AZERTY Keyboard Tester
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About the AZERTY Layout
The AZERTY layout is the standard keyboard layout for French-speaking countries. Named after its first six letter keys (A, Z, E, R, T, Y), AZERTY rearranges A/Q and Z/W from the English QWERTY layout and moves many punctuation marks to make typing French accents and special characters easier.
AZERTY Key Characteristics
- ✓A and Q are swapped compared to QWERTY
- ✓Z and W are swapped — giving the layout its distinctive top row
- ✓Number keys in the unshifted position produce French symbols (é, è, ç, à)
- ✓Accented characters (é, è, ç, à, ù) are directly accessible without Alt codes
- ✓M is located where the semicolon sits on QWERTY
- ✓Used officially in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of North Africa
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the AZERTY keyboard layout?
AZERTY is the standard keyboard layout used in France and Belgium. It was designed to make typing French accents and special characters easier. The name comes from the first six letters on the top-left row: A, Z, E, R, T, Y.
How is AZERTY different from QWERTY?
The main differences are: A and Q are swapped, Z and W are swapped, the number row produces French symbols by default (you Shift to get numbers), and the bottom row reorders M, comma, semicolon, colon, and exclamation mark.
Why are my AZERTY keys not registering correctly?
This tester detects physical key codes from your hardware — if you're using a QWERTY keyboard with an AZERTY software layout, the visual labels will match AZERTY but the codes remain the physical key positions.
Can I test an AZERTY keyboard online without installing software?
Yes — KeyTest works entirely in your browser. Just open this page, press any key, and see it light up instantly. No plugins, no downloads, no account needed.
Test Other Keyboard Layouts
A short history of AZERTY
AZERTY is the standard keyboard layout for French and Belgian typists. Like its English cousin QWERTY, the name comes from the first six letters on the top-left letter row: A — Z — E — R — T — Y. The layout dates back to the late 1800s and was created by adapting QWERTY mechanical typewriters for the French language — at a time when accented letters and punctuation needed to be reached quickly without using shift combinations.
For decades, AZERTY had no official standard, which led to small inconsistencies between manufacturers. That changed in April 2019, when France's national standards body AFNOR published NF Z71-300, the first modern French keyboard standard. It made it easy to type capital accented letters (À, É, Ç), the ligature œ, and proper French quotation marks « » — things the old AZERTY layout made surprisingly painful.
You can read the full background of the layout, including its design quirks and modern criticisms, on the AZERTY Wikipedia article.
AZERTY vs QWERTY: what actually changes
If you're switching from QWERTY for the first time, only a handful of keys feel truly different. The rest is muscle memory. Here are the swaps that catch people out the most:
| QWERTY key | AZERTY key | Where / why |
|---|---|---|
| Q | A | Top-left letter |
| W | Z | Top-row, second key |
| A | Q | Home row, left pinky |
| Z | W | Bottom row, far left |
| M | , | M moves to right of L on AZERTY |
| ; | M | M takes the QWERTY semicolon spot |
Numbers on the top row also behave differently: on AZERTY, pressing 1 directly types &, and you need Shift + 1 to get the digit. This is the single biggest "what just happened?" moment for people switching layouts.
Typing French accents and special characters
This is the whole reason AZERTY exists. Most accented vowels live on dedicated keys; the rest use a "dead key" — you press the accent first, then the vowel, and the two combine.
Tip: if a dead key prints the symbol on its own ( ^ instead of waiting for a vowel ), your software layout is set to QWERTY but your keyboard hardware is AZERTY — see the troubleshooting section below.
How to enable AZERTY on your computer
Windows 11 / 10
Go to Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region, click your language, then Options → Add a keyboard → French (AZERTY). Switch on the fly with Win + Space.
macOS
Open System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources, click +, then choose French. Apple offers two: French (Apple's traditional layout) and French — PC, which matches the Windows AZERTY layout most physical keyboards are printed with — pick the second one if your keys don't match what's typed. See Apple's input sources guide.
Linux (GNOME / KDE)
In Settings, open Region & Language → Input Sources → + and add French (AZERTY). From the terminal, advanced users can run setxkbmap fr for X11 or localectl set-x11-keymap fr on systemd-based distributions. See the Arch Wiki keyboard guide for variants.
Common AZERTY problems & how to fix them
"My keys type the wrong letters — Q makes A, M makes a comma"
Your physical keyboard and software layout don't match. Either the hardware is QWERTY but Windows is set to French, or the reverse. Switch with Win + Space on Windows, or follow the steps in our wrong-characters fix guide.
"Numbers don't work without Shift"
That's expected behaviour on AZERTY — the top row prioritises punctuation and accented characters. If you type lots of numbers (spreadsheets, accounting), the numpad on a full-size keyboard is your friend. Some users prefer the AFNOR NF Z71-300 layout, which keeps the top row but eases capital accents.
"A dead key types ^ on its own instead of waiting"
Your software layout is QWERTY (or US-International). On AZERTY, the circumflex ( ^ ) is a dead key — pressing it should do nothing visible until you follow up with a vowel. Switch the input language to French (AZERTY).
"Some keys don't register at all"
Could be a hardware fault, not a layout issue. Use the tester above to see exactly which keys are dead, then check our keys not working guide or the laptop keyboard guide.
AZERTY variants you'll run into
AZERTY (France)
The standard layout used across France. Numbers on the top row are accessed with Shift; pressing the number row directly types accented characters and punctuation.
BÉPO
An optimized French layout inspired by Dvorak. Less common but loved by typists who write a lot of French — places the most frequent letters on the home row.
AZERTY (Belgium)
Almost identical to French AZERTY, with small punctuation and AltGr-symbol differences — most French software ships separate FR-FR and FR-BE layouts to match.
AFNOR NF Z71-300 (2019)
The modern French standard. Adds easy access to capital accented letters (À, É, Ç), the œ ligature, and proper French quotation marks « ». Adoption is still gradual — most off-the-shelf keyboards still use the legacy AZERTY layout, but the standard is built into Windows and most Linux distributions.
Pro tips for AZERTY users
- →Learn the AltGr (right Alt) combinations early — they unlock @, #, €, [], {}, |, \ and other symbols you'll need every day.
- →If you write code, AZERTY can feel rough — { } [ ] | \ all need AltGr. Many French developers either remap with PowerToys / Karabiner or learn the US layout for coding only.
- →Capital accented letters (À, É, Ç) are awkward on legacy AZERTY — this is the main reason to install the AFNOR NF Z71-300 layout, where they have direct combinations.
- →The AFNOR NF Z71-300 layout is built into Windows since 2020 and modern Linux distributions — switch to it from the language settings, no download needed.
- →Use the heatmap mode in the tester above to see which keys you're hitting most — useful for spotting muscle-memory gaps when you're new to AZERTY.
The AltGr cheat sheet — every symbol on AZERTY
AltGr (the Alt key on the right side of the spacebar) is the secret hand of the AZERTY layout. It unlocks a whole second layer of symbols printed in blue or in the bottom-right corner of each key. Here are the combos you'll actually use every day:
| Press | Get | Where you'll need it |
|---|---|---|
| AltGr + 0 | @ | Email addresses |
| AltGr + 2 | ~ | Tilde, URLs |
| AltGr + 3 | # | Hashtags, code |
| AltGr + 4 | { | Code: open brace |
| AltGr + 5 | [ | Code: open bracket |
| AltGr + 6 | | | Pipe, terminal |
| AltGr + 7 | ` | Backtick (code) |
| AltGr + 8 | \ | Backslash, paths |
| AltGr + 9 | ^ | Caret (no dead key) |
| AltGr + ° | ] | Code: close bracket |
| AltGr + + | } | Code: close brace |
| AltGr + E | € | Euro symbol |
| AltGr + C | © | Copyright (AFNOR NF Z71-300 layout only) |
| AltGr + R | ® | Registered (AFNOR NF Z71-300 layout only) |
On a Mac, AltGr doesn't exist — use Option (⌥) instead. The combinations are slightly different; press Option + Shift with various keys to discover the third layer.
The coder's survival guide on AZERTY
If you write code, AZERTY is genuinely harder than QWERTY — the symbols you reach for hundreds of times a day all live behind AltGr. Here's a quick reference for the worst offenders, plus the most popular workarounds:
| Symbol | Combo | Why it hurts |
|---|---|---|
| { } | AltGr + 4 / AltGr + + | Used in JS, C, JSON — the #1 reason French devs swear at AZERTY. |
| [ ] | AltGr + 5 / AltGr + ° | Arrays, indexing. Slow on AZERTY without remapping. |
| < > | Direct (left of W) / Shift + that key | Easier than QWERTY, ironically — they have their own dedicated key. |
| | \ | AltGr + 6 / AltGr + 8 | Pipes and escape characters. |
| @ # | AltGr + 0 / AltGr + 3 | Constant in code, frustrating to reach. |
| ` ~ | AltGr + 7 / AltGr + 2 | Both are dead keys on French AZERTY — press AltGr+7 then space to get a literal backtick. A constant friction in JS template literals and shell commands. |
Workarounds French developers actually use:
- →Switch to US-International or Programmer Dvorak only inside your editor. VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and most editors let you set a per-app keyboard layout via OS shortcuts.
- →Use Microsoft PowerToys Keyboard Manager on Windows to remap keys without changing layouts. Map CapsLock to { for example.
- →Try the BÉPO layout — designed for French + code, with all common programming symbols on the base layer.
- →Buy a programmable keyboard with QMK or VIA. You can move [ ], { }, and other symbols to the base layer permanently.
AZERTY on phones, tablets, and Bluetooth keyboards
The AZERTY layout exists on mobile too — but the on-screen keyboard works very differently from the physical one. Here's how to enable it on each platform, and what to do when an external Bluetooth keyboard is involved:
iOS (iPhone / iPad)
Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → French (France) → AZERTY. The on-screen keyboard mimics a physical AZERTY layout, including a long-press accent picker on every vowel. Switch keyboards from the globe key on the on-screen keyboard.
Android (Gboard / SwiftKey)
In Gboard: long-press the comma key → Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → French (France) → AZERTY. SwiftKey: Settings → Languages → French. Both apps use long-press for accents and offer prediction tuned for French.
External Bluetooth keyboard
Pair the keyboard, then on iOS: Settings → General → Keyboard → Hardware Keyboard → French. On Android: Settings → System → Languages → Physical keyboard → choose French (AZERTY). Otherwise the OS treats your AZERTY hardware as QWERTY and types the wrong characters.
Typing faster on AZERTY: the digraphs that matter
Touch typing isn't just letters — it's pairs of letters that show up over and over. In French, six combinations alone make up roughly a third of all written text. Drilling them is the fastest route to muscle memory on AZERTY:
For real practice, run our typing speed test with a French passage, or try websites like keybr.com and TypingClub — both support AZERTY mode and adapt to your weak keys.
Buying an AZERTY keyboard: what to check
- ✓ISO layout, not ANSI. AZERTY uses the ISO key shape — the Enter key is tall and L-shaped, and there's an extra key between Z (or W on AZERTY) and the left Shift. ANSI keyboards have a wide flat Enter and no extra key. Avoid ANSI unless you're remapping in software.
- ✓Look for "AZERTY FR" or "AZERTY BE" specifically. The French and Belgian variants differ in punctuation and symbol placement.
- ✓Check for AFNOR NF Z71-300 support if you write a lot of formal French — it makes capital À, É, Ç painless. Look for "norme française 2019" in product descriptions.
- ✓Mechanical AZERTY options are limited compared to QWERTY. Brands that reliably stock AZERTY: Logitech, Corsair, Razer, Keychron (some models), Cherry, and the French specialist Aurora Design. Many enthusiast keyboards (custom builds, group buys) are ANSI-only.
- ✓Programmable firmware (QMK, VIA) lets you customise even an "AZERTY" keyboard — useful for coders who want [ ], { }, | on the base layer. See our full keyboard buying guide.
Related guides
Keyboard typing the wrong characters
Fix the layout/hardware mismatch behind most AZERTY confusion.
Some keys not working at all
When it's not a layout issue — diagnose dead keys methodically.
Shortcuts not working on AZERTY
AltGr quirks, dead keys, and OS-level shortcut clashes.
Keyboard buying guide
What to look for if you want a new AZERTY keyboard or a switchable hybrid.