Touch typing practice

What is touch typing

Touch typing means each finger looks after a fixed group of keys, and you don't look down at the keyboard. Instead of your eyes hunting for each letter, your hands know the way. Your eyes stay on the screen, and you keep up with your own train of thought instead of stopping to search for keys.

The biggest gain usually isn't speed but flow. When you don't have to stop and find keys, writing an email or taking notes in a meeting gets a lot less tiring.

The home row: where everything starts

Every finger starts from the middle row of the keyboard and comes back to it. This is the resting position, and it's what you need to know by heart before you think about speed.

The F and J keys have small raised bumps so your index fingers can find their place without looking. Rest your hands on those two bumps and you'll always land in the right spot.

A row-by-row touch typing plan

Learn one row at a time, and only start the next row once you can type the previous one without looking. Each step has a short practice line: type it over and over in any text editor, then come back to the real-word drill at the top of the page.

1. Step 1

   Home row: A S D F and J K L ;

   Put eight fingers on the middle row, with your index fingers on the bumps on F and J. Type each key and bring the finger back to where it was, because what you're learning here is the way back, not the way out. G and H are reached by stretching the two index fingers; the other fingers stay put.

   asdf jkl;  fj dk sl a;  fgf jhj  asdfg ;lkjh

   Step done when: You can type the whole row without glancing down, even if you're still slow.

2. Step 2

   Top row: Q W E R T Y U I O P

   Each finger reaches up to the key just above its resting spot; the left index also covers T and the right index covers Y. The most common mistake is lifting the whole hand along with the reaching finger, so keep your wrist still and stretch just one finger. This row holds a lot of vowels, so after this step you can already type quite a few Vietnamese words.

   qwer uiop  fr ju de ki sw lo aq ;p  tgt yhy

   Step done when: You can type words that use only the top two rows, like "tới", "tươi", "đợi".

3. Step 3

   Bottom row: Z X C V B N M , . /

   Your fingers curl down instead of stretching up, and this is the clumsiest row for most beginners because the pinky and ring fingers are naturally weak. Give it more time than the first two rows. The comma and full stop live on this row, so you also practise ending sentences.

   zxcv m,./  fv jm dc k, sx l. az ;/  bvb nmn

   Step done when: You can type a full sentence with punctuation without stopping to look for keys.

4. Step 4

   Number row and symbols

   The number row is the farthest away and the least used for ordinary text, so leave it for last. Each finger reaches up to the number diagonally above it, and the index fingers cover two numbers each. If you type Vietnamese tone marks with VNI, this row matters far more, because every tone mark lives here.

   1234 7890  f4 j7 d3 k8 s2 l9 a1 ;0  f5 j6

   Step done when: You can type a phone number, a date and an email address without looking.

5. Step 5

   Vietnamese diacritics with Telex and VNI

   Typing Vietnamese with diacritics needs an input method such as Unikey, EVKey or the one built into macOS, plus a typing scheme. Telex makes the marks with letters, VNI with numbers. The table below is everything you need to remember; the drill on this page uses real Vietnamese words, so you practise this step right inside it.

   Telex: tieengs Vieetj  VNI: tie6ng1 Vie6t5

   Step done when: You can type "tiếng Việt" with the right marks without thinking about which key makes them.

Telex and VNI cheat sheet

Letters with extra marks take two keys. Tone marks go after the vowel or after the whole word, and the input method puts them in the right place. If your computer has no Vietnamese input method yet, see the guide to installing a Vietnamese keyboard.

Take the word "trường": in Telex you type truwowngf, in VNI tru7o7ng2. Many input methods also let Telex turn a lone w into ư, so "trường" can be typed as trwowngf too.

Which finger types which key

The table below groups all four rows by finger, on the QWERTY layout every keyboard in Vietnam uses. You don't need to memorise it, since the virtual keyboard in the drill shows you, but it's handy to look up when one finger keeps reaching for the wrong key.

Posture and hand position

Bad posture won't make you mistype straight away. It tires you out early and makes you skip practice. These five points are enough for most office typists.

• Chair and desk

  Sit well back in the chair with your back supported and both feet on the floor. Set the chair height so that with your hands on the keyboard, your elbows bend at roughly a right angle and your forearms are almost parallel to the desk.

• Screen

  Put the top edge of the screen at eye level or slightly below, about an arm's length from your face. If you use a laptop for long stretches, raising it and plugging in a separate keyboard is much easier on your neck.

• Wrists

  Keep your wrists straight and hovering above the keyboard, not resting on the desk or the edge of the laptop. Resting your wrists is a common cause of wrist pain in people who type a lot, and it also makes it hard for your pinky and ring fingers to reach the top row.

• Fingers

  Keep your fingers slightly curved, as if holding a small ball, with the fingertips resting lightly on the home row. Type with your fingertips, pressing just hard enough for the key to register. Hitting harder doesn't make you faster, it only tires you out sooner.

• Eyes

  Keep your eyes on the screen or on the text you're typing. If you still keep glancing down, lay a piece of cardboard over the keyboard for the first few sessions. It's crude, but it works for a lot of people.

A 15-minute daily plan

Fifteen minutes is something most people can keep up even in a busy week. If you have extra time one day, do one more speed test rather than stretching the session, because typing quality usually drops after about twenty minutes.

1. Week 1

   Home row

   Only A S D F J K L ; plus the G and H keys. The goal is to bring each finger back to its spot after every keystroke without looking. Speed doesn't matter yet.

2. Week 2

   Top and bottom rows

   The first three days for the top row, the next three for the bottom row, and the last day mixing all three rows with short words. From this week on you can type almost every letter.

3. Week 3

   Number row and Vietnamese diacritics

   Get through the number row quickly and spend most of the time on diacritics. Type words with every tone mark and the letters ă â đ ê ô ơ ư until your hands remember the Telex or VNI combinations on their own.

4. Week 4 onwards

   Real words and speed tests

   Practise with the drill on this page and take one speed test a week to see where you are. Once your accuracy is steady, speed follows on its own.

Common beginner mistakes

• Glancing at the keyboard whenever you're stuck

  Every glance is your brain taking the shortcut instead of the new route, and the old habit sticks around. Better to mistype and fix it than to look down.

• Using your index finger for every awkward key

  The index finger is strong, so it keeps getting called in for the pinky and ring finger. Your hand ends up shifting, loses its resting position, and your speed stalls at average and never climbs.

• Not returning to the home row

  Type a key on the top row and leave your finger there, and you'll misjudge the distance to the next key. Returning to the home row after every key is the first thing that needs to become a reflex.

• Pushing for speed before your hands know the keys

  Forcing speed early creates mistakes, mistakes mean Backspace, and the total time ends up longer than typing slowly. Let speed come after accuracy.

• Resting your wrists on the desk

  Comfortable at first, but it pins your whole hand in one place, so your shorter fingers can't reach far. Over time it can also cause wrist pain.

• Forgetting whether the input method is on or off

  This one is specific to Vietnamese. Type a password, email address or command with the input method on and the text comes out mangled, and the same goes the other way round. Get into the habit of checking the input method icon before typing anything without diacritics.

• Cramming one long session, then skipping a week

  Touch typing is muscle memory, and muscle memory builds through frequent repetition. Short daily sessions are usually easier to keep up when you're also working or studying.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to learn touch typing?

Many people get used to the key positions after one to two weeks of daily practice, and type faster than their old hunt-and-peck method after about a month. What makes the difference is practising regularly, not practising a lot in one go.

Why am I slower than before when I start?

Because you're replacing a habit you've used for years with a new one. The slow phase can't be skipped. If you keep glancing at the keyboard whenever you're stuck, the old habit will never go away, so try to keep your eyes on the screen.

Should I use Telex or VNI?

Both work, and every input method supports them. Telex keeps your hands on the letter rows, so it suits touch typing better; VNI is easier for beginners to remember because the marks are numbers. If you haven't settled on one, pick Telex and stick with it. Switching back and forth only slows you down in both.

Can I practise touch typing on a laptop?

Yes. Laptop keyboards are flat with short key travel, but the letter layout is still QWERTY, so each finger still covers the same keys. Just make sure you don't rest your wrists on the edge of the laptop.

Do I need a mechanical keyboard?

No. Mechanical keyboards give a clearer key feel and plenty of people like them, but they won't make you use the right fingers. Any keyboard with bumps on F and J is enough to practise on.

How many words per minute is fast?

People who use a computer every day usually type around 40 words a minute. Above 60 is quite fast, and professional data-entry typists can go past 80. If you're just starting touch typing, around 20 to 30 is a normal start.

Is this page free?

Yes. No sign-up and no limit on rounds. Your progress is saved right in your browser.