Natlang Uses of Diacritics in the Latin Alphabet

This page will list different uses of diacritical marks that have natlang precedence. Conlangers can use this to find inspiration for their own conlang romanizations.

Note that in this article combining diacritics are attached to a ◌. Diacritics without a ◌, like ¨ for example, are non-combining. Non-combining diacritics are sometimes called modifier letters in Unicode.

Caron

Precomposed Letters with Caron

ˇ

◌̌

Ǎ

ǎ

Č

č

Ď

ď

DŽ

Dž

dž

Ě

ě

U+02C7

U+030C

U+01CD

U+01CD

U+010C

U+010D

U+010E

U+010F

U+01C4

U+01C5

U+01C6

U+011A

U+011B

Caron

Combining Caron

Latin Letter Capital A With Caron

Latin Letter Small A With Caron

Latin Capital Letter C With Caron

Latin Small Letter C With Caron

Latin Capital Letter D With Caron

Latin Small Letter D With Caron

Latin Capital Letter Dz With Caron

Latin Capital Letter D With Small Letter Z With Caron

Latin Small Letter Dz With Caron

Latin Capital Letter E With Caron

Latin Small Letter E With Caron

Note: May be confused with Modifier Letter Down Arrowhead ˅ (U+02C5).

Note: The caron looks actually like an apostrophe placed to the right of the ascender of the d.

Ǧ

ǧ

Ȟ

ȟ

Ǐ

ǐ

ǰ

Ǩ

ǩ

Ľ

ľ

Ň

ň

U+01E6

U+01E7

U+021E

U+021F

U+01CF

U+01D0

U+01F0

​ U+01E8

U+01E9

U+013D

U+013E

U+0147

U+0148

Latin Capital Letter G With Caron

Latin Small Letter G With Caron

Latin Capital Letter H With Caron

Latin Small Letter H With Caron

Latin Capital Letter I With Caron

Latin Small Letter I With Caron

Latin Small Letter J With Caron

Latin Capital Letter K With Caron

Latin Small Letter K With Caron

Latin Capital Letter L With Caron

Latin Small Letter L With Caron

Latin Capital Letter N With Caron

Latin Small Letter N With Caron

Note: The caron looks actually like an apostrophe placed to the right of the ascender of the Ll.

Ǒ

ǒ

Ř

ř

Š

š

Ṧ

ṧ

Ť

ť

Ǔ

ǔ

Ǚ

U+01D1

U+01D2

U+0158

U+0159

U+0160

U+0161

U+1E66

U+1E67

U+0164

U+0165

U+01D3

U+01D4

U+01D9

Latin Capital Letter O With Caron

Latin Small Letter O With Caron

Latin Capital Letter R With Caron

Latin Small Letter R With Caron

Latin Capital Letter S With Caron

Latin Small Letter S With Caron

Latin Capital Letter S With Caron And Dot Above

Latin Small Letter S With Caron And Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter T With Caron

Latin Small Letter T With Caron

Latin Capital Letter U With Caron

Latin Small Letter U With Caron

Latin Capital Letter U With Diaeresis And Caron

Note: The caron looks actually like an apostrophe placed to the right of the ascender of the t.

ǚ

Ž

ž

Ǯ

ǯ

U+01DA

U+017D

U+017E

U+01EE

U+01EF

Latin Small Letter U With Diaeresis And Caron

Latin Capital Letter Z With Caron

Latin Small Letter Z With Caron

Latin Capital Letter Ezh With Caron

Latin Small Letter Ezh With Caron

Caron is also known as háček or haček. Note that the caron is easily confused with the similar looking Breve ˘, especially in small font sizes.

Uses of Caron

Usage	Language	Letters	Notes
Postalveolar consonant	Latgalian, Latvian	Čč /tʃ/, Šš /ʃ/, Žž /ʒ/	Unaccented Cc stands for /ts/ in Latvian and Latgalian.
	Livonian	Šš /ʃ/, Žž /ʒ/

Cedilla

Precomposed Letters with Cedilla

¸

◌̧

Ç

ç

Ḉ

ḉ

Ḑ

ḑ

Ȩ

ȩ

Ḝ

ḝ

Ģ

U+00B8

U+0327

U+00C7

U+00E7

U+1E08

U+1E09

U+1E10

U+1E11

U+0228

U+0229

U+1E1C

U+1E1D

U+0122

Cedilla

Combining Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter C With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter C With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter C With Cedilla And Acute

Latin Small Letter C With Cedilla And Acute

Latin Capital Letter D With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter D With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter E With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter E With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter E With Cedilla And Breve

Latin Small Letter E With Cedilla And Breve

Latin Capital Letter G With Cedilla

ģ

Ḩ

ḩ

Ķ

ķ

Ļ

ļ

Ņ

ņ

Ŗ

ŗ

Ş

ş

U+0123

U+1E28

U+1E29

U+0136

U+0137

U+013B

U+013C

U+0145

U+0146

U+0156

U+0157

U+015E

U+015F

Latin Small Letter G With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter H With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter H With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter K With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter K With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter L With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter L With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter N With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter N With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter R With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter R With Cedilla

Latin Capital Letter S With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter S With Cedilla

Note: The diacritic is placed on top of the letter to avoid the descender of the g.

​

Ţ

ţ

U+0162

U+0163

Latin Capital Letter T With Cedilla

Latin Small Letter T With Cedilla

Uses of Cedilla

Usage	Language	Letters	Notes
Palatal consonant	Latgalian, Latvian	Ģģ /ɟ/, Ķķ /c/, Ļļ /ʎ/, Ņņ /ɲ/
	Livonian	Ḑḑ /ɟ/, Ļļ /ʎ/, Ņņ /ɲ/, Ţţ /c/
Palatalized consonant	Livonian	Ŗŗ /rʲ/

Diaeresis/Umlaut

Precomposed Letters with Diaeresis/Umlaut

¨

◌̈

Ä

ä

Ǟ

ǟ

Ë

ë

Ḧ

ḧ

Ï

ï

Ḯ

U+00A8

U+0308

U+00C4

U+00E4

U+01DE

U+01DF

U+00CB

U+00EB

U+1E26

U+1E27

U+00CF

​ U+00EF

U+1E2E

Diaeresis

Combining Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter A With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter A With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter A With Diaeresis And Macron

Latin Small Letter A With Diaeresis And Macron

Latin Capital Letter E With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter E With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter H With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter H With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter I With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter I With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter I With Diaeresis And Acute

ḯ

Ö

ö

Ȫ

ȫ

Ṏ

ṏ

ẗ

Ü

ü

Ǖ

ǖ

Ǘ

U+1E2F

U+00D6

U+00F6

​ U+022A

U+022B

U+1E4E

U+1E4F

U+1E97

U+00DC

​ U+00FC

U+01D5

U+01D6

U+01D7

Latin Small Letter I With Diaeresis And Acute

​ Latin Capital Letter O With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter O With Diaeresis

​ Latin Capital Letter O With Diaeresis And Macron

Latin Small Letter O With Diaeresis And Macron

Latin Capital Letter O With Tilde And Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter O With Tilde And Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter T With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter U With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter U With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter U With Diaeresis And Macron

Latin Small Letter U With Diaeresis And Macron

​ Latin Capital Letter U With Diaeresis And Acute

ǘ

Ǚ

ǚ

Ǜ

ǜ

Ṻ

ṻ

Ẅ

ẅ

Ẍ

ẍ

Ÿ

ÿ

U+01D8

U+01D9

U+01DA

U+01DB

U+01DC

U+1E7A

U+1E7B

U+1E84

U+1E85

U+1E8C

U+1E8D

U+0178

U+00FF

Latin Small Letter U With Diaeresis And Acute

Latin Capital Letter U With Diaeresis And Caron

Latin Small Letter U With Diaeresis And Caron

Latin Capital Letter U With Diaeresis And Grave

Latin Small Letter U With Diaeresis And Grave

Latin Capital Letter U With Macron And Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter U With Macron And Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter W With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter W With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter X With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter X With Diaeresis

Latin Capital Letter Y With Diaeresis

Latin Small Letter Y With Diaeresis

Diaeresis (known as tréma in French) and umlaut both employ the same character. But there is a difference of use between diaeresis and umlaut. Letters with umlaut stand for completely different sounds than their non-accented counterparts. For example in Swedish <o> represents /u/ while <ö> represents /ø/. Diaeresis on the other hand does not change the sound value of a letter, but instead marks that a vowel is not part of a diphthong or digraph.

Uses of Diaeresis or Umlaut

Usage	Language	Letters	Notes
Front version of back vowel	Finnish	Ää /æ/, Öö /ø/	Usage borrowed from Swedish.
	Livonian	Ää /æ/
	Swedish	Ää /ɛ/, Öö /ø/	The umlaut evolved from the letter e in the digraphs ae[1] and oe[2].
Syllable break. When two vowel follow each other, a diaeresis on the second vowel indicates that the vowels are in two different syllables instead of forming a diphthong.	French	Ëë, Ïï, Üü, Ÿÿ

Dot Above

Precomposed Letter with Dot Above

˙

◌̇

Ȧ

ȧ

Ǡ

ǡ

Ḃ

ḃ

Ċ

ċ

Ḋ

ḋ

Ė

U+02D9

U+0307

U+0226

U+0227

U+01E0

U+01E1

U+1E02

U+1E03

U+010A

U+010B

U+1E0A

U+1E0B

U+0116

Dot Above

Combining Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter A With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter A With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter A With Dot Above And Macron

Latin Small Letter A With Dot Above And Macron

Latin Capital Letter B With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter B With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter C With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter C With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter D With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter D With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter E With Dot Above

ė

Ḟ

ḟ

Ġ

ġ

Ḣ

ḣ

İ

i

Ṁ

ṁ

Ṅ

ṅ

U+0117

U+1E1E

U+1E1F

U+0120

U+0121

U+1E22

U+1E23

U+0130

U+0069

​ U+1E40

U+1E41

U+1E44

U+1E45

Latin Small Letter E With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter F With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter F With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter G With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter G With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter H With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter H With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter I With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter I

Latin Capital Letter M With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter M With Dot Above

​ Latin Capital Letter N With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter N With Dot Above

Note: In most languages i is the lower case version of I, but in Turkish İ and i resp. I and ı go together. If Turkish case is used, you need to make sure that various software handles that correctly. For example dictionaries need to sort the letters in the right order.

Ȯ

ȯ

Ȱ

ȱ

Ṗ

ṗ

Ṙ

ṙ

Ṡ

ṡ

ẛ

Ṥ

ṥ

U+022E

U+022F

U+0230

U+0231

U+1E56

U+1E57

U+1E58

U+1E59

U+1E60

U+1E61

U+1E9B

U+1E64

U+1E65

Latin Capital Letter O With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter O With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter O With Dot Above And Macron

Latin Small Letter O With Dot Above And Macron

Latin Capital Letter P With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter P With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter R With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter R With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter S With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter S With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter Long S With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter S With Acute And Dot Above

Latin Small Letter S With Acute And Dot Above

Ṧ

ṧ

Ṩ

ṩ

Ṫ

ṫ

Ẇ

ẇ

Ẋ

ẋ

Ẏ

ẏ

Ż

U+1E66

U+1E67

U+1E68

U+1E69

U+1E6A

U+1E6B

U+1E86

U+1E87

U+1E8A

U+1E8B

U+1E8E

U+1E8F

U+017B

Latin Capital Letter S With Caron And Dot Above

Latin Small Letter S With Caron And Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter S With Dot Below And Dot Above

Latin Small Letter S With Dot Below And Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter T With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter T With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter W With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter W With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter X With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter X With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter Y With Dot Above

Latin Small Letter Y With Dot Above

Latin Capital Letter Z With Dot Above

ż

U+017C

Latin Small Letter Z With Dot Above

Uses of Dot Above

Use	Language	Letters	Notes
Raised vowel	Livonian	Ȯȯ /ʊ/

Ring Above

Precomposed Letter with Ring Above

˚	◌̊	Å	å	Ǻ	ǻ	Ů	ů	ẘ	ẙ
U+02DA	U+030A	U+00C5	U+00E5	U+01FA	U+01FB	U+016E	U+016F	U+1E98	U+1E99
Ring Above	Combining Ring Above	Latin Capital Letter A With Ring Above	Latin Small Letter A With Ring Above	Latin Capital Letter A With Ring Above And Acute	Latin Small Letter A With Ring Above And Acute	Latin Capital Letter U With Ring Above	Latin Small Letter U With Ring Above	Latin Small Letter W With Ring Above	Latin Small Letter Y With Ring Above
Note: May be confused with the Degree Sign ° (U+00B0)		Note: May be confused with the Ångström Sign Å (U+212B).

Uses of Ring Above

Use	Language	Letters	Notes
Back version of front vowel. Often also rounded.	Chamorro	Åå /ɑ/
	Danish, Norwegian	Åå /ɔ/	From an earlier digraph aa representing /ɔ/, which in turn came from /aː/.[3]
	Swedish	Åå /o/	From an earlier digraph aa representing /ɔ/, which in turn came from /aː/.[4]