Enye or Ñ is a letter of the modern Latin alphabet, formed by placing a tilde on top of an upper- or lowercase N. It became part of the Spanish alphabet in the eighteenth century when it was first formally defined, but it is also used in other languages which includes some Philippine languages like the Filipino and the Bisayan.
Unlike many other letters that use diacritic marks, Ñ in Spanish, Galician, Basque, Asturian, Leonese, Guarani and Filipino is considered a letter in its own right.
However, the enye (Ñ/ñ) symbol, used commonly in Filipino publications and correspondence, is not included in computer keyboards, just like other letters with diacritic marks. With this, some opted to omit the Ñ/ñ symbol altogether and use N/n instead.
However, in legal documents such as someone else’s birth certificate and passport, you must use the enye (Ñ/ñ) symbol, or doing otherwise — typing the letter N/n instead — could cost you your work, various problems and inconveniences. So having simply the knowledge to type the Ñ/ñ symbol would help you in the long run.
Below are different ways to type Ñ or ñ using your computer, laptop, or smartphones. You just need to use a special combination on your keyboard.
How to Type Ñ/ñ on a Windows Computer
Typing the small letter ñ is as simple as copy and pasting text or photos on your document. Just hold down the ALT key while pressing 0241 or 164 on your number pad: ALT + 0241 or ALT + 164.
Similarly, in order for you to type the capital letter Ñ, you just simply have to hold down the ALT key again while pressing 0209 or 165 on your keyboard’s number pad: ALT + 0209 or ALT + 165.
Make sure that your number pad is active. Just tap the Num Lock key to activate it.
How to Type Ñ/ñ on a Mac Computer
While some people use Windows computers daily, some, on the contrary, maybe using Mac Computers. Here’s how to type the small letter ñ on your Mac computer.
Hold down the option key and press the “N” key, then press the “N” key again without holding the option key: option + N, N.
Meanwhile, to type the capital letter Ñ, hold down the option key and press the “N” key, then press the Shift key together with the “N” key: option + N, Shift + N.
How to Insert Ñ/ñ in Microsoft Word
If you didn’t sweat while typing the letter enye (Ñ/ñ) in your Windows computers or Mac computers, you would not also break out in a sweat while inserting the enye (Ñ/ñ) symbol in Microsoft Word.
One must simply select the Insert tab, choose Symbol (under Symbols) and click More Symbols.
Then, select the enye (Ñ/ñ) symbol. It’s under the Latin-1 Supplement subset. Click Insert and the Ñ/ñ symbol will be inserted into your Word document.
How to Insert the Ñ/ñ Symbol Using Character Map
Remembering the keyboard combinations listed above may be a hassle for some. That’s a fact. Not all of us could easily recall codes. You can always resort to inserting the Ñ or ñ symbol using Character Map in Windows 10.
But how to launch the Character Map application? You just have to click the Windows icon, choose Windows Accessories, then click Character Map.
Afterwards, choose the Ñ or ñ symbol, press Select and then Copy. You can now paste it (Ctrl + V) to your document or file.
How to Type Enye (Ñ/ñ) on Your iPhone or iPad
Once again, the iOS system for iPhones and iPads makes typing the letters ñ or Ñ super easy and intuitive.
First, pull up the keyboard on your device, whether it be under iMessage or another app on your iOS device. Then, press and hold “N”. After a brief moment, a bubble should appear above the “n”. Once the bubble appears, slide your finger up to the ñ.
Be sure to slide your finger up to the symbol. If you take your finger off of the keyboard, then the ñ symbol will disappear.
Also, if you want a Capital Ñ, be sure that the Capital letter Upper Arrow on the keyboard has a white background with a black arrow pointing up. This will create the Capital Ñ for you by following the steps above.
How to Type Ñ/ñ on Your Android device
This time, Android devices also make it super easy and intuitive to type the letters (enye) ñ or Ñ.
First, pull up the keyboard on your Android device, such as your Message app for texts. Then, press and hold “N”. After a brief moment, a bubble should appear above the “n”. Once the bubble appears, slide your finger up to the ñ.
Just like on the iPhone or iPad, be sure to slide your finger up to the symbol. If you take your finger off of the keyboard, then the ñ symbol will disappear. The same goes with typing the capital letter Ñ.