QWERTZ Keyboard Tester
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About the QWERTZ Layout
QWERTZ is the standard keyboard layout for German-speaking countries and much of Central Europe. It takes its name from the first six letters on the top row. The key difference from QWERTY is that Y and Z are swapped — a logical choice since Z is much more common than Y in German. The layout also adds German-specific characters: ä, ö, ü, and ß.
QWERTZ Key Characteristics
- ✓Y and Z are swapped compared to QWERTY — Z is more frequent in German
- ✓Adds German umlauts: Ä, Ö, Ü as dedicated keys
- ✓The ß (Eszett / sharp S) key replaces the QWERTY minus/hyphen
- ✓Used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and across Central Europe
- ✓Slash key produces hyphen (-) rather than forward slash
- ✓BracketLeft becomes Ü and BracketRight becomes + on standard German boards
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the QWERTZ keyboard layout?
QWERTZ is the standard keyboard layout for German, Austrian, and Swiss keyboards. It is nearly identical to QWERTY except that Y and Z are swapped, and several keys are remapped to accommodate German-specific characters like ä, ö, ü, and ß.
Why are Y and Z swapped on QWERTZ?
In German, the letter Z is far more common than Y. Swapping them puts Z in an easier-to-reach position on the home row side, making German typing more efficient compared to QWERTY.
What countries use QWERTZ keyboards?
QWERTZ is the standard in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, and Serbia.
Can I test a German QWERTZ keyboard online?
Yes — just open this page and press any key. KeyTest works entirely in your browser with no download or account. Every key press lights up the layout so you can verify all keys are functioning correctly.
Test Other Keyboard Layouts
A short history of QWERTZ
QWERTZ is the keyboard layout used across most of the German-speaking world and Central Europe. Like QWERTY and AZERTY, the name comes from the first six letters of the top-left row: Q — W — E — R — T — Z. The defining swap is Y ↔ Z — a small change with a big reason: in German, Z appears far more often than Y (think zu, ziehen, zwölf, Zeit), so it earned the easier-to-reach position.
The layout was standardised in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as German typewriter manufacturers adapted QWERTY for the German language. Today it's defined by the DIN 2137 standard, with variants for German (T1), Swiss German, Austrian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, and several other Central European languages.
The 2017 update of DIN 2137 added official support for the capital sharp S (ẞ) — a letter the German Council for Orthography only formally recognised that same year, ending a century of ambiguity about how to write "STRAẞE" in capitals.
QWERTZ vs QWERTY: every key that changes
QWERTZ is the closest of the major Latin-script layouts to QWERTY — most letters stay in the same place. The differences are concentrated in three areas: the Y/Z swap, the umlaut keys on the right, and the punctuation around them.
| QWERTY key | QWERTZ key | Why / where |
|---|---|---|
| Y | Z | The famous Y/Z swap — Z is far more common in German |
| Z | Y | Y becomes the rarer letter, sits in the bottom-left |
| - | ß | Minus replaced by Eszett (sharp S) on the top row |
| [ | Ü | Bracket replaced by Ü umlaut |
| ] | + | Closing bracket becomes + on the top-right |
| ; | Ö | Semicolon replaced by Ö umlaut |
| ' | Ä | Apostrophe replaced by Ä umlaut |
| / | - | Slash becomes hyphen on the bottom-right |
Typing umlauts, ß, and German special characters
QWERTZ gives every German-specific letter its own dedicated key — no dead keys, no AltGr combinations needed for the basics. This is the layout's biggest practical win over QWERTY for German speakers:
On a QWERTY keyboard with the German software layout, you can also use the legacy substitutes "ae", "oe", "ue", "ss" — but native German users almost never do this once they have a real QWERTZ board.
The QWERTZ AltGr cheat sheet
AltGr (the right Alt key) unlocks a second layer of symbols on QWERTZ, marked in the bottom-right of each keycap. You'll need it constantly for email, currency, code, and units:
| Press | Get | Where you'll need it |
|---|---|---|
| AltGr + Q | @ | Email addresses, social handles |
| AltGr + E | € | Euro symbol |
| AltGr + 7 | { | Code: open brace |
| AltGr + 8 | [ | Code: open bracket |
| AltGr + 9 | ] | Code: close bracket |
| AltGr + 0 | } | Code: close brace |
| AltGr + ß | \ | Backslash, file paths |
| AltGr + < | | | Pipe (terminal, code) |
| AltGr + + | ~ | Tilde, URLs |
| AltGr + 2 | ² | Squared (m², km²) |
| AltGr + 3 | ³ | Cubed (cm³) |
| AltGr + M | µ | Micro (µm, µF) |
On macOS there is no AltGr — use Option (⌥) for the same characters: ⌥+L gives @, ⌥+E gives €, ⌥+5 gives [, ⌥+6 gives ], ⌥+8 gives {, ⌥+9 gives }.
The coder's guide to QWERTZ
For German-speaking developers, QWERTZ presents the same friction as AZERTY — most code symbols hide behind AltGr. Here are the worst offenders and the workarounds that work:
| Symbol | Combo | Why it hurts |
|---|---|---|
| { } | AltGr + 7 / AltGr + 0 | JS, JSON, C — these need AltGr on every press, slowing down code typing. |
| [ ] | AltGr + 8 / AltGr + 9 | Arrays and indexing — the biggest QWERTZ coder annoyance. |
| @ # | AltGr + Q / right of Ä | @ is a constant in code — pleasingly easy. # is direct (no AltGr). |
| | \ | AltGr + < / AltGr + ß | Pipes and escapes — both behind AltGr, neither memorable. |
| / ? | Shift + 7 / Shift + ß | Slash is hidden — note that the bottom-right slash key gives '-' on QWERTZ! |
| < > | Direct (left of Y) / Shift + that key | Easier than QWERTY — they have a dedicated key on ISO layouts. |
Workarounds German-speaking developers use:
- →Switch to US-International only inside the editor. VS Code, JetBrains, Sublime — all support per-app layouts via OS shortcuts. German prose stays QWERTZ, code goes US.
- →Try the Neo layout — a German ergonomic alternative inspired by Dvorak. Puts code symbols on the base layer and is genuinely faster for German prose.
- →Use PowerToys Keyboard Manager on Windows or Karabiner-Elements on macOS to remap individual keys without changing the whole layout.
- →Programmable keyboards with QMK or VIA let you put [ ] | on the base layer permanently.
How to enable QWERTZ on every operating system
Windows 11 / 10
Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region → click language → Options → Add a keyboard → German. Switch with Win + Space.
macOS
System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → + → German → German — Standard. Toggle from the menu-bar flag or with Ctrl + Option + Space (configurable in Keyboard Shortcuts → Input Sources).
Linux
GNOME/KDE: Region & Language → Input Sources → + → German. From terminal: setxkbmap de, or localectl set-x11-keymap de on systemd.
QWERTZ variants across Central Europe
QWERTZ (Germany)
The standard. Used across Germany. Includes Ä, Ö, Ü, ß and the dedicated Eszett key on the top row.
QWERTZ (Austria)
Identical to the German layout in practice — same umlauts, same Eszett, same AltGr combinations.
Swiss German (QWERTZ)
Slightly different. No ß by default; uses ä/ö/ü plus French accents (à, é, è) since Switzerland is multilingual. Z is still where Y would be on QWERTY.
QWERTZ Czech / Slovak
Adds diacritics like č, š, ř, ž on the number row (used directly without Shift) and keeps numbers behind Shift, similar to AZERTY.
QWERTZ Hungarian
Adds Hungarian-specific letters: á, é, í, ó, ö, ő, ú, ü, ű. Heavy reliance on AltGr for symbols.
QWERTZ on phones, tablets, and external keyboards
Mobile QWERTZ keyboards behave very differently from physical ones — there's no AltGr on glass, but every umlaut and ß is one long-press away. Here's how to set it up:
iOS (iPhone / iPad)
Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → German. The QWERTZ on-screen keyboard appears, with long-press on A/O/U showing umlauts and long-press on S showing ß. Switch keyboards from the globe icon.
Android (Gboard / SwiftKey)
Gboard: long-press the comma → Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → German. SwiftKey: Settings → Languages → Deutsch. Both adapt autocorrect to German and offer umlaut long-press shortcuts.
External Bluetooth keyboard
On iOS: Settings → General → Keyboard → Hardware Keyboard → German. On Android: Settings → System → Languages → Physical keyboard → German (QWERTZ). Otherwise the OS treats your QWERTZ hardware as QWERTY and umlauts type as brackets.
Typing faster on QWERTZ: the German digraphs that matter
Every language has its rhythm — in German, six digraphs and trigraphs make up a huge share of typed text. Drill these as units, not letters, and your QWERTZ speed climbs fast:
For real practice, run our typing speed test with German text, or try TIPP10 — a free, German-made touch-typing trainer used in schools across Germany.
Common QWERTZ problems & how to fix them
"My Y key types Z and vice versa"
You're using a QWERTY keyboard with the German software layout (or the reverse). Switch with Win + Space on Windows, or in macOS via the menu-bar flag. Full guide: keyboard typing the wrong characters.
"My umlauts type as brackets ([, ], ;, ')"
Same problem in reverse — your physical QWERTZ keyboard is being read as QWERTY. The Ü key sits exactly where [ is on QWERTY, which is why those four are the most common symptoms. Switch the OS layout to German.
"I can't find @ — AltGr + Q does nothing"
On Linux, AltGr is sometimes mapped to Compose by default; check your input source settings. On Windows, some remote-desktop tools intercept AltGr — try Ctrl + Alt + Q as an equivalent, or install the host's German layout.
"How do I type capital ẞ?"
Since 2017, Windows lets you type ẞ with AltGr + Shift + ß. macOS: Option + Shift + S. Older systems may not support it — check that your OS is updated past 2017 and your German layout is the post-DIN-2137-2018 version.
"Some keys don't register at all"
Hardware fault, not layout. Use the tester above to identify dead keys, then check our keys not working guide or the laptop keyboard guide.
Pro tips for QWERTZ users
- →Memorise the AltGr top-row math: 7-8-9-0 → { [ ] }. Once that clicks, code typing on QWERTZ is much less painful.
- →On Swiss keyboards there's no ß by default — use 'ss' instead, which is also the standard in modern Swiss orthography.
- →If you switch between QWERTY and QWERTZ daily, set up Win + Space (Windows) or Ctrl + Space (macOS) for instant toggling — no menus.
- →Heatmap mode in the tester above shows which keys you press most — useful for spotting underused fingers when learning German touch typing.
- →For long German words, tap into your phone's autocorrect dictionary by typing 'donau' once and accepting 'Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän' as a custom shortcut.
Buying a QWERTZ keyboard: what to check
- ✓ISO layout, not ANSI. QWERTZ uses the ISO key shape — tall L-shaped Enter, an extra key between left Shift and Y. ANSI flat-Enter boards are not "QWERTZ" even if the labels look right; the missing key forces ugly software workarounds.
- ✓Pick the right national variant. German (DE), Austrian (AT — same as DE in practice), Swiss (CH), Czech (CZ), Hungarian (HU). They look similar but differ in punctuation, accents, and AltGr layers.
- ✓Look for the capital ẞ key on premium boards (post-2018) — older keyboards print only lowercase ß and rely on the OS for the capital.
- ✓Mechanical QWERTZ options are well-supported by Logitech, Cherry (German manufacturer — natural fit), Corsair, Razer, Keychron (some SKUs), and Ducky. Enthusiast-level custom boards are usually ANSI-only — buy QWERTZ keycap sets separately if you go that route.
- ✓Programmable firmware (QMK / VIA) lets you build your own QWERTZ layout with code symbols on the base layer. See our full keyboard buying guide.
Related guides
Keyboard typing the wrong characters
Most QWERTZ confusion is a layout/hardware mismatch — fix it here.
Some keys not working at all
When it's hardware, not layout. Diagnose dead keys methodically.
Shortcuts not working on QWERTZ
AltGr quirks, dead keys, and OS-level shortcut clashes.
Keyboard buying guide
What to look for in a QWERTZ keyboard or programmable hybrid.