QWERTZ keyboard layout
QWERTZ is the standard keyboard layout in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and much of Central Europe: QWERTY with Y and Z swapped and the German umlauts and ß on their own keys.
- Created by
- Unknown
- German typewriters
- Year
- Typewriters
- DIN 2137 since 1976
- Finger travel
- +2%
- vs QWERTY
- Home row
- 37%
- of letters, QWERTY 37%
The layout
German QWERTZ: Y and Z swapped, with Ü, Ö, Ä and ß on their own keys.
QWERTZ is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard; German keyboards are usually ISO, with an extra key beside the left Shift.
How QWERTZ measures
QWERTZ typed on 23,331 words of English and compared with QWERTY.
History
- OriginsZ moves to the top row: it is far more common than Y in German, often follows T, and sits by U for the common word “zu”.
- 1976Germany publishes the first edition of its keyboard standard, DIN 2137.
- 2018DIN 2137 adds the E1 layout, which covers every Latin-script language of the European Union.
- TodayAustria, Switzerland, Czechia, Hungary and others use national QWERTZ variants.
Design goal: QWERTY adapted to German, with Ä, Ö, Ü and ß on their own keys and Z where German typists need it.
Pros
- The native layout across Central Europe, built into every operating system.
- Umlauts and ß are single keystrokes.
- Formally standardised and still maintained as DIN 2137.
Cons
- Undo (Ctrl+Z) moves to the middle of the top row.
- Programming symbols such as { } [ ] \ and @ need AltGr.
- National QWERTZ versions differ, so muscle memory does not carry between countries.
QWERTZ compared
Against QWERTY and other national standards, ranked by finger travel per 1,000 words.
| Layout | Finger travel | vs QWERTY | Home row | Same finger | Alternation | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QZERTY | 128.0 m | −2% | 39% | 7.1% | 55% | 57% |
| QWERTY | 130.0 m | — | 37% | 6.5% | 55% | 57% |
| QWERTZTHIS PAGE | 132.8 m | +2% | 37% | 6.8% | 55% | 59% |
| AZERTY | 144.6 m | +11% | 30% | 7.4% | 55% | 58% |
QWERTZ has no known designer. It comes from German typewriters and was standardised in Germany as DIN 2137, first published in 1976.
It moves your fingers more on English text. On 23,331 words of English, finger travel was +2% against QWERTY, 37% of letters landed on the home row against QWERTY’s 37%, and same-finger pairs were 6.8% against 6.5%. Less movement does not guarantee more speed, and switching takes weeks of practice.
QWERTZ is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard; German keyboards are usually ISO, with an extra key beside the left Shift.
Yes. German and the other national QWERTZ layouts are built into Windows, macOS and Linux.
Yes. Choose QWERTZ as your keyboard layout and the on-screen keyboard and hands show where every key is.