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Numbers
Numbers are the reach most typists never learn properly. Plenty of people who type fast in words still hunt for digits with one finger while looking down. It is worth fixing: dates, prices, phone numbers, quantities and code are full of them. This lesson takes the same approach as the row lessons, one finger per key and a return to home after every reach, with the longest reach yet.
Where your fingers go
- Left hand: 1 pinky, 2 ring, 3 middle, 4 and 5 index.
- Right hand: 7 index, 8 middle, 9 ring, 0 pinky.
- The 6 key: it sits in the middle and can go to either index finger. Many courses give it to the left index. Choose one hand and stick with it, because switching back and forth is the real problem.
The number row is two rows above home, so each finger travels up past the top row. That distance is why looking down is so tempting. The finger that types 3 is the same finger that types E and D, one straight line up.
Technique
Use the column
Think of each finger as owning a column: D, E and 3 for the left middle finger, or K, I and 8 for the right middle finger. If you know the letters, you already know which finger moves. It just goes one row further.
Reach and return, even inside a number
For “2024”, the ring finger reaches to 2, the right pinky to 0, the ring finger back to 2, then the index to 4. Keep the other fingers anchored near home so each digit starts from a known position. Hovering your whole hand over the number row feels faster and produces most of the errors.
Decimal points
The drill includes 3.14. The period is on the bottom row, typed by the right ring finger. So a decimal number moves from the number row to the bottom row and back. Take that one slowly.
Numbers or number pad?
If you enter long columns of figures, a number pad is quicker and worth learning separately. For numbers mixed into text, such as dates, prices and addresses, the top row is faster because your hands never leave the letters. This lesson trains the top row.
The numbers drill
The drill mixes single digits, repeated pairs (11, 22, 33), round numbers (100, 1000), years (2024, 2025), runs (1234, 567, 890) and one decimal (3.14), for a line of about 120 characters. There is no backspace. WPM, accuracy, progress and errors update as you go. Expect a lower WPM than your letter speed. That is normal for digits.
Numbers unlocks after the full-alphabet lesson in this browser, and finishing it unlocks punctuation.
Common mistakes
- One-finger hunting. Stabbing digits with an index finger while looking is the habit this lesson exists to break. If you can’t type “45” with your eyes on the screen, keep drilling.
- Off-by-one digits. Typing 4 for 5 or 8 for 9 usually means the hand drifted sideways on the long reach. Return to the bumps after each number.
- Swapping digit order. 1243 for 1234 happens when you type faster than you read. Numbers have no spelling to guide you, so read the whole number before you start it.
- Inconsistent 6. Taking 6 with the left hand in one number and the right in the next makes it the slowest key on the row. Pick one.
Practice drills
- Column reaches (2 minutes). de3 ki8 sw2 lo9 fr4 ju7 aq1 ;p0. Type each group slowly: home key, top key, number key, all with the same finger.
- Pairs (2 minutes). 12 34 56 78 90 09 87 65 43 21. Say each number aloud as you type it.
- Real figures (3 minutes). Years such as 1999 2008 2016 2030, then prices such as 4.50 12.99 250 1080. Mixed digits are harder than runs.
- Numbers in text (3 minutes). meet at 9 on the 14th, room 207, bring 3 copies. This trains the switch between letters and digits that real typing needs.
How to know you’re ready to move on
- You can type any two-digit number without looking.
- Your accuracy on the drill is around 95 percent, even if WPM is lower than in the letter lessons.
- Your hands come back to home after each number instead of hovering on the top row.
Previous: full alphabet. Next: punctuation. The full sequence is in the learn hub, and the practice guide explains Code mode, which mixes digits with symbols.