QWERTZ facts for kids
The QWERTZ keyboard layout is a special way keyboards are set up, mostly used in Germany and many countries in Central Europe. It's quite similar to the more common QWERTY layout, but it has a few key differences. The biggest change is that the 'Y' and 'Z' keys are swapped. Also, many special symbols, like brackets, are replaced with characters that are used more often in German, like umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and the eszett (ß).
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What is the QWERTZ Keyboard?
A keyboard layout is how the letters, numbers, and symbols are arranged on your computer or typewriter keyboard. The QWERTZ layout gets its name from the first six letters on the top-left row of the keyboard: Q, W, E, R, T, and Z. This layout is designed to make typing easier for languages that use those specific characters and arrangements.
Where is QWERTZ Used?
The QWERTZ layout is popular in several European countries. It helps people type more efficiently in their native languages.
QWERTZ in Germany and Austria
In Germany and Austria, the QWERTZ layout is the standard. This means most keyboards you'll find there will have the 'Y' and 'Z' swapped compared to a QWERTY keyboard. They also have special keys for German letters like 'ä', 'ö', 'ü', and 'ß'.
QWERTZ in Switzerland and Nearby Countries
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg also use a QWERTZ layout, but it's slightly different from the German one. This layout is designed to support both German and French, which are common languages in Switzerland.
Interestingly, Luxembourg doesn't have its own unique keyboard layout. People there often use the Swiss-French layout, especially in schools. However, in banks, you might find the Belgian keyboard layout. Some people also use the standard US QWERTY layout.
QWERTZ in Romania and Moldova
While there is a specific QWERTZ layout for the Romanian language in Romania and Moldova, it's not very common. Most people in these two countries actually use the American QWERTY layout instead.
Images for kids
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An old QWERTZ keyboard from a Swiss typewriter.
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German keyboard layout “T2” which is a modern standard. The black characters are also on older “T1” layouts.
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A keyboard layout for the Hungarian language.
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Another version of the Hungarian keyboard layout.
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A Polish QWERTZ keyboard often used on Macintosh computers.
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The PL-214 keyboard layout, used in older systems like MS-DOS, Windows, and Linux.
See also
In Spanish: Teclado QWERTZ para niños
