Czech accents, carons and ringed u

Spelling and status

The Czech Language Institute explains ú and ů through spelling position, word structure and historical development, with exceptions for borrowed words. Do not choose between them by sound alone. The ring in ů developed from an earlier spelling history rather than from the Scandinavian use of å. [28], [29], [3], [9]

Distinctions to preserve

In many fonts, the caron in ď and ť looks like a small raised apostrophe beside the stem. Those remain caron letters, not a d or t followed by punctuation. Ř, š and ž likewise require their own letters. A circumflex points the other way and cannot replace a caron. [28], [29], [3], [9], [1], [2]

Typing and text forms

Copying is exact; preview circles are excluded. Compare normalization forms.

Word for Windows

Select a hex code, then Alt+X; repeat for each scalar.

Mac and mobile

Hold a letter for supported variants; use Character Viewer on Mac or a language keyboard on mobile.

HTML

Use UTF-8 text or the numeric references in Details, in order.

Full typing instructions ·HTML, CSS and JavaScript entry ·Verified Alt codes.

Sources and method

Usage statements link to the authority that supports their scope. Character names, categories, combining classes and normalization results come from the pinned Unicode data. A canonical decomposition does not establish language membership or spelling frequency.

Source access date: 2026-09-14.

• [28] Czech Language Institute: ú and ů. Czech spelling distinction between the two long-u letters.
• [29] Czech Language Institute: history of spelling. Historical origin of Czech diacritic conventions and ringed u.
• [3] Unicode 17: Latin, Greek and combining marks. Sections 7.1, 7.2, 7.8 and 7.9: encoded distinctions, script conventions and glyph variation, not a complete orthography.
• [9] CLDR 48.2 locale exemplars. Supplementary inventory checks against direct main and auxiliary exemplar sets. Exemplars do not establish full spelling or pronunciation rules.
• [1] Unicode Character Database 17.0.0.
• [2] Unicode normalization, UAX #15.
• [10] Microsoft: Unicode character entry in Word.
• [11] Apple: enter characters with accent marks.
• [12] Google: use Gboard.
• [13] Unicode: fonts and keyboards FAQ.
• [14] HTML numeric character references.

Read the editorial method and inspect the underlying datasets.