How to Tell US, UK and German Keyboard Layouts Apart

The 30-second test: three things to look at

You do not need to open the laptop. Look at your current keyboard and check these three things, in this order:

1. The Enter key's shape. A wide, flat, horizontal Enter key means a US layout. A tall, inverted-L Enter key that wraps over two rows means a UK or European layout - including German.
2. The key between the left Shift and Z. If there is an extra key there (usually \ / |), it is a UK or European layout. US keyboards have no key in that spot - the left Shift is simply longer.
3. The letter keys and symbols. This is what separates UK from German, since both share the tall Enter key: a German keyboard has Y and Z swapped, plus Ä, Ö, Ü and ß keys. A UK keyboard keeps QWERTY order and has a £ sign above the 3 key.

If you match on all three, you have your layout. If anything is unclear, photograph the keyboard from above and compare it against the listing photos before ordering - or send us the photo and we will confirm it.

US layout (ANSI)

• Enter key: wide and flat, one row tall.
• Left Shift: long, with no extra key between it and Z.
• Symbols: @ above the 2 key, " above the apostrophe key, # above the 3 key. The backslash key sits above the Enter key.
• Letters: standard QWERTY, no accented-letter keys.

US is the most common layout on machines sold in North America and much of Asia, and it is the layout most people picture when they think of a laptop keyboard. If your Enter key is wide and flat, start here.

UK layout (ISO)

• Enter key: tall, inverted-L shape, two rows tall.
• Left Shift: short, with an extra \ / | key between it and Z.
• Symbols: " above the 2 key, @ above the apostrophe key, £ above the 3 key. This is the quickest UK tell: on a US keyboard, " and @ sit the other way round.
• Letters: standard QWERTY, no accented-letter keys.

UK layout is fitted to machines sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It looks almost identical to other European layouts at a glance - the symbol positions are what give it away.

German layout (QWERTZ)

• Enter key: tall, inverted-L shape, like the UK layout - so the Enter key alone cannot tell UK from German.
• Left Shift: short, with an extra key between it and Z, like the UK layout.
• Letters: Y and Z are swapped (QWERTZ, not QWERTY), and there are dedicated keys for Ä, Ö, Ü and ß on the right-hand side.
• Symbols: @ is typed with AltGr + Q, and several punctuation marks sit in different places from the UK layout.

German layout is fitted to machines sold in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. If the Enter key is tall but the second row of letters reads QWERTZ and you can see umlaut keys, it is German, not UK.

Other layouts you may meet

• Korean: dual legends - Hangul characters printed alongside the Latin letters. The Enter key is usually wide, like the US layout.
• Japanese: extra keys around the spacebar (which is shorter than usual) and additional keys for kana input, including a distinctive key to the right of the spacebar.
• Spanish: a dedicated Ñ key, and the same tall Enter key as UK and German layouts.

We stock keyboards in US, UK, German, Korean, Japanese, Spanish and other layouts - browse all parts by brand and check the layout stated on each listing. A layout name on a listing is a claim about the key legends, not just the language of the country it was sold in.

Layout is only half the match

Two keyboards with the same layout can still be different parts. Before ordering, also confirm:

• The part number on the underside of your old keyboard - how to find it. This is the single most reliable match.
• Backlight: a backlit keyboard and a non-backlit one for the same model have different cables and connectors.
• Mounting form: bare keyboard unit versus keyboard pre-fitted in the palmrest - see how to replace a laptop keyboard for which form your machine needs.

Still not sure? Send us three photos - the full keyboard from above, the label on its underside, and a close-up of the ribbon connector - plus the laptop's exact model. We confirm which part fits before you order; it is quicker than a return for either of us.