Typing special characters with the Compose Key

On Linux, there is a feature known as the compose key which allows to you type special characters without needing to memorize alt-codes. You use it by pressing the compose key, then a combination of (usually) two characters to get the desired special character. Originally, this was a dedicated key on some keyboards, however the key no longer exists on most keyboards today, so you’ll have to choose another key to use as your compose key.

For example, if my compose key is mapped to right alt, to write 8µs I would type

8 RAlt mu s

Setup

Setting up the compose key depends on your desktop environment, but it should be pretty easy.

Xfce

Open the keyboard settings, and go to the Layout tab. If you disable Use system defaults, you will be able to customize the keyboard layout. Choose a key to use as your compose key from the Compose Key menu, and it should be ready to go.

Xfce keyboard layout settings menu

GNOME

Open the Settings application and go to the Keyboard section. Under the Special Character Entry heading you’ll find the compose key settings.

GNOME keyboard settings

Combinations

Below is a table of all compose key combinations, which I borrowed from this page.

Char Sequence Unicode Name
nobreakspace # NO-BREAK SPACE
¡ !! exclamdown # INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK
¢ |c c| c/ /c CENT SIGN
£ L- -L POUND SIGN
¤ ox xo currency # CURRENCY SIGN
¥ Y= =Y yen # YEN SIGN
¦ !^ brokenbar # BROKEN BAR
§ so os section # SECTION SIGN
© oc oC Oc OC copyright # COPYRIGHT SIGN
ª "^_a" FEMININE ORDINAL INDICATOR
« "<<" guillemotleft # LEFT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
¬ ,- -, NOT SIGN
® or oR Or OR registered # REGISTERED SIGN
° oo degree # DEGREE SIGN
± +- plusminus # PLUS-MINUS SIGN
² ^2 SUPERSCRIPT TWO
³ ^3 SUPERSCRIPT THREE
µ mu MICRO SIGN
p! P! PP paragraph # PILCROW SIGN
· .. MIDDLE DOT
¸ , , cedilla # CEDILLA
¹ ^1 SUPERSCRIPT ONE
º "^_o" MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR
» ">>" guillemotright # RIGHT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
¼ 14 VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER
½ 12 VULGAR FRACTION ONE HALF
¾ 34 VULGAR FRACTION THREE QUARTERS
¿ ?? questiondown # INVERTED QUESTION MARK
À `A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
Á 'A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
 ^A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
à ~A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE
Ä "A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
Å oA LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
Æ AE AE # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER AE
Ç ,C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA
È `E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH GRAVE
É 'E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH ACUTE
Ê ^E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ë "E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS
Ì `I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH GRAVE
Í 'I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH ACUTE
Î ^I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ï "I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS
Ð DH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ETH
Ñ ~N LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH TILDE
Ò `O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH GRAVE
Ó 'O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH ACUTE
Ô ^O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Õ ~O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH TILDE
Ö "O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS
× xx MULTIPLICATION SIGN
Ø /O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH STROKE
Ù `U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH GRAVE
Ú 'U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH ACUTE
Û ^U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ü "U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
Ý 'Y LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE
Þ TH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN
ß ss ssharp # LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S
à `a LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
á 'a LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
â ^a LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ã ~a LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH TILDE
ä "a LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
å oa LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
æ ae ae # LATIN SMALL LETTER AE
ç ,c LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA
è `e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH GRAVE
é 'e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH ACUTE
ê ^e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ë "e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS
ì `i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH GRAVE
í 'i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH ACUTE
î ^i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ï "i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS
ð dh LATIN SMALL LETTER ETH
ñ ~n LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH TILDE
ò `o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH GRAVE
ó 'o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH ACUTE
ô ^o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX
õ ~o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH TILDE
ö "o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS
÷ :- -: DIVISION SIGN
ø /o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH STROKE
ù `u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH GRAVE
ú 'u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH ACUTE
û ^u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ü "u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
ý 'y LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE
þ th LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN
ÿ "y LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS
Ā _A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON
ā _a LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH MACRON
Ă UA bA LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH BREVE
ă Ua ba LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH BREVE
Ą ;A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH OGONEK
ą ;a LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH OGONEK
Ć 'C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH ACUTE
ć 'c LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH ACUTE
Ĉ ^C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ĉ ^c LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Č cC LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CARON
č cc LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CARON
Ď cD LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH CARON
ď cd LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH CARON
Đ -D /D Dstroke # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH STROKE
đ -d /d dstroke # LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH STROKE
Ē _E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH MACRON
ē _e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH MACRON
Ĕ UE bE LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH BREVE
ĕ Ue be LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH BREVE
Ę ;E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH OGONEK
ę ;e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH OGONEK
Ě cE LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CARON
ě ce LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CARON
Ĝ ^G LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ĝ ^g LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ğ UG bG LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH BREVE
ğ Ug bg LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH BREVE
Ģ ,G LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH CEDILLA
ģ ,g LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH CEDILLA
Ĥ ^H LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ĥ ^h LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ħ /H LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH STROKE
ħ /h LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH STROKE
Ĩ ~I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH TILDE
ĩ ~i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH TILDE
Ī _I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH MACRON
ī _i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH MACRON
Ĭ UI bI LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH BREVE
ĭ Ui bi LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH BREVE
Į ;I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH OGONEK
į ;i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH OGONEK
ı i. LATIN SMALL LETTER DOTLESS I
Ĵ ^J LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ĵ ^j LATIN SMALL LETTER J WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ķ ,K LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH CEDILLA
ķ ,k LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH CEDILLA
ĸ kk LATIN SMALL LETTER KRA
Ĺ 'L LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH ACUTE
ĺ 'l LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH ACUTE
Ļ ,L LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH CEDILLA
ļ ,l LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH CEDILLA
Ľ cL LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH CARON
ľ cl LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH CARON
Ł /L LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH STROKE
ł /l LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH STROKE
Ń 'N LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH ACUTE
ń 'n LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH ACUTE
Ņ ,N LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH CEDILLA
ņ ,n LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH CEDILLA
Ň cN LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH CARON
ň cn LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH CARON
Ŋ NG LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ENG
ŋ ng LATIN SMALL LETTER ENG
Ō _O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH MACRON
ō _o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH MACRON
Ŏ UO bO LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH BREVE
ŏ Uo bo LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH BREVE
Ő =O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
ő =o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
Œ OE OE # LATIN CAPITAL LIGATURE OE
œ oe oe # LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE
Ŕ 'R LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH ACUTE
ŕ 'r LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH ACUTE
Ŗ ,R LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH CEDILLA
ŗ ,r LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH CEDILLA
Ř cR LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R WITH CARON
ř cr LATIN SMALL LETTER R WITH CARON
Ś 'S LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH ACUTE
ś 's LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH ACUTE
Ŝ ^S LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ŝ ^s LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ş ,S LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH CEDILLA
ş ,s LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH CEDILLA
Š cS LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH CARON
š cs LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH CARON
Ţ ,T LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH CEDILLA
ţ ,t LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH CEDILLA
Ť cT LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH CARON
ť ct LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH CARON
Ŧ /T LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T WITH STROKE
ŧ /t LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH STROKE
Ũ ~U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH TILDE
ũ ~u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH TILDE
Ū _U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH MACRON
ū _u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH MACRON
Ŭ UU bU LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH BREVE
ŭ Uu bu LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH BREVE
Ů oU LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH RING ABOVE
ů ou LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH RING ABOVE
Ű =U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
ű =u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
Ų ;U LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH OGONEK
ų ;u LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH OGONEK
Ŵ ^W LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ŵ ^w LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ŷ ^Y LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH CIRCUMFLEX
ŷ ^y LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH CIRCUMFLEX
Ÿ "Y LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS
Ź 'Z LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH ACUTE
ź 'z LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH ACUTE
Ž cZ LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH CARON
ž cz LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH CARON
ſ fs fS LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S
ƀ /b LATIN SMALL LETTER B WITH STROKE
Ɨ /I LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH STROKE
Ƶ /Z LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH STROKE
ƶ /z LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH STROKE
Ǎ cA LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CARON
ǎ ca LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CARON
Ǐ cI LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH CARON
ǐ ci LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CARON
Ǒ cO LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH CARON
ǒ co LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CARON
Ǔ cU LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH CARON
ǔ cu LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CARON
Ǥ /G LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH STROKE
ǥ /g LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH STROKE
Ǧ cG LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH CARON
ǧ cg LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH CARON
Ǩ cK LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH CARON
ǩ ck LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH CARON
Ǫ ;O LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH OGONEK
ǫ ;o LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH OGONEK
ǰ cj LATIN SMALL LETTER J WITH CARON
Ǵ 'G LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH ACUTE
ǵ 'g LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH ACUTE
Ǹ `N LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH GRAVE
ǹ `n LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH GRAVE
Ȟ cH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH CARON
ȟ ch LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH CARON
Ȩ ,E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CEDILLA
ȩ ,e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CEDILLA
Ȳ _Y LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH MACRON
ȳ _y LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH MACRON
ə ee LATIN SMALL LETTER SCHWA
ɨ /i LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH STROKE
,D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D WITH CEDILLA
,d LATIN SMALL LETTER D WITH CEDILLA
_G LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH MACRON
_g LATIN SMALL LETTER G WITH MACRON
"H LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH DIAERESIS
"h LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH DIAERESIS
,H LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H WITH CEDILLA
,h LATIN SMALL LETTER H WITH CEDILLA
'K LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K WITH ACUTE
'k LATIN SMALL LETTER K WITH ACUTE
'M LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M WITH ACUTE
ḿ 'm LATIN SMALL LETTER M WITH ACUTE
'P LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P WITH ACUTE
'p LATIN SMALL LETTER P WITH ACUTE
~V LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V WITH TILDE
~v LATIN SMALL LETTER V WITH TILDE
`W LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH GRAVE
`w LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH GRAVE
'W LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH ACUTE
'w LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH ACUTE
"W LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W WITH DIAERESIS
"w LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH DIAERESIS
"X LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X WITH DIAERESIS
"x LATIN SMALL LETTER X WITH DIAERESIS
^Z LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH CIRCUMFLEX
^z LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH CIRCUMFLEX
"t LATIN SMALL LETTER T WITH DIAERESIS
ow LATIN SMALL LETTER W WITH RING ABOVE
oy LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH RING ABOVE
~E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH TILDE
~e LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH TILDE
`Y LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH GRAVE
`y LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH GRAVE
~Y LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH TILDE
~y LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH TILDE
. PUNCTUATION SPACE
"--." EN DASH
"---" EM DASH
"<'" "'<" LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK
">'" "'>" RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK
,' ', SINGLE LOW-9 QUOTATION MARK
"<" "<" LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK
">" ">" RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK
, "," DOUBLE LOW-9 QUOTATION MARK
%o PER MILLE SIGN
".<" SINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
".>" SINGLE RIGHT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
^0 SUPERSCRIPT ZERO
"^_i" SUPERSCRIPT LATIN SMALL LETTER I
^4 SUPERSCRIPT FOUR
^5 SUPERSCRIPT FIVE
^6 SUPERSCRIPT SIX
^7 SUPERSCRIPT SEVEN
^8 SUPERSCRIPT EIGHT
^9 SUPERSCRIPT NINE
^+ SUPERSCRIPT PLUS SIGN
^= SUPERSCRIPT EQUALS SIGN
^( SUPERSCRIPT LEFT PARENTHESIS
^) SUPERSCRIPT RIGHT PARENTHESIS
"^_n" SUPERSCRIPT LATIN SMALL LETTER N
_0 SUBSCRIPT ZERO
_1 SUBSCRIPT ONE
_2 SUBSCRIPT TWO
_3 SUBSCRIPT THREE
_4 SUBSCRIPT FOUR
_5 SUBSCRIPT FIVE
_6 SUBSCRIPT SIX
_7 SUBSCRIPT SEVEN
_8 SUBSCRIPT EIGHT
_9 SUBSCRIPT NINE
_+ SUBSCRIPT PLUS SIGN
_= SUBSCRIPT EQUALS SIGN
_( SUBSCRIPT LEFT PARENTHESIS
_) SUBSCRIPT RIGHT PARENTHESIS
CE EURO-CURRENCY SIGN
C/ /C COLON SIGN
Cr CRUZEIRO SIGN
Fr FRENCH FRANC SIGN
L= =L LIRA SIGN
m/ /m MILL SIGN
N= =N NAIRA SIGN
Pt PESETA SIGN
Rs RUPEE SIGN
W= =W WON SIGN
d- DONG SIGN
C= =C c= =c E= =E EuroSign # EURO SIGN
"^SM" SERVICE MARK
"^TM" TRADE MARK SIGN
"\ REVERSED DOUBLE PRIME QUOTATION MARK
"/ DOUBLE PRIME QUOTATION MARK