Spreadsheet Practice

How to remove accents from letters in Excel

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

=SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e"),"ñ","n"),"Á","A")

Swap each accented letter for its plain one with nested SUBSTITUTE, one per letter: =SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"ñ","n") and so on.

Result on the example
one result per row in B2, filled down to B6
Works in
Every current version
Google Sheets
Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in B2, filled down to B6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

There is no built-in function for this, so each SUBSTITUTE replaces one accented letter and passes the result to the next. The list covers the letters in this data; add a SUBSTITUTE for each other letter you meet. Plain letters are what usernames, file names and some older systems need.

=SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e"),"ñ","n"),"Á","A")

Result"Jose Martinez"

  1. A2"José Martínez"

    The value in A2.

  2. SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e")"Jose Martínez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textA2"José Martínez"
    • old_text"é"
    • new_text"e"
  3. SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i")"Jose Martinez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e")"Jose Martínez"
    • old_text"í"
    • new_text"i"
  4. SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e")"Jose Martinez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i")"Jose Martinez"
    • old_text"ë"
    • new_text"e"
  5. SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u")"Jose Martinez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e")"Jose Martinez"
    • old_text"ü"
    • new_text"u"
  6. SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c")"Jose Martinez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u")"Jose Martinez"
    • old_text"ç"
    • new_text"c"
  7. SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e")"Jose Martinez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c")"Jose Martinez"
    • old_text"è"
    • new_text"e"
  8. SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e"),"ñ","n")"Jose Martinez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e")"Jose Martinez"
    • old_text"ñ"
    • new_text"n"
  9. SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e"),"ñ","n"),"Á","A")"Jose Martinez"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e"),"ñ","n")"Jose Martinez"
    • old_text"Á"
    • new_text"A"

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: =SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e"),"ñ","n"),"Á","A"). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=LOWER(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"é","e"),"í","i"),"ë","e"),"ü","u"),"ç","c"),"è","e"),"ñ","n"),"Á","A")," ","."))jose.martinez, zoe.muller, francois.lefevre…Different resultGoes one step further, building an email-safe name. "jose.martinez" and so on.

Common mistakes

  • SUBSTITUTE is case-sensitive: "é" and "É" each need their own replacement.
  • Long lists hit Excel's limit of 64 nested functions. Keep the pairs in a table and use the REDUCE version in the FAQ.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Remove accents from letters

In B2, replace the accented letters with plain ones (é with e, ñ with n and so on) and fill down to B6.

Questions

Is there a shorter way in Excel 365?

Put the accented letters in D2:D20 and the plain ones in E2:E20, then: =REDUCE(A2,SEQUENCE(ROWS(D2:D20)),LAMBDA(t,i,SUBSTITUTE(t,INDEX(D2:D20,i),INDEX(E2:E20,i)))).

Does this work in Google Sheets?

Yes, nested SUBSTITUTE works the same, and Google Sheets also has REDUCE.

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.