Spanish Typing Test on the First Chapter of Don Quijote

Type Don Quijote in Spanish; every accent, ñ, ¿ and ¡ must be exact.

Type each word and press space after it. The clock starts on your first key. En un lugar de la Mancha, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo que vivía un hidalgo de los de lanza en astillero, adarga antigua, rocín flaco y galgo corredor. Una olla de algo más vaca que carnero, salpicón las más noches, duelos y quebrantos los sábados, lantejas los viernes, algún palomino de añadidura los domingos, consumían las tres partes de su hacienda. El resto della concluían sayo de velarte, calzas de velludo para las fiestas, con sus pantuflos de lo mesmo, y los días de entresemana se honraba con su vellorí de lo más fino. Tenía en su casa una ama que pasaba de los cuarenta, y una sobrina que no llegaba a los veinte, y un mozo de campo y plaza, que así ensillaba el rocín como tomaba la podadera. Frisaba la edad de nuestro hidalgo con los cincuenta años; era de complexión recia, seco de carnes, enjuto de rostro, gran madrugador y amigo de la caza. Quieren decir que tenía el sobrenombre de Quijada, o Quesada, que en esto hay alguna diferencia en los autores que deste caso escriben; aunque, por conjeturas verosímiles, se deja entender que se llamaba Quejana. Pero esto importa poco a nuestro cuento; basta que en la narración dél no se salga un punto de la verdad.

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1 minute of typing. Words per minute is correct characters divided by five; accuracy is correct keystrokes out of all keystrokes.

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How it works

This Spanish typing test is the whole first chapter of Don Quijote (1605), cut into ten passages, from En un lugar de la Mancha to Dulcinea del Toboso. Run 1, 3 or 5 minutes, then read your WPM and accuracy.

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Every accent counts

A plain letter where a marked one belongs is a miss, so había typed as habia turns the word wrong at the space bar. On a dead-key layout the accent comes first and nothing shows until the vowel: keep typing. Capitals count too.

Spellings of 1605

The text has modern accents but keeps old forms a reader today may not expect: mesmo for mismo, efeto for efecto, della for de ella. Type them as printed. Each dash is two hyphens.

Need ñ or á on an English keyboard? The first group of the list on Spanish typing practice gives every method.

Questions and answers

How is a typing test in Spanish scored?

As in English: correct characters divided by five, per minute, with accuracy beside it. A word with a missing or extra accent counts as wrong. Your best for each length stays in this browser only.

Is Don Quijote in the public domain?

Yes. Part One was first published in 1605, long before 1931, so it is in the public domain in the United States. The text here is its first chapter, with modern accents and the old spellings kept.

Can I take this typing test español on a phone?

Yes. Switch the phone keyboard to Spanish, or touch and hold a letter for its accents. The box asks the keyboard not to autocorrect, so check each accent yourself: the test will not add one for you.

All 10 passages

Don Quijote (1605), Part One, chapter 1 10

En un lugar de la Mancha The opening line of the novel, then the gentleman, his weekly meals and his household. Eleven í and two ñ, in añadidura and años.
The Reason of Unreason The tangled lines of his favourite author, quoted in full: razón comes five times in one sentence, sinrazón included, and every one carries its accent.
The Priest and the Barber An argument over the best knight of the old books. The chapter's one ü, in Sigüenza, sits between two dashes, each typed as two hyphens.
Lost in Books The longest passage: he reads day and night until his mind goes, with the Cid Ruy Díaz, Hércules, Roldán and a crowd of giants.
A Knight Errant His decision to become a caballero andante, a knight errant, in two long sentences held together by commas and semicolons.
The Cardboard Helmet He cleans his great-grandfathers' armour and makes half a helmet out of cardboard. No ñ here, but eleven ó.
Naming Rocinante Four days to name a horse, and a Latin phrase, tantum pellis et ossa fuit, to type as printed.
Don Quijote de la Mancha Eight more days to name himself. Two dashes, each typed as two hyphens, wrap como queda dicho.
A Lady to Serve The chapter's one question, opened with ¿, and the speech he imagines a defeated giant making. The speech starts with the Spanish dialogue dash, typed here as --Si.
Dulcinea del Toboso It opens with ¡, the chapter's only exclamation, and ends when Aldonza Lorenzo becomes Dulcinea del Toboso.

Notes

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More notes about this page

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Passages on this page were written for this site or are in the public domain in the United States. The source of each borrowed passage is given beside it.

Facts on this page were checked against the reference sources named under the list. If you spot a mistake, please tell us through the contact page.

How this list was compiled: Ten passages cut from chapter 1 of Part One of Don Quijote de la Mancha (El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes, first published in 1605 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote, which also quotes the opening line and names Rocinante, Aldonza Lorenzo and Dulcinea del Toboso). A work first published before 1931 is in the public domain in the United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_in_the_United_States). The chapter was split at paragraph breaks and listed in reading order, so a finished passage rolls into the next; the short paragraph that leads into the imagined speech is joined to it. The transcription used sets modern accents (such as sólo and ésta) and keeps the old forms of 1605, such as mesmo, della, efeto and letura. Changes to the text: hard-wrapped lines were joined with single spaces, each dash was set as two hyphens, the opening dash of the speech was joined to its first word as Spanish sets dialogue, and the doubled apostrophes around the giant's words were set as straight double quotes. Characters divided by five give standard words (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_per_minute). Titles of the parts and the notes are own work. All checked 2026-09-24. Licence: Public domain in the United States: a novel first published in 1605, before 1931 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_in_the_United_States). Part titles and notes are own work.