S is one of the busiest accented consonants. The caron š is a "sh" sound across Czech, Croatian, Slovene, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian; Polish adds the softer acute ś; Turkish and Romanian use the cedilla ş; Romanian also has the comma-below ș, as in "București"; and Esperanto contributes the circumflex ŝ. Tap any character below to copy it.
01 Step by step, per platform
A real, followable procedure for every platform, not a thin restatement of the shortcut.
On Windows
- The common Latin-1 forms have direct Alt codes: š = Alt 0154, Š = Alt 0138. Hold Alt, type the number on the numeric keypad, then release.
- For any other form, press Win + . to open the emoji & symbol panel, switch to the Symbols tab and search the accent name.
- Or type the code from the table below into Microsoft Word and press Alt + X, for example 015A then Alt+X gives Ś.
On Mac
- Open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search the accent name, for example the letter followed by the accent.
- To type these often, add the ABC – Extended input source in Keyboard settings and use its accent dead keys before the letter.
Microsoft Word & Google Docs
- In Word, type the four-character code then press Alt + X, for example 015A then Alt+X becomes Ś.
- Or use Insert → Symbol → More Symbols and pick the letter from the Latin subset.
- In Google Docs, use Insert → Special characters and search latin s, or draw the accent in the sketch box.
On phones (iOS & Android)
- On the on-screen keyboard, press and hold the S key. A popup of accented options appears, such as š ś ş ŝ ș, slide to the one you want and release.
- For a form that is not on the popup, copy it from the keys above and paste it where you need it.
02 Characters in this set
03 Codes for every accented form
Unicode point, HTML entity and the Windows shortcut for each form. Codes shown as Alt 0nnn are typed on the numeric keypad; codes shown as hhhh Alt+X are typed in Microsoft Word, then converted with Alt+X.
| Character | Accent | Unicode | HTML | Windows | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ś | Acute · capital | U+015A |
Ś |
015A Alt+X |
|
| Š | Caron · capital | U+0160 |
Š |
Alt 0138 |
|
| Ş | Cedilla · capital | U+015E |
Ş |
015E Alt+X |
|
| Ŝ | Circumflex · capital | U+015C |
Ŝ |
015C Alt+X |
|
| Ș | Comma below · capital | U+0218 |
Ș |
0218 Alt+X |
|
| ś | Acute · small | U+015B |
ś |
015B Alt+X |
|
| š | Caron · small | U+0161 |
š |
Alt 0154 |
|
| ş | Cedilla · small | U+015F |
ş |
015F Alt+X |
|
| ŝ | Circumflex · small | U+015D |
ŝ |
015D Alt+X |
|
| ș | Comma below · small | U+0219 |
ș |
0219 Alt+X |
|
| ȿ | Swash tail · small | U+023F |
ȿ |
023F Alt+X |
04 Troubleshooting & confusables
| Looks like it | But it's actually | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| š vs s | Caron-S vs plain s | š is the "sh" sound in Czech, Croatian, Slovene, Latvian, Lithuanian and others. It is a separate letter, writing plain s changes the word. |
| ș vs ş | Comma-below vs cedilla | Romanian uses ș with a comma below; Turkish uses ş with a hook cedilla. They look alike and are constantly confused, but they are different letters in different languages. |
| ś vs š | Acute vs caron | ś (Polish) is a soft, hissing "sh"; š (Czech and others) is a fuller "sh". The acute leans right; the caron is a little v. |
05 FAQ
How do I type š (S with caron)?
š has no Windows Alt code. In Microsoft Word type 0161 and press Alt+X, or open the Mac Character Viewer and search "s with caron". Many Central European layouts have it on a dedicated key.
What is the difference between ș and ş?
ș (Romanian) has a comma below the S; ş (Turkish) has a cedilla hook attached to it. They are different Unicode letters, Romanian text should use the comma form, Turkish the cedilla form.
How do I type the Polish ś?
ś has no Alt code. Type 015B in Microsoft Word and press Alt+X, or use the Polish (Programmers) layout with AltGr+S. You can also copy it from the keys above.
Which languages use š?
The caron-S (š) is a letter in Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian and Finnish loanwords, always for a "sh" sound.
Is there an Alt code for accented S?
No accented S is in the Latin-1 range, so there is no Alt+0 code. Use Word's Alt+X with the code from the table above, or copy the letter directly.