German typing practice
Learn to touch type in German, free in your browser: lessons that find your weak keys, six classic German books, and the German alphabet against the clock. No sign-up.
What you can practise
Smart Lessons in German
Real German words, built around your slowest key. You start on six keys, and ä, ö, ß and ü join as the others come up to speed.
The German alphabet
Every letter in order against the clock, with how to type each German letter on your keyboard.
Typing games in German
Pilot and Spaceship: steer through the gaps or shoot down enemy ships by typing German words.
6 German books
Classic German books, out of copyright, typed a passage at a time.
German letters
German adds four letters to a to z: the umlauts ä, ö and ü, and ß, the sharp s. A German keyboard has a key for each. On a US or UK keyboard you type them with a dead key, a key that waits for the next letter, or with Option on a Mac. Capitals are Shift, as for any letter; Ä, Ö and Ü are common, while ß has no everyday capital.
On a German keyboard
Windows: German · macOS: German · Linux: German
Add it in Windows under Settings > Time & language > Language & region, in macOS under System Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources, in Linux under Settings > Keyboard > Input Sources.
| Letter | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| ä | Ä | Ä | Ä |
| ö | Ö | Ö | Ö |
| ß | ß | ß | ß |
| ü | Ü | Ü | Ü |
On a US or UK keyboard
Windows: United States-International · macOS: ABC – Extended · Linux: English (US, intl., with dead keys)
To add it: on Windows, Settings › Time & language › Language & region; on a Mac, System Settings › Keyboard › Input Sources; on Linux, Settings › Keyboard › Input Sources. On this layout ' and " are dead keys: type a space after one for the mark itself.
| Letter | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| ä | Shift 'then A | Option Uthen A | Shift 'then A |
| ö | Shift 'then O | Option Uthen O | Shift 'then O |
| ß | AltGr S | Option S | AltGr S |
| ü | Shift 'then U | Option Uthen U | Shift 'then U |
Tips for typing German
Z and Y swap places
A German keyboard is QWERTZ: Z sits where a US or UK keyboard has Y, next to T, and Y moves to the bottom row. If you switch between keyboards, the lessons will show it in your accuracy on those two keys first.
Shift for every noun
German capitalises every noun, so your little fingers reach for Shift far more often than in English. Use the Shift on the side opposite the letter: the right one for A, the left one for K.
Long words, steady pace
Compound words such as Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung are typed like any other: a steady rhythm beats bursts. If you lose your place, finish the word slowly rather than stop.
ss in Switzerland
Swiss German keyboards have no ß key, and Swiss spelling writes ss instead. The lessons here use German as written in Germany and Austria, ß included.