Typing finger chart
Every key belongs to one finger. This chart colours each key by the finger that presses it, so a child can see at a glance where each finger works. Pick your keyboard, then print it and keep it next to the screen.
Made to fit on one A4 or Letter page. Colours print as shown on a colour printer; in black and white, the fingers are hard to tell apart.
US
Colours and fingers
Left hand
Right hand
- pinky
- ring finger
- middle finger
- index finger
- thumb
Which finger presses each key (US)
Left hand
- pinky
- 1 Q A Z โง
- ring finger
- 2 W S X
- middle finger
- 3 E D C
- index finger
- 4 5 R T F G V B
Right hand
- pinky
- 0 - = P [ ] ; ' / โ โง
- ring finger
- 9 O L .
- middle finger
- 8 I K ,
- index finger
- 6 7 Y U H J N M
thumb: Space
Start from the home position
Rest the left index finger on F and the right index finger on J โ those two keys have a small bump you can feel without looking. The other fingers sit beside them: the left hand on the four keys ending in F, the right hand on the four starting at J. Both thumbs rest on the space bar. After every key, the finger goes back home.
Tips for the first weeks
Accuracy before speed
Typing slowly with the right finger builds a habit; typing fast with the wrong one builds a habit too. Speed comes later on its own.
Don't look at the keys
Find F and J by their bumps, and when you are not sure, look at this chart instead of the keyboard.
Shift with the other hand
For a capital letter, hold Shift with the little finger of the hand that is not typing the letter: left Shift for J, right Shift for F.
A little every day
Short, regular sessions are easier to keep up than long, occasional ones.
Practise with the guide on screen
Tanepo shows these same colours while you type: the next key lights up, along with the finger that should press it. It is free, with no sign-up.
Start a lesson โ