Keyboard Speed Practice

Type th the think with other, then more common letter runs, against a 30 second clock.

Type each word and press space after it. The clock starts on your first key. th the think with other his this history whistle whisper or for work story world te write often system better ed need used tired called her where there father gather this in this on this like this for this le let left people table se see use these house res rest result fresh press ould would could should shoulder ati ratio patient relative creative

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

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Next step Now measure it on plain words for 60 seconds Put the runs into whole sentences

All 70 drill lines

Letter pairs: th, he, in and 27 more 30

th the think with other Pair 1 of 30. The hands take turns: left index finger on T, right index finger on H.
he when help she head Pair 2 of 30. The hands take turns: right index finger on H, left middle finger on E.
in into find line begin Pair 3 of 30. One hand: right middle finger on I, then right index finger on N.
er her after paper winter Pair 4 of 30. One hand: left middle finger on E, then left index finger on R.
an and many can plan Pair 5 of 30. The hands take turns: left little finger on A, right index finger on N.
re are more read tree Pair 6 of 30. One hand: left index finger on R, then left middle finger on E.
on one long upon song Pair 7 of 30. One hand: right ring finger on O, then right index finger on N.
at late water great seat Pair 8 of 30. One hand: left little finger on A, then left index finger on T.

Show all 70 drill lines (62 more)

Letter pairs: th, he, in and 27 more, continued

en then open went seven Pair 9 of 30. The hands take turns: left middle finger on E, right index finger on N.
nd hand kind end around Pair 10 of 30. The hands take turns: right index finger on N, left middle finger on D.
ti time until still native Pair 11 of 30. The hands take turns: left index finger on T, right middle finger on I.
es best yes goes guess Pair 12 of 30. One hand: left middle finger on E, then left ring finger on S.
or for work story world Pair 13 of 30. The hands take turns: right ring finger on O, left index finger on R.
te write often system better Pair 14 of 30. One hand: left index finger on T, then left middle finger on E.
of off offer soft office Pair 15 of 30. The hands take turns: right ring finger on O, left index finger on F.
ed need used tired called Pair 16 of 30. One finger, two keys: the left middle finger moves from E to D.
is list wish visit island Pair 17 of 30. The hands take turns: right middle finger on I, left ring finger on S.
it city little sit quite Pair 18 of 30. The hands take turns: right middle finger on I, left index finger on T.
al also real deal total Pair 19 of 30. The hands take turns: left little finger on A, right ring finger on L.
ar far part start large Pair 20 of 30. One hand: left little finger on A, then left index finger on R.
st most just first last Pair 21 of 30. One hand: left ring finger on S, then left index finger on T.
to too top stop today Pair 22 of 30. The hands take turns: left index finger on T, right ring finger on O.
nt want sent front point Pair 23 of 30. The hands take turns: right index finger on N, left index finger on T.
ng thing young sing king Pair 24 of 30. The hands take turns: right index finger on N, left index finger on G.
se see use these house Pair 25 of 30. One hand: left ring finger on S, then left middle finger on E.
ha had has hard happy Pair 26 of 30. The hands take turns: right index finger on H, left little finger on A.
as was ask fast east Pair 27 of 30. One hand: left little finger on A, then left ring finger on S.
ou out you our about Pair 28 of 30. One hand: right ring finger on O, then right index finger on U.
io lion radio period million Pair 29 of 30. One hand: right middle finger on I, then right ring finger on O.
le let left people table Pair 30 of 30. The hands take turns: right ring finger on L, left middle finger on E.

Three-letter runs: the, and, ing 20

the them they theme theory Run 1 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: left, right, left.
and land stand sand grand Run 2 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: left, right, left.
ing going being doing bring Run 3 of 20. Hands: right, right, left.
ion nation action region union Run 4 of 20. All 3 letters on the right hand.
tio station motion portion patio Run 5 of 20. Hands: left, right, right.
ent enter center event entire Run 6 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: left, right, left.
ati ratio patient relative creative Run 7 of 20. Hands: left, left, right.
for form before force forest Run 8 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: left, right, left.
her where there father gather Run 9 of 20. Hands: right, left, left.
ter term later letter sister Run 10 of 20. All 3 letters on the left hand.
hat chat hate what whatever Run 11 of 20. Hands: right, left, left.
tha than thank thanks thaw Run 12 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: left, right, left.
ere were here interest different Run 13 of 20. All 3 letters on the left hand.
ate date state gate plate Run 14 of 20. All 3 letters on the left hand.
his this history whistle whisper Run 15 of 20. Hands: right, right, left.
con control contain consider concert Run 16 of 20. Hands: left, right, right.
res rest result fresh press Run 17 of 20. All 3 letters on the left hand.
ver over never very every Run 18 of 20. All 3 letters on the left hand.
all small call tall wall Run 19 of 20. Hands: left, right, right. Double L.
ons sons tons lessons reasons Run 20 of 20. Hands: right, right, left.

Four-letter runs: tion, that, with 20

tion section question fiction position Run 1 of 20. Hands: left, right, right, right.
atio location vacation relation rotation Run 2 of 20. Hands: left, left, right, right.
that all that for that not that like that Run 3 of 20. Hands: left, right, left, left. A word of its own, so the line is short phrases.
ther rather either together weather Run 4 of 20. Hands: left, right, left, left.
with within without withdraw wither Run 5 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: left, right, left, right.
ment moment comment element payment Run 6 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: right, left, right, left.
ions lions onions options visions Run 7 of 20. Hands: right, right, right, left.
this in this on this like this for this Run 8 of 20. Hands: left, right, right, left. A word of its own, so the line is short phrases.
here nowhere anywhere somewhere everywhere Run 9 of 20. Hands: right, left, left, left.
from away from far from apart from back from Run 10 of 20. Hands: left, left, right, right. F and R share the left index finger. A word of its own, so the line is short phrases.
ould would could should shoulder Run 11 of 20. Hands: right, right, right, left.
ting sting eating writing waiting Run 12 of 20. Hands: left, right, right, left.
hich in which of which on which whichever Run 13 of 20. Hands: right, right, left, right. It sits in the word which, so the line is short phrases.
whic which one which way which day which road Run 14 of 20. Hands: left, right, right, left. It sits in the word which, so the line is short phrases.
ctio direction election function collection Run 15 of 20. Hands: left, left, right, right.
ence fence science silence sentence Run 16 of 20. Hands: left, right, left, left. C and E share the left middle finger.
have to have we have you have they have Run 17 of 20. Hands: right, left, left, left. A word of its own, so the line is short phrases.
othe mother brother another clothes Run 18 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: right, left, right, left.
ight night might fight bright Run 19 of 20. The hands take turns on every letter: right, left, right, left.
sion version mission session decision Run 20 of 20. Hands: left, right, right, right.

How this list was compiled: The order of the letter runs is from Peter Norvig, "English Letter Frequency Counts: Mayzner Revisited", https://norvig.com/mayzner.html (read 2026-10-02): its table of the 50 most common letter sequences of each length, counted in the Google Books Ngrams data, English version 20120701. This page takes the first 30 two-letter sequences, the first 20 three-letter sequences and the first 20 four-letter sequences, and keeps the table's order: the note beside each line gives its place. The table shows no counts, and none is quoted here. Each line is the run followed by four words or short phrases that hold it. The words were chosen for this page and checked on 2026-10-02 against the ENABLE word list, https://norvig.com/ngrams/enable1.txt: every word is in the list, and in the 64 lines of single words each word holds its run and no word comes twice. Six four-letter runs are drilled in short phrases, where small words such as in, for and like come more than once: that, this, from and have are words of their own, and hich and whic sit in the word which. The note beside each line is written from this site's type the alphabet list, which gives the hand and finger for every letter on a QWERTY keyboard. A list of common two-word phrases was planned and left out: no word-pair count with a clear license was found. Licence: The Google Books Ngrams data is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (stated at https://storage.googleapis.com/books/ngrams/books/datasetsv3.html, read 2026-10-02); the rank of a letter run is a fact from the table built on it. The ENABLE word list is in the public domain (release statement quoted at http://wordlist.aspell.net/scowl_v1-readme/). The lines, the choice of words and the notes are original to this site.

How it works

Keyboard speed practice on the letter runs English uses most: 30 letter pairs, 20 three-letter runs and 20 four-letter runs, each with four words or phrases that hold it. These typing speed drills run 30 or 60 seconds, or untimed.

Read the full guide

Typing speed practice exercises, one run to a line

1. Type the line: the run by itself, then four words or phrases that hold it. The clock starts with your first key. 2. New lines keep coming until the clock stops. You then see words per minute and accuracy. 3. Under More options, open Practise to stay on pairs, three-letter runs or four-letter runs.

Train typing speed on the commonest runs

The page opens on th, the most common letter pair in a count of English books. After it the lines come mixed. The 30 pairs go from th to le, the 20 three-letter runs from the to ons, the 20 four-letter runs from tion to sion.

Of the 30 pairs, 16 make the hands take turns. Only ed uses one finger for both keys.
Under More options, No timer lets a run end with the text, so lines can be typed slowly.

Questions and answers

Which letter pairs are most common in English?

TH, then HE, IN, ER and AN, in a published count of the letters in English books. THE, AND and ING lead the three-letter runs, and TION, ATIO and THAT the four-letter runs. The list under the tool has all 70, each with its place.

Is this advanced typing practice to improve speed?

It is practice for someone who already knows where the keys are: no key is taught here. Each line repeats one common run, such as ould or ight, inside real words. The page sets no target speed and promises none.

How do drills build typing speed?

By repeating one finger motion. A line holds the run five times, once alone and once in each of four words or phrases, so the same fingers make the same move again and again before the next line brings a new one.

Are these typing drills for speed and accuracy?

Both are measured. A run ends with words per minute, which is correct characters divided by five for each minute, and accuracy as a percentage of all keystrokes, so a slip you corrected still counts.