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“Keyboard layout” means two different things, and most confusion comes from mixing them up. A character layout (QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak) decides which letter each key types. A physical layout (ANSI, ISO, JIS) decides the shape and number of the keys themselves. This guide shows you how to identify both by looking at your keyboard, with labelled diagrams of each physical standard.
⚡ Quick answer: Look at the Enter key first. A wide, single-row Enter means ANSI (US standard). A tall, upside-down-L Enter plus a short left Shift means ISO (UK and Europe). A tall Enter plus extra keys either side of a short spacebar means JIS (Japan). Then read the first six letters of the top row to find your character layout: QWERTY, AZERTY or QWERTZ.
Which kind of keyboard layout question do you have?
Before you identify anything, work out which of the two layouts your problem actually involves. They are independent: an ISO keyboard can type QWERTY, AZERTY or Dvorak, and switching from one character layout to another changes nothing about the physical keys.
| Your situation | Layout type involved | Where to go |
|---|---|---|
| Keys type the wrong symbol (e.g. @ and " swapped, Y and Z swapped) | Character layout: a software setting | Identify your character layout |
| Buying keycaps and not sure they will fit | Physical layout: fixed in hardware | Identify your physical layout |
| Your Enter key is a different shape from a friend’s | Physical layout | ANSI vs ISO vs JIS diagrams |
| Thinking about learning Dvorak or Colemak | Character layout | Alternative layouts |
| Choosing between 60%, 75%, TKL or full-size | Size (form factor) | Size layouts |
How to identify your physical keyboard layout
You can identify a physical layout from three keys: Enter, left Shift, and the spacebar row. Check them in that order.
- Look at Enter. One row high and wide? It is ANSI. Two rows tall, shaped like an upside-down L? It is ISO or JIS.
- Look at left Shift. A long left Shift (about the same width as Enter on ANSI) means ANSI. A short left Shift with an extra key between it and Z means ISO.
- Look either side of the spacebar. A short spacebar flanked by keys labelled 無変換, 変換 and かな (muhenkan, henkan, kana) means JIS.
- Confirm with the key count on a full-size board: 104 keys is ANSI, 105 is ISO, and 109 is JIS (Windows versions).
Laptops and compact boards sometimes squeeze or relocate keys, so trust the Enter shape over the key count. The Enter key is the one feature every manufacturer keeps consistent within a standard.
ANSI vs ISO vs JIS: labelled diagrams
The diagrams below show the main typing area of each standard. The highlighted keys are the ones that differ, and they are exactly the keys a keycap set has to supply in the right size. Key widths are drawn to standard proportions; spacebar and modifier sizes on real boards vary by model.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
ANSI is the US standard and the default for most enthusiast keyboards and keycap sets. The Enter key sits on the home row only and measures 2.25 units (one unit, or 1u, is the width of a letter key). Backslash is a 1.5u key above Enter, and left Shift is 2.25u wide.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
ISO is used across the UK and most of Europe. Enter spans two rows, which pushes backslash down beside left Shift. That shortens left Shift to 1.25u and adds a key. The home row also gains a key to the left of Enter; on UK boards it carries # and ~.
JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards)
JIS keeps the tall Enter but adds more keys than either of the others. The top-left key switches between half-width and full-width input (半角/全角), a yen key ¥ shortens Backspace, a ろ (ro) key shortens right Shift, and three input-method keys crowd the spacebar down to a fraction of its ANSI length.
| Feature | ANSI | ISO | JIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enter shape | Wide, one row (2.25u) | Tall inverted L | Tall inverted L |
| Left Shift | Long (2.25u) | Short (1.25u) + extra key | Long (2.25u) |
| Right Shift | 2.75u | 2.75u | Short, beside the ろ key |
| Backspace | 2u | 2u | Short, beside the ¥ key |
| Spacebar | Long (6.25u on most boards) | Long (6.25u on most boards) | Short, flanked by input keys |
| Full-size key count | 104 | 105 | 109 (Windows) |
| Main regions | US, much of Asia, enthusiast market | UK, Europe, many other regions | Japan |
💡 Why this matters: keycaps. A standard ANSI keycap set will not fully cover an ISO or JIS board. It has no tall Enter, no 1.25u left Shift and none of the extra keys. Many enthusiast sets are sold ANSI-first, with ISO support as a separate add-on kit or not at all, and JIS kits are rarer still. Check the set’s kit list against your Enter and Shift keys before you buy. Browse ISO-compatible PBT keycap sets on Amazon.
The spacebar is the next thing that trips people up. See our spacebar sizes guide for how to measure yours before ordering.
How to identify your character layout
To identify a character layout, read the first six letter keys on the top row. That name is, in most cases, the layout: QWERTY, AZERTY or QWERTZ. The keys around them then tell you the national variant.
| Check this key | What you see | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| First six letters, top row | Q W E R T Y | QWERTY (US, UK and most of the world) |
| First six letters, top row | A Z E R T Y | AZERTY (France, Belgium) |
| First six letters, top row | Q W E R T Z | QWERTZ (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Central Europe) |
| Shift + 2 legend | @ | US QWERTY |
| Shift + 2 legend | " (with £ on Shift + 3) | UK QWERTY |
| Key to the right of L | Ö | German QWERTZ (or a Nordic layout, which also uses Ø or Æ nearby) |
| Key to the right of L | M | French AZERTY |
Remember that the printed legends only show what the keyboard was sold as. The character layout actually in use is set by your operating system, so a UK keyboard set to US English will type @ from Shift + 2 regardless of the legend. If your keys type the wrong symbols, the fix is in software:
- Windows 11: Settings > Time & language > Language & region, then open the options for your language and check the listed keyboards. Win + Space cycles between installed layouts.
- macOS: System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input, then Edit next to Input Sources.
- Linux: the keyboard settings of your desktop environment (GNOME and KDE both list layouts under Keyboard).
QWERTY, AZERTY and QWERTZ: why they differ
QWERTY comes from Christopher Latham Sholes’ typewriter work in the 1870s, later sold by Remington. The popular story says it was designed to slow typists down. More precisely, the arrangement separated commonly paired letters so the typewriter’s metal typebars would not clash and jam. Slowing the typist was never the goal.
National variants move the letters each language uses most into easier positions and make room for characters English does not need. QWERTZ swaps Y and Z because Z is far more common in German, and gives umlauts dedicated keys. AZERTY rearranges more heavily: A and Q swap, Z and W swap, M moves beside L, and accented vowels get direct access.
Alternative layouts: Dvorak, Colemak and Workman
Dvorak (1936) puts all the vowels on the home row under the left hand, so everyday English alternates hands. Colemak (2006) changes 17 keys from QWERTY and leaves Z, X, C and V alone so copy and paste shortcuts stay put, which makes it the easiest switch. Workman (2010) optimises for finger travel, arguing that not every home-row position is equally comfortable.
⚠️ Do they make you faster? Be sceptical. The most-cited evidence for Dvorak came from studies run by Dvorak himself, and independent attempts to reproduce large speed gains have generally failed. What alternative layouts reliably reduce is finger travel, which some people find more comfortable over long sessions. That is a fair reason to switch. A promise of dramatic speed is not. Expect several weeks of slower typing, and slower typing on every shared keyboard you use afterwards.
An alphabetical layout, for what it is worth, only helps people who hunt and peck and have never learned any layout. For touch typists it is slower than anything above.
Size layouts: full-size, TKL, 75%, 65% and 60%
Size is a third, separate property: how many keys the board has at all. It combines freely with the other two, so an ISO 65% board typing Dvorak is perfectly possible.
| Size | Keys (ANSI) | What it drops |
|---|---|---|
| Full-size | 104 | Nothing |
| TKL | 87 | Number pad |
| 75% | ~84 | Number pad, and the gaps between key groups |
| 65% | ~68 | Also the function row |
| 60% | ~61 | Also the arrow keys, which move to a layer |
Our mechanical keyboard guide covers the trade-offs of each size in detail.
🏆 Top picks by size
Worked out which size you want? These are the boards we recommend in each of our size guides.
| Size | Best overall | Budget pick |
|---|---|---|
| TKL | Keychron K8 Pro | Keychron C3 Pro |
| 75% | Keychron Q1 Max | Monsgeek M1 V5 |
| 65% | Ducky One 3 SF | Royal Kludge RK68 |
Buying outside the US? Check the product listing says ISO (or your country’s layout) before ordering: many boards ship in ANSI only.
Affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Which keyboard layout should you use?
- Physical layout: use what your region sells, and match what you already type on. If you customise keycaps, ANSI has by far the most choice; ISO users should confirm an ISO kit exists before buying a set.
- Character layout: stay on what you know unless long typing sessions are uncomfortable. If you do switch, Colemak costs the least to learn.
- Size: this is where most people get a real ergonomic gain. Dropping the number pad brings your mouse closer, which matters more over a working day than letter arrangement does.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my keyboard is ANSI or ISO?
Look at the Enter key. ANSI has a wide Enter on a single row, with the backslash key above it. ISO has a tall Enter spanning two rows shaped like an upside-down L, plus a short left Shift with an extra key between it and Z. If you see both of those ISO features, your keyboard is ISO.
What is the difference between ANSI, ISO and JIS?
They are physical standards for key shape and count. ANSI (US) has a wide one-row Enter and 104 keys full-size. ISO (UK and Europe) has a tall Enter, a short left Shift and 105 keys. JIS (Japan) has a tall Enter, a short spacebar with input-method keys either side, and 109 keys on Windows boards.
How do I find out which character layout my keyboard is using?
Type Shift + 2 in a text box. US QWERTY gives @, UK QWERTY gives a double quote. Then check your operating system: on Windows 11 it is under Settings, Time & language, Language & region; on macOS under System Settings, Keyboard, Text Input. The OS setting decides what each key types, not the printed legend.
Why does my keyboard type the wrong symbols?
Almost always because the operating system is set to a different character layout from the one printed on the keys, for example a UK keyboard set to US English. Nothing is broken. Add the correct layout in your language settings, remove the wrong one, and use Win + Space on Windows to check which is active.
Will an ANSI keycap set fit an ISO keyboard?
Not completely. An ANSI set has no tall ISO Enter, no 1.25u left Shift, and no extra keys beside left Shift and Enter, so those keys will be missing or wrong. Buy a set that explicitly includes an ISO kit. Our keycap guide covers what else to check.
Was QWERTY really designed to slow typists down?
Not exactly. It separated letters commonly typed together so typewriter typebars would not clash and jam. Slowing typists was not the objective, although QWERTY is not optimised for speed by modern standards. It survives because retraining the world costs far more than living with it.
Can I change my keyboard layout without buying a new keyboard?
For character layouts, yes: it is an operating system setting on Windows, macOS and Linux, and the keys keep their printed legends while typing something else. Physical layout cannot be changed that way, because the shape and number of the keys are fixed in the hardware.