Hand position on the keyboard: the home row
Published on October 22, 2026
Typing well starts with knowing where your fingers rest. That starting position is called the home row, and every movement leaves from it and returns to it.
Where each finger goes
On a Spanish keyboard, the fingers of your left hand rest on A, S, D and F, and those of your right hand on J, K, L and Ñ. Your thumbs rest on the space bar. On a US keyboard the right hand ends on the semicolon instead of Ñ.
- Left little finger: A
- Left ring finger: S
- Left middle finger: D
- Left index finger: F
- Right index finger: J
- Right middle finger: K
- Right ring finger: L
- Right little finger: Ñ (semicolon on a US keyboard)
The bumps on F and J
Most keyboards have a small raised mark on the F and the J. They let your index fingers find their position by touch, without looking, and from there you know where the other fingers are.
Leave and come back
Every time you reach a key in the top or bottom row, the finger returns to the home row. That return is what keeps your reference point: if your fingers stay wherever they ended, you can no longer find the next key blind.
Your body posture
A comfortable posture helps you type for longer without getting tired. As a general guide: back supported, forearms roughly parallel to the floor, wrists straight and not resting on the edge of the desk, and the screen at eye level.
If you feel persistent pain while typing, it is worth talking to a health professional.
A detail about Spanish keyboards
On a US keyboard the home row ends with a semicolon. On a Spanish keyboard it ends with Ñ, which has its own key to the right of the L. If you switched keyboards and something does not feel right, this is usually why.