This Tilde Accent Keyboard is an online tool that allows anyone to create, make or put a Tilde accent mark above or below any letter or character in just three steps.
We all know that our keyboards have a standard set of letters, numbers, and symbols on them. To type these characters, we usually don’t need to press more than a few keys at once. There are times, however, when we need to type special letters, such as those with the Tilde accent mark below or above them.
There are several ways to type these special letters on the keyboard, however, with some level of difficulty. And if you’re someone who frequently types any of the Tilde Accented letters, you may find it time-consuming to try to find ways to get those symbols with your keyboard.
That’s why we created this free Tilde Accent Keyboard for people like you to use, as it enables anyone irrespective of their technical knowledge to type and put Tilde accents on any letter or character.
Thus, to type letters with the Tilde accent marks (below or above them), use this free online keyboard tool. You can do so following the steps below:
Now that you’ve gotten the tool to type any letter with the Tilde accent, we will like to use this opportunity to educate you more about this symbol.
The Tilde Accent (~) is a generally identifiable accent mark. You may have seen it on Spanish billboards, telenovelas, and maybe even at a street food vendor. Not only have you come across the tilde in Spanish culture, but it might also be familiar to you from math class.
If you studied middle school or high school math, there's a high probability you've seen and used the tilde. So where did the tilde accent come from? How many languages other than Spanish use it? Was it really in math?
Let's answer all those questions and provide more insight about the tilde accent.
The ancient Greeks tended to classify the circumflex and the tilde as the same. In some inscriptions, they tended to serve the same purpose.
When you search up the ancient Greek circumflex accent (^) there's a high chance you will also find the tilde accent (~) among the symbols.
The ancient Greeks used the tilde as a variant of the circumflex. The tilde indicated a rise in pitch and then a return to the standard pitch. This reason is why the tilde accent symbol (~) and the circumflex accent symbol (^) all fall under the category of circumflex.
The tilde also served as a way to abbreviate words in the ancient writing systems. Paper was a coveted resource or material in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. So, scribes had to be crafty with how much space they used to keep records and how much paper they needed.
Thus came the medieval scribal abbreviation. A means for them to use punctuations and accents to reduce the amount of space they used on paper. One of the common accent marks the scribes used for abbreviation was the tilde (~).
The tilde became popular in the late medieval era. The scribes used the tilde to shorten by missing out on various letters. Tildes were very commonly used to show the exclusions of the letters 'm' or 'n'.
For instance: The word 'imperpetuum’ is a Latin word that means 'for ever.' In medieval scriptures, they would write it as iperpetuu. The tilde would fall on the last 'uu' at the end of the word. It would show that the letter 'm' was missing from the word.
The scribes would abbreviate the word further. In some cases, they would write the word 'imperpetuum' as 'imppm'. The tilde would sit on top of the last letter 'm' at the end of the abbreviated word.
A tilde above '-con' or '-ton' at the end of a word indicates that an 'i' is missing in the endings '-cion' or '-tion.' This abbreviation was used in English as well as Latin.
For instance: In the word declaracion, the abbreviated word would be 'declaracon'. The tilde would be on top of '-con.'
The tilde accent is still in use in modern languages today. Most especially, you've seen the tilde accent in Spanish. It sits on top of the letter 'n' or 'N' in Spanish. So what are the rules for the tilde in Spanish and which other languages utilize the tilde accent?
In Spanish, the tilde is an accent mark that is placed over the letter 'n.' It denotes the sound \nʸ\ or over vowels. For instance:
In Spanish, the ñ is regarded as a separate letter. Interestingly enough, in Spanish, the word 'tilde' refers to diacritics in general, and not just the tilde accent mark.
The tilde accent mark in Spanish is known as tildes. There is also the word acento in Spanish. Acento refers to stress or emphasis on a word, however, this meaning doesn't encompass all diacritics. Considering that not all diacritics or accent marks perform the function of stress. Furthermore, the use of certain diacritics depends on the situation.
You can use the word 'acento' to describe stress or emphasis on a syllable.
In Portuguese, you can only use the tilde accent on the letters 'ã' and 'õ'. The tilde accent changes a regular vowel into one with a nasal sound. For instance:
Similarly to Portuguese, the tilde accent nasalizes” the preceding vowel so the sound is placed more in the nose. What does that mean?
It means that the letter ñ after a vowel indicates that the letter 'n' gives the vowel a nasalized pronunciation.
A tilde (dấu ngã) is an accent mark placed on top of the vowels: ã, ẽ, ĩ, õ, ũ, or ỹ.
It indicates a high rising pitch. When merged, you must position it clearly from another mark (ẵ, ẫ, ễ, ỗ, ỡ, or ữ).
Filipino does not have diacritics or accent marks except for Spanish borrowed words. So, you will find some words in Filipino with the accent mark in the dictionary. Another thing to note is that if you do come across the tilde accent in dictionaries or children's literature, it is only there to help learn pronunciation.
Otherwise, diacritics in general are not native to the Filipino language.
In Estonian, the tilde accent functions as a letter extension. The tilde accent (õ) stands for the close-mid back unrounded vowel. In Estonian, it sits as an independent letter.
In Arabic, there's a tilde-shaped accent mark or diacritic known as maddah (مَدَّة). It only appears on top of an alif (آ) and denotes a glottal stop /ʔ/. It is then followed along by a long /aː/.
A glottal stop is a type of consonantal sound produced by blocking airflow in the vocal tract or, to be specific, the glottis.
You can find the tilde accent in various other languages. It also serves different functions in these languages. But it does have its core uses. Here are the primary uses of the tilde accent in modern languages.
The tilde accent has several functions across several languages. Here's what you need to know about the uses of the tilde accent.
Most English speakers familiarize themselves with the tilde accent thanks to math and a wordlwide education system. Spanish speakers know the tilde because the diacritic is unforgettable thanks to its function in the language.
The more you utilize a diacritic or accent mark, the more likely you'll be more familiar with it. Let's look at the tilde accent in an English-taught subject, math.
In mathematics, the tilde stands for equivalence. For instance: x ~ y. It means that x is equivalent to y (not equal, but comparable).
The tilde also stands for approximation in mathematics. For instance: ~200 steps. It means that it's approximately 200 steps.
Another use of the tilde symbol is in programming. Unix Shells are a CLI (command line interface) for UNIX operating systems. The tilde allows users to access directories.
You may have come across the tilde in middle school or high school math, depending on your region. Not only that, but if you use UNIX OS (operating systems) the tilde may have been one of the first symbols you learned to give out commands to your computer.
Another mathematical use of the tilde symbol in math is in Japanese. Its also known as a wave dash (波ダッシュ, nami dasshu). It denotes a range of numbers. For instance: (5〜10)
The double tilde is another approximation symbol (≈). You could say that it is a curved equals sign. Another function of the double tilde is that it indicates the harmony of shapes when you place it over an (=) symbol.
The tilde is one of the 128 alphanumeric and special characters in ASCII.
The ASCII abbreviates the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is a character encoding standard for electronic communication.
The ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. The tilde is the ASCII character 126.
The tilde accent has come a long way, from being a variant of the circumflex accent, abbreviations during the late medieval era, and literally being the poster accent for diacritics in Spanish.
Not only that, but it is a staple in mathematics worldwide. Most students will use the tilde symbol without knowing what it is and its other functions. Regardless, it still serves humanity in both the written and spoken language today.