Instead of the tilde “˜” and the lowercase “n”, you should see the letter ñ. To type this symbol on your Mac, hold down the “option” key and press the “n” key. The squiggly-line symbol is used mainly in mathematics, but it can also be used as a special character in word processing programs or text editors (especially under Unix). It can be confusing that there are two completely different ways to generate a ~ over the letter n. Despite its name, this symbol has nothing to do with the letter o - it’s just a sideways squiggle on top of a lowercase n. How to Make the n With the Squiggly Line Over it? On a Mac ComputerĪ squiggly line or a tilde (~) above the letter n is called an “overline” in typography. The length and direction of the squiggle determine how fast or slow each note will be.

It indicates that notes of the chord are played rapidly one after the other instead of simultaneously (like in a strummed chord). The line in music notation for an arpeggio is a squiggly line in front of the chord. A squiggly line also could be used to point out an item or element that belongs to the set. The one kind of squiggly line is utilized when it is needed to draw an interval. When a squiggly line appears in mathematics, there are two primary explanations that may describe its appearance. It’s also much harder to type.īut if you’re a cool, contemporary teenager, squiggly lines convey the desired impression of a tilde in a tone far better than the scarily old-fashioned ‘about’ or ‘approximately’ do. It means almost exactly the same, just with more syllables. You could replace the squiggly line with the word ‘about’ or ‘approximately’. That remained the case until 1918, when the Spanish alphabet was reformed, and the ñ (which had been used for all instances of “n” doubling in some languages) became an official character. Interestingly, the symbol has a name: the tilde.Īround the 12th century, Spanish scribes began using a squiggly line over letters to indicate they were doubled, in an effort to use less paper.Īround 1522, this practice became specific to indicate only an “n” was being doubled.

It’s called an “aspirational” or “tilde” notation, and in computer usage, the tilde sign stands for “approximately equal to,” or, more often these days: approximately.” History of the Squiggly LineĪ squiggly line is a wavy symbol ( ~ ) often found over a letter. Maybe you use it in your online work, or you’ve seen it in a newspaper (maybe when polling public opinion about something).

It’s the sign above the backquote (~), and it indicates approximation.

How to make n with tilde on pc