How to Type the Ukrainian Apostrophe, Ґ and ₴ on a Mac
September 24, 2026
The first thing everyone looks for when they start typing Ukrainian on a Mac is the apostrophe. Right after that come Ґ and the hryvnia sign. They're all in the layout - just not where Windows habits say they should be.
Below are the exact keys for every Ukrainian layout macOS ships. You need to know two things first: which layout you have, and which keyboard.
Step 1: which layout you have
Current versions of macOS have three Ukrainian layouts:
- Ukrainian - the standard one, same as on Windows. It used to be called "Ukrainian – PC".
- Ukrainian – Legacy - Apple's older layout. It used to be called just "Ukrainian", which is why older guides online mix the two up.
- Ukrainian – QWERTY - phonetic: letters sit where their Latin lookalikes are.
To see which one is active, click the input indicator in the menu bar - the current one has a checkmark. The full list is in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit. No Ukrainian layout yet? Here's how to add the Ukrainian keyboard on a Mac.
Step 2: which keyboard you have
This decides where two keys physically are. Look at the Return key:
- US-style (ANSI) - Return is wide and one row tall. The key left of 1 is ` ~, and \ | sits above Return.
- European (ISO) - Return is tall, spanning two rows. The key left of 1 is § ±, the ` ~ key is between left Shift and Z, and \ | is on the middle row, right next to Return.
Anything below that doesn't depend on the keyboard type is marked "any keyboard".
The "Ukrainian" layout
The most common one - and if you came from Windows, almost certainly yours.
| Character | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Apostrophe ʼ | The \ key: above Return after Ї (ANSI) or left of Return after Є (ISO) |
| ґ / Ґ | The ` key: left of 1 (ANSI) or between left Shift and Z (ISO). Add Shift for capital Ґ |
| ґ on any keyboard | Option+Г (add Shift for Ґ) |
| Hryvnia sign ₴ | Shift+\ (same key as the apostrophe) or Shift+Option+Ф |
| Quotes « » | Shift+Option+= for «, Option+= for » |
| Quotes „ “ | Shift+Option + the period key for „, Option+Х for “ |
| Em dash — | Shift+Option+- |
| En dash – | Option+- |
| № | Shift+3 |
| Period and comma | The key right of Ю: period, with Shift - comma |
The usual confusion here is the apostrophe and Ґ. They live on the two edge keys, and exactly where those are depends on the keyboard type.
The "Ukrainian – Legacy" layout
It differs from the standard one in exactly the apostrophe and Ґ - they swap places. Punctuation is different too, and і and и trade keys.
| Character | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Apostrophe ' | The ` key: left of 1 (ANSI) or between left Shift and Z (ISO) |
| ґ / Ґ | The \ key: above Return (ANSI) or left of Return (ISO) |
| Hryvnia sign ₴ | Shift+Option+Ф |
| Quotes « » | Shift+Option+= for «, Option+= for » |
| Em dash — | Shift+Option+- |
| № | Shift+3 |
| Period / comma | Shift+7 / Shift+6 |
| і and и | і on the B key, и on S - the reverse of the standard layout |
If you didn't pick Legacy on purpose and just took the first thing in the list, switch to the standard "Ukrainian". Period and comma behind Shift+digits is what annoys people most about Legacy.
The "Ukrainian – QWERTY" layout
Letters here follow their sound, so the special characters are scattered differently too.
| Character | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Apostrophe ʼ | The ' key (right of ; on the middle row) |
| Hryvnia sign ₴ | Shift+' |
| ґ / Ґ | Option+G (add Shift for Ґ) |
| ї / Ї | Option+I |
| щ / Щ | Option+W |
| є | The \ key: above Return (ANSI) or left of Return (ISO) |
| ь | The ` key: left of 1 (ANSI) or between left Shift and Z (ISO) |
| Quotes « » | Option+O for «, Option+P for » |
| Em dash — | Shift+Option+- |
| № | Option+3 |
ʼ vs ': what's the difference
The standard "Ukrainian" and QWERTY layouts type ʼ - a dedicated letter apostrophe. Legacy types the plain straight ', same as in English.
Readers won't notice. Search will: if a document has "пʼять" with one apostrophe and you search for "п'ять" with the other, Cmd+F may find nothing. If you need the straight ' in the standard "Ukrainian" layout, type Shift+Option+9 or switch to English.
If a key gives you the wrong character
- Check the layout. Most "the apostrophe isn't there" cases are Legacy being active while the guide was about the standard layout (or the other way round).
- Look at the live keyboard. Click the input indicator in the menu bar → Show Keyboard Viewer. Hold Shift, Option, or both to see what's on each level.
- The ` and § keys are swapped - macOS may have detected your external keyboard's type wrong. The fix is in our guide on a Mac keyboard typing the wrong characters.
When a word comes out in the wrong layout
You've found the apostrophe, and the classic problem is still there: you start typing "пʼять", forget you're still on English, and get g\znm.
That's what our app Boomkey is for. Select the text, double-tap Shift, and it converts to the layout you meant - between any two layouts you have installed. For English ↔ Ukrainian it can also fix the word as you type, when you hit space (beta), including words with an apostrophe.
It's a native menu bar app, everything runs locally on your Mac, one-time purchase with a 7-day trial - no card, no account. And if switching languages itself bugs you, here's every way to switch keyboard language on a Mac.
FAQ
Where is the apostrophe on a Mac Ukrainian keyboard? In the "Ukrainian" layout it's the \ key (above Return on a US-style keyboard, left of Return on a European one). In "Ukrainian – Legacy" it's the ` key left of 1 (or between left Shift and Z on a European keyboard). In "Ukrainian – QWERTY" it's the ' key on the middle row.
How do I type Ґ on a Mac? In the "Ukrainian" layout, press the ` key (left of 1, or next to left Shift), or Option+Г on any keyboard. In Legacy it's the \ key, in QWERTY it's Option+G. Add Shift for capital Ґ.
How do I type the hryvnia sign ₴ on a Mac? Shift+Option+Ф in the "Ukrainian" and Legacy layouts. In "Ukrainian" also Shift+\ , in QWERTY Shift+'.
How do I type « » quotes on a Mac? In "Ukrainian" and Legacy: Shift+Option+= gives «, Option+= gives ». In QWERTY it's Option+O and Option+P. In the English ABC layout it's Option+\ and Shift+Option+\ .
How do I type an em dash on a Mac? Shift+Option+minus - in every Ukrainian layout and in the English ABC layout. Option+minus gives an en dash.
Why does the apostrophe look different from Windows? The standard "Ukrainian" layout types a dedicated letter apostrophe ʼ instead of the straight '. Readers won't see a difference, but text search may treat them as different characters. For the straight ', press Shift+Option+9.
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