Hidden Keyboard Symbols iPhone — Secret Characters You Can Type

Your iPhone keyboard is hiding more secrets than you probably know. Beyond the letters and numbers on screen, there are hidden symbols, accented characters, emoji shortcuts, and secret gestures that can make typing so much faster.

In this guide, I'll show you every hidden keyboard symbol on iPhone, how to access special characters, and the best keyboard tricks that most people never discover.

How to Access Hidden Symbols on iPhone

Before we get to the specific symbols, let's cover how to access them:

Method 1: Long Press for Alternate Characters

This is the easiest way to find hidden symbols. Long press (hold down) on any letter or symbol to see alternate versions.

Long press these keys for hidden symbols:

• E → è é ê ë ē ė ę ɛ
• A → à á â ã ä å ā æ
• I → ì í î ï ī į
• O → ò ó ô õ ö ø ō œ
• U → ù ú û ü ū
• N → ñ ń
• C → ç ć č
• S → ß ś š
• . → … (ellipsis)
• ? → ¿ (inverted question mark)
• ! → ¡ (inverted exclamation)
• " → " " ' ' ʻ '''
• / → \

Method 2: The Hidden Numbers and Symbols Page

Your iPhone keyboard has multiple pages of symbols that aren't shown on the main view.

How to find them:

1. Open any app with the keyboard (Messages, Notes, etc.)
2. Tap the 123 button to see numbers
3. Hold down the #+= button to temporarily see the symbols page
4. Or tap #+= to switch to that keyboard permanently

What you'll find on the symbols page:

• ¬ ` ¦ § ¶ † ‡ • ° ¢ £ € ¥ ₹
• © ® ™ ® ℅
• ± × ÷ = ≠ ≈ ∞
• π Σ √ Ω µ
• ¬ | ¤ ¦ ¨ ¯ ´
• • ◦ ‣ ✓ ✗ ☑ ☒

Method 3: The Globe Key (Switch Keyboards)

Tap and hold the globe (or emoji) key to see available keyboards:

• English (QWERTY) — Standard
• Emoji — Full emoji keyboard
• Japanese — Kana, Romaji
• Korean — 2-Set, 3-Set
• Chinese — Simplified/Traditional

Hidden Emoji and Symbol Shortcuts

iPhone has some clever emoji shortcuts built in:

Emoji Search:

• Tap the emoji key
• Type a word in the search bar
• Example: type "cat" → see all cat emoji

Popular emoji searches:

• cat → 🐱 😺 😸 😻
• dog → 🐶 🐕 🐩 🐾
• fire → 🔥 💥 🧨 🧯
• heart → ❤️ 💕 💖 💗
• laugh → 😂 💀 😭 😹
• cry → 😭 😢 💧 😿

Secret iPhone Keyboard Gestures

These hidden gestures can speed up your typing dramatically:

1. Slide to Delete (The Most Useful)

Slide left on any word to delete the entire word at once. Works in most apps.

2. Slide to Type (Swipe Typing)

Don't tap each letter — slide your finger from letter to letter without lifting. The keyboard predicts what you're typing. This is the fastest way to type on iPhone.

3. Double Space for Period

Tap the space bar twice to automatically add a period and capitalize the next letter. Super handy for writing sentences quickly.

4. Press and Drag for Cursor

Press and hold on the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad. Drag to move the cursor anywhere in your text.

5. Shake to Undo

Shake your iPhone to undo the last text action. Great for when you accidentally deleted something.

6. 3D Touch / Haptic Touch for Preview

On supported devices, press lightly on links, files, or emoji to preview them before opening. On newer devices, long press works similarly.

How to Add Foreign Language Keyboards

Want to type in other languages? Here's how to add them:

Add a new keyboard:

1. Go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards
2. Tap Add New Keyboard
3. Select any language you want

Now you can:

• Type in multiple languages
• Access unique characters from each language
• Switch between keyboards using the globe key

Useful keyboards to add:

• Japanese → ㄅhiragana, katakana
• Korean → Hangul characters
• Vietnamese → Telex input for accents
• Arabic → Right-to-left typing
• Hebrew → Right-to-left typing

Accented Characters You Can Type

Long press any vowel to get these accents:

With 'E' (è é ê ë):

• è — French, Italian
• é — French, Spanish, Portuguese
• ê — French
• ë — Dutch, German

With 'A' (à á â ã ä å):

• à — French, Italian, Catalan
• á — Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian
• â — French, Romanian
• ã — Portuguese
• ä — Swedish, Finnish, German
• å — Swedish, Norwegian, Danish

With 'O' (ò ó ô õ ö ø):

• ò — Italian, French
• ó — Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian
• ô — French, Portuguese
• õ — Portuguese
• ö — Swedish, Finnish, German, Turkish
• ø — Norwegian, Danish

With 'U' (ù ú û ü):

• ù — French, Italian
• ú — Spanish, Portuguese
• û — French
• ü — German, Turkish

Hidden Symbols in iOS

Here are some hidden gems you can type:

Math and Science:

• π — Pi (long press P)
• ∞ — Infinity (symbols page)
• ° — Degree (long press zero)
• ± — Plus minus
• √ — Square root
• µ — Micro
• Ω — Omega

Currency:

• $ — Dollar
• € — Euro (long press $)
• £ — Pound (long press $)
• ¥ — Yen/Yuan (long press $)
• ₹ — Rupee (long press $)
• ₿ — Bitcoin (long press $)

Fractions:

• ½ — Half
• ⅓ — Third
• ¼ — Quarter
• ¾ — Three quarters
• ⅔ — Two thirds

Punctuation Hacks:

• — (em dash) — Type two or three dashes
• … (ellipsis) — Long press the period
• ¡ — Long press !
• ¿ — Long press ?

Best Third-Party Keyboard Apps

Want even more features? Try these keyboard apps:

Popular alternatives:

• Gboard — Google's keyboard, includes GIFs, search
• SwiftKey — Microsoft, great predictions
• Grammarly Keyboard — Spell check and grammar
• Bitmoji — Custom emoji of yourself
• FLIP — Fun, customizable themes

iPhone Keyboard Settings to Change

Customize your keyboard in Settings:

Essential settings:

• Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards
• Enable "Allow Full Access" for third-party keyboards
• Turn on "Predictive" for word suggestions
• Turn on "Auto-Correction" (or off if it annoys you)
• Enable "Check Spelling" for red underlines

Fun settings to try:

• Enable "Character Preview" to see what you're typing
• Turn on "Double Space Space Bar" for period shortcut
• Try "Drift" on the slider for key sensitivity

Pro Typing Tips

Speed up your typing:

1. Use swipe/flow typing — it's faster than tapping
2. Long press letters for accents instead of switching keyboards
3. Use text replacements for frequently used phrases
4. Learn the double-space period trick
5. Use the trackpad feature to move cursor precisely

Set up text replacements:

1. Go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement
2. Tap + to add new
3. Type shortcut (e.g., "omw")
4. Type phrase (e.g., "On my way!")
5. Now type the shortcut anywhere to expand

Popular text replacements:

• "omw" → "On my way!"
• "brb" → "Be right back"
• "gn" → "Good night 💫"
• "ty" → "Thank you!"

Final Thoughts

Your iPhone keyboard is way more powerful than it looks. The hidden symbols, accented characters, and gesture tricks can seriously level up your typing speed and expressiveness.

Start with one or two tricks — like the long press accents and the double-space period — and add more as you get comfortable. Your fingers will thank you.

Want more symbol guides? Check out our comprehensive guide to typing special symbols on any device.