Everything You Need to Know About Colemak
Colemak is an alternative keyboard layout created in 2006 that moves 17 keys from their QWERTY positions to reduce finger travel and increase typing comfort. It is the third most popular keyboard layout for English after QWERTY and Dvorak.
Best for
Best for typists who want an ergonomic alternative to QWERTY without the full disruption of a more radical layout switch.
Main challenge
The hard part of Colemak is consistency during the transition period, especially when old QWERTY muscle memory keeps interrupting clean repetitions.
History and Origin
Shai Coleman released Colemak in January 2006 and published the layout at colemak.com. The name combines Coleman and Dvorak, acknowledging the earlier alternative while marking a different approach. Unlike Dvorak, which rearranges nearly every key, Colemak was designed as a practical migration from QWERTY: it moves 17 keys while preserving the positions of Z, X, C, V, and most bottom-row keys.
This design choice was deliberate. By keeping common keyboard shortcuts intact (Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V all stay in their QWERTY positions), Colemak reduces the friction of switching for people who rely heavily on cut/copy/paste workflows. The layout gained traction quickly in the typing community and is now supported natively on Linux and macOS.
Design Philosophy
Colemak places the ten most common English letters on the home row or within easy reach of it. The home row becomes A, R, S, T, D, H, N, E, I, O — covering roughly 74% of English text with just the home-row keys. This dramatically reduces finger travel compared to QWERTY.
The layout also optimizes for hand alternation and minimizes same-finger bigrams. The most common English bigrams like TH, ST, and HE alternate hands or use different fingers on the same hand. Colemak replaces QWERTY's Caps Lock key with a second Backspace (or can be remapped to other functions), which is a small but meaningful ergonomic improvement for a key that most typists rarely use intentionally.
Who Colemak Is Best For
Colemak works well for typists who want measurable ergonomic improvement without completely abandoning their QWERTY muscle memory. The preserved shortcut positions and partially familiar bottom row make it the least disruptive alternative layout to learn.
QWERTY typists who experience finger fatigue during long sessions
Developers and writers who want better comfort but cannot afford weeks of zero productivity
People who frequently use Ctrl+Z/X/C/V and do not want to retrain those shortcuts
Typists who want a well-supported layout with a large community and active forum
Switching from QWERTY to Colemak
Most Colemak learners report reaching 30–40 WPM within the first two weeks and recovering their original QWERTY speed within 1–3 months of consistent daily practice. The transition is easier than Dvorak because fewer keys change position, but it still requires deliberate, structured training to avoid developing new bad habits.
The hardest phase is typically weeks 2–4, when you are fast enough to attempt real work but not fast enough to avoid frustration. Using a structured curriculum helps: SureTyping's lesson paths break Colemak into progressive stages so you train each key group before combining them. The AI trainer identifies which of the 17 moved keys are still causing errors and generates targeted drills.
How to Practice on SureTyping
Begin with the home-row lessons to build confidence on Colemak's strongest feature — the high-frequency home row. Then move through upper-row and lower-row stages before combining everything in the full-keyboard track.
SureTyping saves your progress per layout, so switching between QWERTY and Colemak for practice does not overwrite your stats. Use the AI-powered custom training to focus on the keys that moved farthest from their QWERTY positions, which are typically the ones that take longest to internalize.
Tracks
Lesson curriculum
422 lessons — View allLesson Stage
Individual Home Row Letters
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Foundations
Home Row Combinations
Early lessons that build finger anchors, repeatable reaches, and the first real words.
Lesson Stage
Individual Top Row Letters
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Upper Reach
Top Row Combinations
Lessons that add upper-row travel, alternating-hand rhythm, and controlled reach.
Lesson Stage
Individual Bottom Row Letters
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lower Reach
Bottom Row Combinations
Lessons that strengthen precision on the lower row and improve edge-key control.
Word Building
Word Building
Lessons that turn letter control into common words, bigrams, and connected phrases.
Lesson Stage
Fluency Review
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Capital Letters
Capital Letters
Lessons that teach opposite-hand Shift technique for capitals before moving into full mixed-text fluency.
Lesson Stage
Shift Technique
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Speed Drills
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Accuracy Training
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Real-World Typing
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Endurance
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Weak Key Recovery
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Full Keyboard
Mastery
Lessons that combine punctuation, numbers, symbols, mixed strings, and speed-oriented review work.
Lesson Stage
Punctuation & Numbers
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Casper Test Typing Prep
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
JavaScript code typing
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
TypeScript code typing
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Python code typing
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Java code typing
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: C
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: C++
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: C#
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: Go
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: Rust
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: Ruby
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: PHP
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: Swift
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: Kotlin
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: SQL
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
HTML & CSS code typing
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Code: Bash
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Kira Talent Typing Prep
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Duet Typing Prep
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Snapshot Written Follow-up Prep
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
GRE Analytical Writing Typing Prep
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
LSAT Writing Sample Typing Prep
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.
Lesson Stage
Coding Assessment Typing Prep
Part of the SureTyping guided lesson path.