How to type backtick (`)
Also called grave accent, backquote, left quote.
Press the key above Tab, to the left of 1, with your left little finger. No Shift — with Shift the same key gives a tilde.
Which finger types `
- Finger
- Left pinky
- Resting position
- A on the home row
- Shift
- Not required
- Hand
- left
No website can detect which finger you actually used — a browser reports the character, not the hand that produced it. The finger above is the one the standard touch typing layout assigns, and it is the one the lessons here train.
What ` is used for
- Marks inline code in Markdown, and three of them open a code block.
- Encloses a template literal in JavaScript, allowing embedded expressions.
- Runs a command and substitutes its output in older shell scripts.
- Quotes a table or column name in SQL.
Where it comes from
It is a grave accent that lost its letter. On a typewriter you struck it, backspaced, and typed a vowel underneath to produce è. When character sets separated accents from letters, the mark was stranded as a character in its own right and programmers adopted the empty key.
The mistake people make
Typing an apostrophe instead. They are different characters that look nearly identical in many fonts, and in Markdown or JavaScript the wrong one produces plain text or a syntax error rather than code. Word processors compound this by silently converting both into curly quotes.
If the key is missing or gives the wrong character
- Windows: hold Alt and type 96 on the numeric keypad.
- Mobile: press and hold the apostrophe key to reveal it.
Practise it properly
Knowing which finger owns a key is not the same as using it without thinking. The Typometer course blocks on the wrong key and names the finger for every one, so the habit forms rather than the knowledge.
Other keys
Related guides
Free, and no account needed.
- Start at level 1: the home rowFind F and J without looking, one key at a time.
- How to learn touch typingWhat actually works, what to ignore, and how long it takes.
- The full typing course415 levels from the home row to code and professional documents.
- Untimed typing practicePractise without a clock and focus on the keys you keep missing.