Finger placement chart
Each finger covers the key it rests on in the home row plus the keys directly above and below it. The two index fingers also cover one extra column each, and the thumbs press the space bar.
2 min read · Updated · By whytyping
The standard finger assignment gives every key one owner. Columns slant slightly from upper left to lower right, and each finger moves along its own slanted column. The lists below are for a QWERTY keyboard.
Left hand
- Little finger: Q, A, Z. Also left Shift, Tab and Caps Lock.
- Ring finger: W, S, X.
- Middle finger: E, D, C.
- Index finger: R, F, V, and the inner column T, G, B.
Right hand
- Index finger: U, J, M, and the inner column Y, H, N.
- Middle finger: I, K, comma.
- Ring finger: O, L, full stop.
- Little finger: P, semicolon, slash. Also right Shift, Enter, Backspace and the apostrophe and bracket keys.
Thumbs
Both thumbs hover over the space bar. Use whichever feels natural.
The number row
The number row follows the same columns, one step further up.
- Left little finger: 1. Left ring: 2. Left middle: 3. Left index: 4 and 5.
- Right index: 6 and 7. Right middle: 8. Right ring: 9. Right little finger: 0 and the keys beyond it.
Numbers are the longest reach on the keyboard. A method for learning them is in how to type numbers and symbols.
Capital letters
Hold Shift with the little finger of the hand that is not typing the letter. For a capital A, the left hand types A and the right little finger holds Shift. This keeps each hand doing one job at a time and avoids awkward stretches.
Keys people often assign to the wrong finger
- B: left index, not right.
- Y: right index, not left.
- C: left middle finger. Many people use the index and then crowd V.
- X and Z: ring and little finger. Shifting everything one finger over is common and slows the whole row.
- P and the keys beside it: right little finger, which is why that finger needs practice.
If one of these keys keeps appearing on your results heatmap, an inconsistent finger is a likely cause. Other habits to check are listed in common typing mistakes.
How to use this chart
Do not try to memorise it in one sitting. Learn one pair of keys at a time, starting from the home row keys, and use the chart to check a finger when you are unsure. In the guided lessons, the on-screen keyboard colours each key by finger and names the next one in text, for example “J · right index”.
Other layouts
The fingers and columns are the same on every layout. Only the letters printed on the keys change, as described in keyboard layouts compared.
Questions
Which finger types the letter B?
The left index finger, reaching down and to the right from F. Some people use the right index instead, but the standard assignment is left.
Which Shift key should I use?
The one on the opposite side from the letter. Hold right Shift for letters typed by the left hand, and left Shift for the right hand.
Which thumb presses the space bar?
Either. Most people settle on one thumb, and that is fine.