If you are familiar with Spanish words like niño (child), piña (pineapple), or pequeño (small), you already know—directly or indirectly—the pride of Spanish language: the most singular letter of Spanish’s alphabet, the ñ. The ñ is a unique symbol of the Spanish language, also present in other official languages of the Iberian Peninsula, such as Basque (Euskera), Asturian, Aragonese, and Galician.

Many students of Spanish struggle to write it, let alone find it on a foreign computer keyboard. (For the record, the shortcut is Option + N, then N on a Mac, and Alt + 164 or Alt + 0241 on a Windows numeric keypad!).

But what is that strange, wavy line over the “n”? And more importantly, why is it there?

This letter originated as a shorthand used by medieval scribes for the Latin double “nn.” Over time, the second “n” gradually shrank and evolved into the wavy line we know today as the virgulilla. Today, the ñ is one of the most distinctive symbols of the Spanish language—and a true source of cultural pride. With the letter ñ, we write beautiful words like cariño (affection/darling), años (years), montaña (mountain), señal (sign), and even country names like España or islands like Gran Bretaña (Great Britain).

 The pride Spain takes in this letter is so immense that this year, the national football team’s away kit prominently features the word “España,” boldly highlighting the ñ to celebrate the Spanish language and cultural heritage. The jersey’s design is inspired by ancient Spanish literature, featuring an off-white paper tone and details reminiscent of old books and classic manuscripts.

If you have watched any of Spain’s winning matches this year alongside Spanish fans, you have probably heard them shouting “¡Coño!” (a common, versatile swear word) or celebrating with a passionate “¡Vamos España, coño!” (Let’s go Spain!).

¡champiñones!

But there is one specific, tongue-in-cheek word that Spaniards are always eager to sing: ¡champiñones!

Let’s explain this brilliant bit of wordplay. Champiñones literally means “mushrooms” in Spanish. However, the pronunciation of champiñones sounds incredibly similar to the English word “champions” (which translates to campeones in Spanish). When Spain wins a tournament, fans love to playfully chant, “¡Champiñones, champiñones, oé, oé, oé!” to celebrate the victory.

While Spain decided to turn the ñ into an official, standalone letter, our neighbours in France opted to represent the exact same sound with the letter combination gn (which is why “mushrooms” is spelled champignons in French).

After yesterday’s World Cup match, Spaniards are singing it loud and proud with their beautiful, singular ñ. ¡A por ellos!