

If a line like this is part of your routine, try TypeSnap free for 7 days and make the snippet yourself.

If you are comparing tools, the best text expanders for Mac comparison covers six options with real prices. For the Option key characters specifically, the copyright symbol guide goes deeper on the trademark and copyright family.

Frequently asked questions

What does ⌘ mean on a Mac? ⌘ is the Command key, the primary modifier in almost every Mac shortcut. It sits on both sides of the space bar.

What is the ⌥ symbol? ⌥ is the Option key, labeled Alt on some keyboards. It modifies shortcuts and types special characters when held on its own.

What is the difference between ⌃ Control and ⌘ Command? Command drives normal application shortcuts. Control is used mainly in Terminal, in Unix-style text editing shortcuts, and for right-click when held while clicking.

How do I type an em dash? Option+Shift+Minus. The shorter en dash is Option+Minus.

How do I type é or ñ? Option+E then the vowel for an acute accent. Option+N then the letter for a tilde. Or hold the letter key down and pick from the menu that appears.

Keep this reference handy

Bookmark this page for occasional lookups. For a line you type repeatedly, save it as a snippet so you can insert the whole thing at once.