Outside of Spanish-speaking countries, the Ñ (enye) letter is difficult to write. It is just not a standard keyboard function since there is no dedicated key for it. In the modern Latin alphabet, the letter Enye is formed by a N with a tilde atop. The enye letter was introduced to the Spanish alphabet in the 18th century. As a former Spanish colony, the Philippines adopted the enye (letter n with tilde) and included it as a distinct letter in the Filipino alphabet.
Despite its extensive usage in Filipino publications and communication, the enye code, like other diacritical marks-containing characters, is not featured on computer keyboards. It is just not a standard keyboard function, since it lacks a dedicated key. In the Philippines, it lacks a key since our keyboards are usually set up in the US or UK layout. There are, however, ways to enter/use keyboard shortcuts or other device-specific commands.
How to Type Ñ (Enye) on a Windows Computer
This is how to type Ñ (enye small and enye big) on a keyboard of a Windows-powered computer or laptop:
1. To write a small enye (lowercase ñ), press and hold the ALT key while hitting 164 or 0241 on your keyboard’s number pad, and then release the ALT key.
2. To generate a big enye (Ñ), hit 165 or 0209 while holding the Alt key on your keyboard
To make these keyboard shortcuts work, make sure to activate the number pad by pressing the Num Lock key. You can find it on the number pad on the right side of a full-sized keyboard layout. Please ensure that the cursor or pointer is on the location where you wish to type the enye letter (e.g. Word document or Excel spreadsheet).
Typing Enye on a Mac Computer
Typing these characters is very simple for Mac, iMac, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro users. It is very simple to type these letters. To do it, take the following basic steps:
- Simply hold down the Option button and the N key while typing N again. A tilde (~) would appear if you did this. To create a small enye letter, release the Option key and hit n again.
- For a capital enye, you should type an uppercase N as well (by holding shift as you press N).
Type Enye on iOS Keyboard
Even though the enye key is not available on iOS keyboards, you may easily type this letter on your iPhone or iPad. Just press the N or N key and hold it. Then, from the letters row which comes up choose Ñ or ñ.
How to Type Enye on Android Keyboard
As with iOS devices, typing an enye on an Android smartphone requires pressing and holding the N or n key, which reveals a tiny pop-up window with an Ñ or ñ. Select the letter enye and let go of your finger.
Check your keyboard settings if Ñ/ñ does not display when you long-press the N/n key. If your keyboard’s language is set to English, enable Filipino or Spanish as well. When you hold the N/n key, you should be able to choose Ñ/ñ as an option.