GUIDE 01 · 7 min read

How to learn touch typing

Learn where to place your fingers, practise the home row and build up to words. Follow the exercises at your own pace, then try a beginner lesson.

Start with a comfortable position

Sit at a comfortable distance from the screen, with your shoulders relaxed and your elbows at a natural angle. Keep your hands light over the keyboard. You do not need to hold your wrists rigid or push down hard on the keys.

Place your index fingers on F and J. On many physical keyboards these keys have small raised bumps. Let your other fingers rest gently on the neighbouring home-row keys.

Find your starting keysColour groups show a typical finger reach on an English QWERTY keyboard.

QWERTYUIOP

ASDFGHJKL;

ZXCVBNM,./

SPACE · either thumb

Left hand Right hand

Learn the home row

Your left hand begins on A S D F, and your right hand on J K L ; for a standard English QWERTY layout. Use your thumbs for the spacebar. Practise pressing one key at a time and returning your fingers to their starting positions.

Your first pattern

asdf jkl; asdf jkl; fj fj dk dk sl sl

Type this slowly. It is fine to look at the keyboard at first. Gradually look up at the screen more often.

Add the top and bottom rows

Once the home row feels familiar, reach gently to the keys above and below. Learn the movement in small groups instead of trying to memorise the whole keyboard at once.

Build the movement

qwer tyui op zxcv bnm

Try to return to the home row between short groups. Correct placement matters more than speed.

Move from letters to words

Practise short, familiar words first. Spaces and capital letters are part of typing too. When you can type simple words comfortably, move on to short sentences containing a full stop, comma and question mark.

First sentences

The day is bright. We can type with care.

Read a few letters ahead and keep an even pace.

Follow a realistic beginner routine

2 minutes: home-row patterns and comfortable posture.
3 minutes: short words or the next beginner lesson.
2 minutes: one slow sentence, correcting mistakes.
1 minute: repeat the hardest pattern.

Repeat the routine on the days you can practise. You do not need a strict streak or an ambitious WPM target to begin.

What if you keep looking down?

That is normal when learning. Make your goal to look down a little less over time, not to avoid looking at the keyboard instantly. Use the ten beginner lessons in Learn for a gradual route.

Open the 10 beginner lessons →

YOUR NEXT STEP

Build the habit with real practice.

You don't need to remember everything today. A few careful minutes with the keyboard will help more than rushing through a long lesson.

Start typing practice Beginner lessons