Mac keyboard shortcuts for symbols can sometimes be hard to figure out unless you happen upon them by mistake. We'll walk you through the keystrokes required to create several of the top special characters on a Mac, including the Euro symbol, copyright, and several others. Let's begin!
Related: How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac
For other ways to make the most of your Mac, click through this article that will help you optimize your Mack Dock.
Jump To:
- Euro Symbol
- Pound (Currency) Symbol
- Square Root Symbol
- Degree Symbol (Smaller & Larger)
- Copyright Symbol
- Registered Trademark Symbol
- Trademark Symbol
Euro Symbol
Whenever I write about pricing and have to include symbols for different currencies, knowing how to type a Euro symbol on a Mac comes in very handy. While the Dollar symbol is included on the "4" key on a standard English keyboard, this one take a little more finesse.
To type a Euro symbol on your Mac, use the keyboard shortcut option + shift + 2. This will give you a € symbol.
Pound (Currency) Symbol
I also sometimes have to use the pound symbol when writing about different currencies, so I thought this one would come in handy.
To type a pound (money) symbol on your Mac, use the keyboard shortcut option + 3. This will give you a £ symbol.
Square Root Symbol
Okay, this one made me feel great when researching top symbols for this article, because now I feel less like I'm the only one who regularly uses the symbol for square root on my Mac!
To type a square root symbol on your Mac, use the keyboard shortcut option + V. This will give you a √ symbol.
Original image courtesy of Apple
Degree Symbol (Smaller & Larger)
This one is fun because there are actually two options—one smaller degree symbol, and one larger degree symbol on Macs. The shortcuts are similar, so you can choose which one you prefer.
To type a smaller degree symbol on your Mac, use the keyboard shortcut option + K. This will give you a ˚ symbol.
To type a slightly larger degree symbol on your Mac, use the keyboard shortcut shift + option + 8. This will give you a ° symbol.
Copyright Symbol
How do I type a "C" in a circle symbol on a Mac? It's a pretty common question for users who aren't sure what the copyright symbol is called, and that's totally fine! It's an easy question to answer, and an even easier keyboard shortcut than most.
To type a copyright symbol on your Mac (the C inside the circle), use the keyboard shortcut option + G. This will give you a © symbol.
Registered Trademark Symbol
The registered trademark symbol is a pretty important addition when mentioning certain brands or registered materials.
To type a registered trademark symbol on your Mac (the R inside the circle), use the keyboard shortcut option + R. This will give you a ® symbol.
Trademark Superscript Symbol
Certain trademarked materials or names only require the little superscript ™ symbol, which is also quite easy to do on a Mac keyboard.
To type a trademark symbol on your Mac (the TM in superscript), use the keyboard shortcut option + 2. This will give you a ™ symbol.
These keyboard shortcuts for symbols on a mac were fun for me to learn—I hope you enjoyed them too! Now you know how to type the most commonly used (and searched for!) special characters on a Mac or MacBook. If needed, you can also learn how to type accent marks on a Mac. And as an added bonus, here's a handy shortcut to minimize all windows on a Mac at the same time.
