Learn to type on AZERTY
AZERTY is the standard keyboard layout in France and Belgium, a French adaptation of QWERTY from the 1890s that swaps A with Q and Z with W and puts accented letters on the number row.
The Basic course teaches touch typing on AZERTY from the first key: every drill, hint and keyboard on screen follows your layout.
Sets your keyboard layout to AZERTY. You can change it any time in Settings.
- Origin
- 1890s
- Standard
- Revised 2019 (NF Z71-300)
- Home row
- Q S D F · J K L M
- Course
- Free · 65 tasks
The AZERTY home row
Your fingers rest on Q S D F J K L M
The first step finds F and J under your index fingers.
- QLeft pinky
- SLeft ring
- DLeft middle
- FLeft index
- JRight index
- KRight middle
- LRight ring
- MRight pinky
Step 1 of 65 · Find Your Starting Position
~2 minffff jjjj
jjjj ffff
Index fingers on F and J — feel the bumps.
AZERTY next to QWERTY
Most letters stay where QWERTY has them; only 5 move: A, Z, Q, M and W. The course still starts from the home row, so the keys that moved are learned in place.
QWERTY
What most keyboards ship with
AZERTY
France and Belgium. Swaps A and Q, Z and W; M sits beside L.
- Same key on both
- AZERTY home row
- Moved
The course
How the course works on AZERTY
Eight levels, 65 tasks, from the first key to everyday writing.
Positions, not letters
Every lesson names a finger and a row, so each drill is built from the keys on AZERTY. Your first two keys are F and J.
A AZERTY keyboard on screen
The next key lights up in its finger’s colour on a AZERTY keyboard, and the hands show which finger presses it.
Progress that stays yours
Stars and checkpoints are saved as you go. Switch layouts later and nothing is lost: steps passed on another layout are marked, not wiped.
- 16 tasks
Foundations
Where your hands rest, how they move, and why you look at the screen.
- 213 tasks
Home Row Mastery
All eight home keys, one finger at a time, then together and in real words.
- 310 tasks
Upper Row
Reaching up from home, finger by finger, until two rows feel like one.
- 48 tasks
Lower Row
Reaching down, then all three rows and the whole alphabet.
- 57 tasks
Shift and Punctuation
Capitals with the opposite Shift, and the marks that make sentences.
- 67 tasks
Numbers and Symbols
The number row and the symbols above it, in the contexts they appear.
- 78 tasks
Fluency
From letters to patterns, words and paragraphs, and your first timed test.
- 86 tasks
Full Layout Graduation
Real messages, documents, a mixed-character challenge, endurance and the final assessment.
About AZERTY
France and Belgium. Swaps A and Q, Z and W; M sits beside L.
Nobody knows who designed AZERTY. It appeared on French typewriters in the 1890s, and its modern standard, NF Z71-300, was published by AFNOR in 2019.
Adapt the QWERTY typewriter layout to French; the 2019 standard version aims to type every French character correctly.
AZERTY is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard; French keyboards are usually ISO, with an extra key beside the left Shift.
Why people learn AZERTY
- The native layout in France and Belgium, printed on keyboards sold there.
- Common French accented letters such as é, è, à and ç are single keystrokes.
- The 2019 standard version fills the old gaps and is built into Windows 11 and Linux.
Setting it up on your computer
Linux
Built in, with the 2019 AFNOR version.
Windows
Built in; the 2019 AFNOR version in Windows 11.
macOS
French and Belgian AZERTY are built in.
FAQ
Questions about AZERTY
Nobody knows who designed AZERTY. It appeared on French typewriters in the 1890s, and its modern standard, NF Z71-300, was published by AFNOR in 2019.
Your fingers rest on Q S D F on the left and J K L M on the right. The course starts by finding F and J under your index fingers.
Most letters stay where QWERTY has them; only 5 move: A, Z, Q, M and W.
Yes. French and Belgian AZERTY are built into Windows, macOS and Linux; the 2019 AFNOR version is built into Windows 11 and Linux.
Yes. It runs in your browser; sign in when you want to keep your stars.
No. Steps passed on another layout are marked, not wiped.
Courses for other layouts
Same course, same progress — on the layout you type with.
Ready for F and J?
Free, in your browser. Sign in when you want to keep your stars.