How to Make a Tilde on a Computer

The tilde helps you pronounce words in Spanish and other languages.

The tilde resides at the top left section of the computer keyboard beside the number "1" key. It may appear alone or with other characters. It's used in several ways, such as to show equivalent values in math, to display long Microsoft file names, and to enunciate words in a foreign language. When you use a tilde in Spanish, the title appears above a letter rather than by itself. In order to display a tilde above a letter, you'll need a numeric keypad.

Instructions

1. Go to the line where you want the tilde to appear on your page.

2. Hold down the "Alt" key in Windows as you type "198" (to create a lowercase "a" with a tilde) or "199" (to create an uppercase "A" with a tilde).

3. Hold down the "Alt" key in Windows as you type "164" (to create a lowercase "n" with a tilde) or "165" (to create an uppercase "N" with a tilde).

4. Type "228" as you hold the "Alt" key in Windows (to create a lowercase "o" with a tilde) or type "229" as you hold down the "Alt" key (to create an uppercase "O" with a tilde).

5. Hold down the "Opt" key and type a lower or uppercase "a," "n" or "o" in Macintosh. A tilde is added above the letter.

References

• Math World: Tilde
• Microsoft MSDN: Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces
• Roots Web Ancestry: Spanish Accents Tildes, Acentos, Eñes and Ll
• The ASCII Code: The ASCII Code 164
• Penn State University: Accent Codes for the Macintosh