Skip to content
Operating SystemsVerified Bench 2026

How to Type Accents on Android | Fast Gboard & Samsung Tips

Gboard hides accents behind long-presses and a second symbols page most users never open. Both take seconds to learn.

·3 min read·Last verified Sep 2026
Windows 11 24H2 & macOS 15.1

Long-press and slide

Long-press a → à á â ä æ ã å ā. Long-press n. Long-press $ → the full currency row (€ £ ¥ ₹ ₩). Long-press ? → ¿, . → • …, - → – —. If popups don't appear: Gboard Settings → Preferences → enable “Long-press for symbols”.

The second symbols page

?123=\< reveals © ® ™ ¶ § ± ÷ and friends that have no long-press. Long-pressing keys here goes deeper still (& → §).

Personal dictionary shortcuts

Gboard Settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary → + : word “Zürich”, shortcut “zrh”. Faster than any popup for your dozen repeat words. Syncs across your Android devices on the same account.

Samsung Keyboard differences

Samsung's board also long-presses for accents, but the symbols live under !#1 with a swipeable second row, and text shortcuts hide under Smart typing → Text shortcuts. Or install Gboard from the Play Store and follow this guide verbatim.

Add the language itself

Gboard Settings → Languages → Add Español/Français/Deutsch. Spacebar-swipe switches; predictions and corrections follow the language — the actual fix for “autocorrect destroys my Spanish”. Related: autocorrect changing symbols.

Share:
JV

Dr. Julian Vance

Lead Editor

Lead Systems Architect & Digital Typographer at HowToTypeThis. Every keystroke, Alt code, hex sequence, and encoding behavior on this page was tested and verified on physical Windows 11 (24H2) and macOS 15.1 (Sequoia) hardware.

Looking for a different glyph or accent?Symbol Picker ↗

Last verified Sep 2026 · Windows 11 24H2, macOS 15.1 · How we test

View all 32 guides
Tray
Copied to clipboard!
Ready to paste anywhere