Spanish Keyboard Tester

How the Spanish keyboard differs from US QWERTY

Keyboards sold in Spain keep the QWERTY letters but change almost every key around them:

• Ñ has its own key to the right of L.
• The accent key is to the right of Ñ. It is a dead key that types ´, or ¨ with Shift.
• ¡ and ¿ are on the number row. The key to the right of 0 types ’ and ?, and the next key types ¡ and ¿.
• Shift changes the number row. " is Shift + 2, · is Shift + 3, & is Shift + 6, / is Shift + 7 and = is Shift + 0.
• Another dead key sits to the right of P. It types ` and, with Shift, ^. The + * key comes after it.
• Ç has its own key next to Enter, and º and ª are in the top-left corner.
• The keyboard is ISO shaped, with a tall Enter key and an extra < > key next to the left Shift.

Typing accents, ñ, ¿ and ¡

Spanish accents use a dead key: press it, nothing appears, then press the vowel.

• á, é, í, ó, ú: press ´ then the vowel.
• Á, É: press ´, then Shift + the vowel.
• ü (as in pingüino): press Shift + ´ to get ¨, then u.
• ñ and Ñ: press the Ñ key, with Shift for the capital.
• ¿ and ¡: Shift + ¡ gives ¿; the key on its own gives ¡.

To type the accent mark by itself, press the dead key and then Space.

Symbols on Alt Gr

The right Alt key, Alt Gr, types the third symbol on a key:

Symbol	Windows shortcut
@	Alt Gr + 2
#	Alt Gr + 3
€	Alt Gr + E
|	Alt Gr + 1
\	Alt Gr + º
[ and ]	Alt Gr + ` and Alt Gr + +
{ and }	Alt Gr + ´ and Alt Gr + Ç
~	Alt Gr + 4

Macs use Option instead of Alt Gr, and some symbols sit on other keys. To see where they are, turn on the input menu in the menu bar and choose Show Keyboard Viewer, then hold Option. If your Mac keyboard has the tall Enter key, choose the Spanish – ISO input source.

Spain or Latin America?

Spanish keyboards come in two layouts that look alike. Look at the top-left key: on a Spain keyboard it shows º and ª. On a Latin American keyboard it shows |, ° and ¬, and @ is typed with Alt Gr + Q. Ñ is in the same place on both, so many people don’t notice the difference until a symbol comes out wrong. If yours is Latin American, use the Latin American Spanish keyboard page and select “Latin American” in Windows.

Common Spanish keyboard problems

Ñ types a semicolon. The computer is using an English layout. Press the Windows key + Space and pick Spanish.

@ or other symbols come out wrong. The keyboard is Latin American and Windows uses the Spain layout, or the other way round. Check the top-left key, as described above, and select the matching layout.

The accent appears next to the letter (´a instead of á). You pressed the accent key and then a letter that can’t take that accent, or your layout is “United States-International”, where ’ works differently. Select the Spanish layout instead.

What to press in the tester

The on-screen keyboard above shows the Spain layout in the ISO shape. Keys are matched by position, so the tester shows whether each key works even when Windows uses the wrong layout. Press Ñ, the accent key, Ç, º, the ’ and ¡ keys next to 0, the dead key next to P and the < key beside the left Shift.