How to type caret (^)
Also called circumflex, hat symbol, power sign.
Hold Shift with your left little finger and press the 6 key with your right index finger.
Which finger types ^
- Finger
- Right index
- Resting position
- J on the home row
- Shift
- Required, held by the other hand
- Hand
- right
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
- Means “to the power of” in spreadsheets and many calculators, as in 2^8.
- Matches the start of a line in a regular expression.
- Means bitwise exclusive-or in most programming languages.
- Marks a compatible version range in package files.
Where it comes from
The name is Latin for “it is lacking”. Proofreaders drew it beneath a line to mark where a word had been left out and should be inserted — which is why it points upward at the gap rather than sitting on the line like other punctuation.
The mistake people make
Expecting it to raise a power in a programming language. In Python 2^8 is 10, not 256, because ^ means exclusive-or there and ** is the power operator. It is one of the few symbols whose meaning changes completely between a spreadsheet and a program.
If the key is missing or gives the wrong character
- Windows: hold Alt and type 94 on the numeric keypad.
- On some European layouts it is a dead key: press it, then space, to get a standalone ^.
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.