When you're doing your homework you're going to need to be able to write Portuguese accent marks - to get top marks! :)
Read on for an explanation of how to do this on both Windows and macOS(Apple).
Portuguese has 5 different types of accents marks :
acute (á, é, í, ó, ú) - 'Acento agudo'
grave (à) - 'Acento grave'
tilde (ã, õ) - 'Til'
circumflex (â, ê, ô) - 'Circunflexo'
and cedilla (ç) - 'C cedilha'
We recommend learning how to type these characters on your keyboard as part of your learning process so you can type in Portuguese no matter what computer you use.
I'll start with the Windows operating system before moving onto macOS and I'm assuming you have an English language keyboard layout.
Windows -
Here are two ways to do this on Windows:
1. Install the Portuguese (Brazil) or Portuguese (Portugal) keyboard
In this method you're switching to either a Portuguese (Brazil) keyboard or a Portuguese (Portugal) keyboard.
To add a language go to Settings -> click the 'Start' menu icon and then the 'Settings' icon.
In the Settings App click 'Time & Language' > 'Language' (in the menu on the left) > 'Add a language' > 'Portuguese (Brazil)' or 'Portuguese (Portugal)'.
It will appear in the list of languages in your taskbar, as in the screenshot above. Click on the language button (ENG GA in this example) and then select the language you want, to type as if your keyboard was in the Brazilian or Portuguese layout.
I would recommend you print off the keyboard layout from somewhere like here: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Portuguese_keyboard_layout
Once you get used to the key combinations you'll start typing them automatically.
2. Install English - United States International keyboard
Another option is to install the English (United States) language pack as above i.e. in Settings click 'Time & Language' > 'Language' (in the menu on the left) > 'Add a language' > English (United States).
When you select this language, you'll see it displays in the taskbar as ENG INTL:
The keyboard layout looks like this:
The keys highlighted in lemon give all the accents. As they're quite similar to the English keyboard layout it's easier to remember.
' single quote key = acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú) and cedilla (ç)
`grave accent key = grave accent (à)
Shift ` = tilde accent (ã, õ)
Shift 6 = circumflex accent (â, ê, ô)
So for example,
to type á as in áudio type ' a
To type à as in Eu vou à praia type ` a
To type ã as in mãe type Shift ` a (hold Shift and ` at the same time, then release them and type a)
To type ê as in você type Shift 6 e (hold Shift and 6 at the same time then release them and type e)
To type ç as in mudança type ' c
macOs -
Typing Portuguese accents on an Apple computer is straightforward and just involves remembering a few key combinations:
Option e = acute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú)
Option ` = grave accent (à)
Option n = tilde (ã, õ)
Option i = circumflex (â, ê, ô)
Option c = cedilla (ç)
So for example,
to type á as in áudio hit the Option key and e together then release them and type e
To type à as in Eu vou à praia type Option ` together, then release and type a
To type ã as in mãe type Option n together, then release and type a
To type ê as in você type Option i together, then release and type e
To type ç as in mudança type Option c together, then release and type c
There are also various online tools that allow you to type accents such as:
However you choose to type Portuguese accents, the sooner you start the easier and more natural it becomes.
Let us know if this was helpful. If you've found another way of doing it, please let us know too!