QWERTY Keyboard Layout: ANSI vs ISO, JIS and Sizes Explained

This page answers the common questions about keyboard layouts, from QWERTY to ANSI, ISO and sizes.

What is a keyboard layout?

Short answer: A keyboard layout is the map of which key sits where and what it types.

People use the word for three different things. Product pages often use all three at once.

1. Physical layout: the number, shape and position of the keys. The common standards are ANSI, ISO and JIS.
2. Size: how many key sections the board keeps, from full-size down to 60%.
3. Logical layout: the letter order your computer uses, such as QWERTY, AZERTY or QWERTZ.

The physical layout is part of the hardware. Each key press sends a code for that key's position. Your operating system then decides which character appears on screen. This is explained in Wikipedia's keyboard layout article.

So the letter order lives in your settings, and you can change it at any time.

Check: when a page says "layout", see whether it means shape, size or letter order.

What is QWERTY and why is it still the standard?

Short answer: QWERTY is the letter order that starts with Q, W, E, R, T and Y on the top row.

The layout began on a typewriter. Christopher Latham Sholes and two partners received a patent in 1868 for an early typing machine. His first model had a piano-like keyboard with the letters in alphabetical order. Sholes kept rearranging the letters over the next few years.

In 1873 the manufacturing rights were sold to E. Remington and Sons. Remington's mechanics finalized a layout close to the one you use today. Remington began selling the machine in 1874.

The Remington No. 2 of 1878 made the layout popular. It was the first typewriter with upper and lower case letters using a Shift key.

A common story says QWERTY split letter pairs so the typebars would not jam. Historians still debate that story. Some link the letter groups to feedback from telegraph operators.

You can still see part of the old alphabetical order. The home row reads D F G H J K L.

QWERTY remains the de facto standard layout on computers today. Its best-known rival, Dvorak, arrived about 60 years after QWERTY became popular. The speed gains of Dvorak are debated and relatively small, according to its Wikipedia entry.

Check: read the first six letters at the top left of your keyboard.

ANSI vs ISO vs JIS: which physical layout do I have?

Short answer: Look at the Enter key, because its shape tells ANSI and ISO apart.

All three layouts can type the same letters. They differ in a few key shapes around Enter, Shift, Backspace and the space bar.

• ANSI (US): a wide Enter key on one row and a long left Shift. A full-size ANSI board has 104 keys.
• ISO (UK and most of Europe): a tall Enter key shaped like an upside-down L. The left Shift is shorter, with an extra key beside it. A full-size ISO board has 105 keys.
• JIS (Japan): a shorter space bar, Backspace and right Shift. This makes room for extra keys used for Japanese input.

If you move between ANSI and ISO, Enter and left Shift are the keys that change. Our ANSI vs ISO guide covers the two in more detail.

Check: count the keys on the left Shift row, since ISO has one more there.

What do 100%, 80%, 75%, 65% and 60% mean?

Short answer: Each size name tells you which sections of a full-size keyboard are kept.

Smaller boards drop whole groups of keys. You reach the missing keys through a function layer. In practice, you hold Fn and press another key.

The table uses typical ANSI key counts. The width is the left-to-right length of one Keychron example.

Two details in the table are easy to miss.

• 65% and 75% are about the same length. The K6 HE is about 19 mm shallower than the K2 HE, because it has no function row.
• A 75% board is about 12 cm shorter than full-size. Compare 440.2 mm for the K10 HE with 316.4 mm for the K2 HE.

If you are deciding between the two compact sizes, read our 65% vs 75% guide.

Check: if you type numbers every day, keep the number pad.

QWERTY vs AZERTY vs QWERTZ vs Dvorak vs Colemak: what is different?

Short answer: AZERTY and QWERTZ are national versions of QWERTY, while Dvorak and Colemak are English redesigns.

• QWERTZ (Germany, Austria, Switzerland): Y and Z swap places, since Z is far more common in German. Ä, Ö, Ü and ß replace some special characters.
• AZERTY (France, Belgium): A and Q swap, Z and W swap, and M moves to the right of L. The number row types accented characters unless you hold Shift.
• Dvorak: patented in 1936. It puts the most used English letters on the home row. About 70% of keystrokes land there, compared with 32% on QWERTY.
• Colemak: released in 2006. It changes the positions of 17 keys and keeps many common shortcuts in place.

You can try Dvorak or Colemak without new hardware. Major operating systems let you switch to them in settings. Our QWERTY vs Dvorak article compares those two in more detail.

Check: press the key to the right of L and see what it types.

On US and UK layouts it types a semicolon. On German it types ö, and on French it types m.

How do I check or change my layout?

Short answer: Read the keys for the physical layout, then read your system settings for the letter order.

1. Look at the Enter key to tell ANSI, ISO or JIS apart.
2. Read the first six letters on the top row: QWERTY, QWERTZ or AZERTY.
3. Open your system settings to see which input layout is active.

On Windows, go to Settings > Time & language > Language & region. Select the three dots next to your language. Then open Language options > Keyboards. The Microsoft guide shows each step.

On a Mac, go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input > Edit. Apple's guide shows how to view each layout.

On supported Keychron keyboards, you can also use Keychron Launcher. It is our free web app for key settings.

• Remap keys: change single keys or the whole keyboard. See how to remap a key on Launcher.
• Set the keymap language: the on-screen keyboard then shows familiar symbols. Options include English (US), English (UK), Deutsch, French, Nordic and Japanese. See how to set the keymap language.

Check: if the symbols you type do not match your keycaps, set the system layout to match them.

Which layout should I choose?

Short answer: Match the physical layout to where you type, the size to your desk, and keep your letter order.

1. Physical layout: US English typists usually use ANSI. UK and most European typists use ISO. Japanese typists use JIS.
2. Size: if you enter numbers every day, keep a full-size board. For most other desks, 75% keeps the function row and arrows.
3. Letter order: keep QWERTY or your country's version of it. Change it only if you want to retrain your fingers.

Keychron ISO pages come in layouts such as UK, German, Nordic, Swiss, French and Spanish. Some models also have a Japan JIS layout page.

Check: start from the keyboard you type on now, and look at its Enter key and top row.

Frequently asked questions

Is QWERTY the same thing as a keyboard layout?

QWERTY is one part of a layout: the letter order. A QWERTY keyboard can be ANSI, ISO or JIS, in any size from full-size to 60%.

Can I switch from QWERTY to Dvorak or Colemak?

Yes. Windows, macOS and Linux let you switch to Dvorak and Colemak in settings. Windows added Colemak in Windows 11 version 24H2. You can also remap keys in Keychron Launcher. The printed letters stay the same unless you change the keycaps.

Will an ISO keyboard work with a US computer?

Yes. The computer reads the key positions, and your language setting picks the characters. Set the language to match your keycaps, such as English (UK) for a UK ISO board.

If you type on ISO or JIS, browse the ISO & JIS collection. If you type on ANSI, browse the ANSI collection.

RELATEDKeychron K2 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Custom Keyboard · Keychron K10 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Custom Keyboard · Keychron K6 HE Wireless Magnetic Switch Keyboard

References & Citations

• Origin of the QWERTY name, Sholes's 1868 patent, the 1873 sale to Remington, the Remington No. 2 of 1878, and the debate over the typebar-jam story. (Wikipedia, QWERTY)
• Physical, visual and functional layouts; ANSI, ISO and JIS key shapes; 104 vs 105 keys; AZERTY, QWERTZ, Dvorak and Colemak differences. (Wikipedia, Keyboard layout)
• Dvorak patented in 1936; why it did not replace QWERTY; operating system support. (Wikipedia, Dvorak keyboard layout)
• Colemak released in 2006 and supported natively by current Windows, macOS and Linux. (Wikipedia, Colemak)
• Where to check and change the keyboard layout in Windows. (Microsoft Support)
• Where to check and change the keyboard layout on a Mac. (Apple Support)
• Typical key counts per size, and the left-to-right lengths of the K10 HE, K8 HE, K2 HE, K6 HE and V4 Max. (Keychron size collections and product pages)

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WRITTEN BY

Yilia · Website Optimization Lead, Keychron

Website Optimization Lead at Keychron. Yilia focuses on making product information easier to find and understand. She brings that same approach to her writing, answering common questions and helping you make sense of keyboard and mouse options.