The home row is the middle row of letters on your keyboard, and it's where your fingers live when they're not pressing anything. Every reach starts here and comes back here. If you learn one thing about touch typing, learn this.
On a standard US keyboard, the home row keys are:
- Left hand: A S D F
- Right hand: J K L ;
- Thumbs: resting on the space bar
That's eight fingers on eight keys, with the thumbs underneath. Start Lesson 1 to try it right now, or keep reading for the details.
Where each finger goes
Put your hands over the keyboard with your fingers gently curved.
| Finger | Left hand | Right hand |
|---|---|---|
| Index (pointer) | F | J |
| Middle | D | K |
| Ring | S | L |
| Pinky | A | ; |
| Thumb | space bar | space bar |
Your index fingers also cover the two keys in the middle that nobody rests on. The left index finger reaches right to G, and the right index finger reaches left to H. Then they slide back to F and J.
The bumps on F and J
Run your fingers across the home row and you'll feel a small ridge or dot on F and on J. Keyboard makers put them there on purpose. They let you find the home row by touch, the same way you find a light switch in the dark.
Here's the habit to build: before you type anything, set your index fingers on the bumps. The other six fingers will drop into place next to them. If you ever lose your place in the middle of a sentence, don't look down. Feel for the bumps and carry on.
Why "home" matters
Each finger has a short list of keys it's responsible for, and every one of those keys is one row up or down (or one step sideways) from its home key. That's what makes touch typing possible. Your fingers never have to search, because they always start from the same place.
The catch is that you have to come back home after every reach. If your left index finger types R and then stays up on the top row, the next F you type will land on the wrong key. Beginners who skip this step end up drifting across the keyboard and looking down to fix it.
When you practice, make the return trip part of the keystroke: reach, tap, return.
A 5-minute home row practice
You don't need a long session to build the habit. Try this every day for a week:
- One minute: find home with your eyes closed. Put your hands in your lap, then bring them up and find F and J by touch. Do it ten times.
- One minute: say and type. Type
asdf jkl;slowly while saying each letter. Keep your eyes on the screen. - Two minutes: real words. Type home row words: ask, sad, dad, lad, fall, flask, salad, alfalfa. Yes, alfalfa is all home row keys.
- One minute: add G and H. Try glad, half, flash, sash, hall. Notice the index fingers stretching to the middle and coming back.
RiteType's home row lessons follow this same order, with a glowing finger on screen so you know which one to use without looking at your hands. If you want something more playful, Key Hop is a gentle game built around the home row for younger kids.
Common home row mistakes
Resting the wrong fingers. Some people put their index fingers on D and K, which shifts everything one key to the left or right. The bumps fix this. If your index fingers are on the bumps, you're in the right spot.
Flat or stiff fingers. Flat fingers press with the pad and hit neighboring keys. Keep a gentle curve and tap with your fingertips.
Pressing too hard. You only need a light tap. Hard presses tire your fingers and slow you down.
Peeking. It's normal to want to look. Try covering your hands with a cloth for a few minutes, or keep a finger chart next to the screen so your eyes look up instead of down.
Leaving the pinkies out. The pinky keys (A and ;) feel awkward at first, so people let the ring finger take over. Give your pinkies their own work from day one. They also handle Shift, Enter and Backspace later, so they need the practice.
What comes after the home row
Once you can type home row words accurately without looking, you're ready for the rest of the keyboard. Each new key is a reach from a home key you already know. E is a straight reach up from D. C is a short reach down from D. Every finger works its own column. Our keyboard finger placement chart shows the full map.
A good rule is to move on when you're accurate, not when you're fast. Speed comes from your fingers knowing where to go, and that comes from many slow, correct repetitions. A 1-minute typing test once a week will show you the progress you can't feel day to day.