Now put it all together with real paragraphs. Read a word ahead of what you're typing to keep your fingers moving smoothly.
How to practice this lesson
- Rest your fingers on the home row: A S D F and J K L ;.
- Watch the on-screen keyboard. The blue key is next, and the hint names the finger to use.
- Keep your eyes on the screen, not your hands.
- Press Tab to repeat until you reach 95% accuracy, then move on.
How to get the most from this lesson
- Position your hands before you start. Index fingers on F and J (feel the bumps), the other fingers resting on A S D and K L ;, thumbs on the space bar.
- Look at the screen, not your hands. The on-screen keyboard highlights the next key and the finger to use.
- Go slowly enough to be accurate. Accuracy builds the movement into memory; speed comes later on its own.
- Repeat until you reach 95% accuracy twice in a row, then move to the next lesson.
How long it takes
Most learners finish the home row in a week of 15-minute sessions and all 26 letters in three to four weeks. People who switch from two-finger typing usually get slower for one to three weeks, then pass their old speed.
Common problems and fixes
- My hands drift. Return to F and J after every word. The bumps are there so you can find them without looking.
- I keep looking down. Cover your hands with a light cloth or turn off the keyboard light. It feels hard for a few days, then becomes natural.
- My pinkies are slow. That is normal. Pinky keys get faster with short daily practice. Our single key drills target each one.
- I make the same mistake again and again. Slow down by a third for one round. Speed returns quickly once the motion is correct.
After this lesson
Take a 1-minute typing test to see your speed, or continue with the next lesson below. Your progress, streak and badges are saved on your device automatically.
Which finger types which key
| Finger | Left hand | Right hand |
|---|---|---|
| Index | R T F G V B 4 5 | Y U H J N M 6 7 |
| Middle | E D C 3 | I K , 8 |
| Ring | W S X 2 | O L . 9 |
| Pinky | Q A Z 1 ` Tab Caps Shift | P ; / 0 - = [ ] ' Enter Shift Backspace |
| Thumb | Space | Space |
Touch typing basics
Touch typing means typing without looking at the keyboard, with each finger responsible for its own keys. It feels slow at first because your brain has to learn new movements, but it removes the biggest limit on speed: moving your eyes between the screen and your hands. The largest study of modern typists found that the fastest typists make fewer errors and press the next key before releasing the previous one, which is only possible when your fingers find keys by feel.
More questions
How many lessons should I do per day? One or two, for about 15 minutes. Short daily practice beats long weekly sessions.
Should I learn on a laptop or an external keyboard? Either works. Learn on the keyboard you use most, since key spacing and travel differ.
When should I start taking full typing tests? After the home row and top row lessons. Testing too early can tempt you to look down to go faster.
Typing speed grades
| Grade | Speed | Faster than | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 0 to 29 WPM | 0.5% of typists | Usually looking at the keys or typing with two to four fingers. Touch typing lessons give the biggest gains here. |
| Below average | 30 to 44 WPM | 14% of typists | Comfortable for messages and short emails. A few weeks of daily practice usually moves people into the average band. |
| Average | 45 to 59 WPM | 37% of typists | The speed of a typical computer user. Meets most office requirements, including the 40 WPM federal clerk-typist standard. |
| Above average | 60 to 74 WPM | 66% of typists | Faster than about two thirds of typists. Meets typical requirements for data entry, chat support and most administrative roles. |
| Fast | 75 to 89 WPM | 88% of typists | Faster than about 9 in 10 typists. Competitive for transcription, legal and executive assistant roles. |
| Expert | 90 to 119 WPM | 97% of typists | Fewer than 3 in 100 typists reach this band. Speed is no longer the limit for any common job. |
| Elite | 120+ WPM | more than 99.9% of typists | Competition-level typing. Very few people ever sustain this speed on varied text. |
Every way to practice on Typeri
| Mode | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Random common words for 15 seconds to 10 minutes, or any custom length | Benchmarks and stamina |
| Words | A fixed number of words, 10 to 200 or custom | Quick, repeatable checks |
| Quote | Real sentences in short, medium or long passages | Everyday writing speed |
| Zen | Type anything you like with no target text; Shift + Enter to finish | Warm-ups and free writing |
| Custom | Paste any text: a speech, an article or job vocabulary | Practicing exactly what you type at work |
| Code | Real code in 17 programming languages with auto-indent | Programmers |
| 10-key | Numeric keypad drills scored in keystrokes per hour | Data entry and accounting |
Add punctuation or numbers to time and words tests, switch between 12 languages, and open the settings to change text size, show an on-screen keyboard, add a pace caret or stop on errors.