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¨

diaeresis

Diaeresis

¨ is a standalone two-dot mark used to signal a spelling distinction. Over a vowel, a diaeresis can show that neighboring vowels are pronounced separately; the same shape can mark an umlaut that changes vowel quality. To put two dots over a letter, use its accented form or a combining mark, because ¨ takes its own text position.

Text symbol
Also called
dieresis · trema · umlaut
Search it as
double dots · two dots · two dot mark · spacing diaeresis · ¨ symbol
Shows up in
Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

What ¨ means

It marks a spelling distinction, often separating neighboring vowels. In English naïve and French Noël, the dots show that adjacent vowels are pronounced separately.

The character ¨ is the spacing form: it takes its own text position instead of attaching above a preceding letter. For dots over a letter, use the appropriate accented letter or combining mark.

In Word for Windows, as of 2026, enter 00A8, then press Alt+X to type ¨.

Diaeresis or umlaut: what's the difference?

A diaeresis separates vowels; an umlaut changes vowel quality.

German ö in schön shows the second use: the dots mark a change in the vowel's sound.

How do I type ¨?

In Word for Windows, as of 2026, enter 00A8, then press Alt+X.

For an accented vowel, as of 2026, press Ctrl+Shift+:, release the keys, then type the vowel for ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, or ÿ.

Don't confuse it with

2
:
Colon
A colon's dots sit on the writing line as punctuation; ¨ is raised and serves as a diacritic.
"
Quotation Mark
The double quotation mark signals quoted text; ¨ is a pair of raised dots.

Questions people ask

1

Is ¨ the same as an umlaut?

Not quite. The shape is the same, but a diaeresis separates neighboring vowels while an umlaut marks a change in vowel quality.

How to type ¨

Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 00A8, then Alt+X to get ¨.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “diaeresis”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 00a8, then Enter or Space.
HTML
¨
CSS
\00A8
Microsoft Word for Windows
As of 2026, enter `00A8`, then press `Alt+X` for the standalone mark.
Word accented letters
As of 2026, press `Ctrl+Shift+:`, release the keys, then type the vowel for ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, or ÿ.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
¨
HTML hex
¨
CSS content
content: "\00A8";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%C2%A8
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
2
UTF-8 bytes

A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.

Families this belongs to

1

Accents & marks659 symbols

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