How to Type Tilde ~
Keyboard shortcuts for Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPhone & Android. Type or copy the tilde symbol instantly.
Tilde & Related Symbols to Copy
Click any symbol to copy instantly
The tilde ~ is a versatile symbol used in programming, mathematics, languages, and everyday writing. In Spanish and Portuguese, it appears above letters like n and a to change pronunciation. In math, it means "approximately equal to." In programming, it serves as a bitwise NOT operator or a home directory shortcut.
Despite its many uses, the tilde can be surprisingly hard to find on some keyboards, especially on non-US layouts and mobile devices. The position of the tilde key varies by region and device type.
This guide covers every method to type ~ and related tilde characters on all major platforms. All characters on this page are Unicode text that works everywhere, from social media to code editors.
Finding the Tilde Key on Any Layout
The tilde sits at code point U+007E and doubles as a math shorthand for approximately, a Unix shortcut for your home directory, and the accent over the letter enye in Spanish. On a standard US keyboard it shares the key just left of the 1, so pressing Shift plus that key produces the standalone character. If your board has a numeric keypad, Windows also accepts Alt+126.
Layout is where people get stuck. On UK keyboards the tilde moves next to the Enter key, and on German QWERTZ boards it is reached with AltGr plus the plus key. For the accented forms, Mac users press Option+N and then the vowel to stack the tilde over an a or an n, while Windows offers Alt+0241 for a ready-made enye. Phones bury the tilde under the symbol layer, usually the 123 key followed by a secondary panel. Because the standalone tilde is plain ASCII, it renders identically everywhere and is safe to drop into file paths, code comments, or a casual estimate like about ten minutes without worrying that it will break on someone else's screen.
Tilde Symbol FAQ
The alt code for tilde ~ is Alt+126. Hold the Alt key, type 126 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. For the tilde operator (∼), use Alt+8764. Make sure Num Lock is enabled.
On US and UK keyboards, the tilde shares a key with the backtick (`) in the top-left corner, left of the 1 key. Press Shift+` to type ~. On German keyboards, tilde is accessed via AltGr++ or as a dead key. On Spanish keyboards, it may be on AltGr+4 or a dedicated key.
In programming, the tilde has several meanings: in C/C++/Java it is the bitwise NOT operator (~x), in Unix/Linux it represents the home directory (~/Documents), in JavaScript it can be used for bitwise operations, and in regular expressions some flavors use it for pattern matching.
Use Shift+` (backtick key, top-left of the keyboard). If your layout doesn't have this key, try the Windows character map (Win+R, type charmap), or the touch keyboard (right-click taskbar > Show touch keyboard). You can also copy ~ from this page.
The tilde ~ (U+007E) is a general-purpose ASCII character used in programming, URLs, and informal writing. The almost-equal-to sign ≈ (U+2248) is a mathematical symbol meaning "approximately equal to" and is used in formal equations. There is also the tilde operator ∼ (U+223C), used in mathematics for similarity and proportionality.
On Mac, press Option+N, then the letter (N for ñ, A for ã, O for õ). On Windows, use alt codes: Alt+0241 for ñ, Alt+0227 for ã, Alt+0245 for õ. On mobile, long-press the letter key to see accented variants including tilde versions.