QWERTYtoetsenbordindeling

The QWERTY keyboard is the standard Latin-script layout used on most English-language typewriters and computer keyboards. It is named for the first six letters on the top row and originated in the 1870s, designed by Christopher Latham Sholes with Samuel Soule and Carlos Glidden for mechanical typewriters. It aimed to reduce jams by spacing common letter pairings apart on the type bars, a rationale that reflects early engineering constraints.

The layout was popularized by the Remington No. 2 typewriter, released in 1878, and soon became standard in offices and publishing. With the rise of electronics, QWERTY was carried over to computer keyboards and remains the dominant arrangement for English-language keyboards worldwide. A typical QWERTY keyboard has three alphabetic rows plus a top row of numbers and punctuation, with the home row as ASDF on the left and JKL on the right and thumbs operating the space bar and modifier keys.

Variants exist for other languages. In German-speaking regions the layout is often QWERTZ, while French keyboards use AZERTY; many languages adapt the same core arrangement and add diacritics or different keycaps. Despite regional differences, the basic QWERTY shape remains recognizable and is the de facto standard for modern keyboards. Critics have pointed to alternative layouts, such as Dvorak or Colemak, but adoption outside specialized communities remains limited.