How to type forward slash (/)
Also called slash, solidus, stroke, divide sign.
Press the key to the left of the right Shift with your right little finger. No Shift needed.
Which finger types /
- Finger
- Right pinky
- Resting position
- ; on the home row
- Shift
- Not required
- 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
- Separates the parts of a web address and of a file path on Mac and Linux.
- Means divide in programming and spreadsheets.
- Separates day, month and year in a written date.
- Offers a choice, as in and/or.
Where it comes from
Medieval scribes used it as a comma — a light stroke marking a pause. As printing standardised punctuation the mark migrated downward, gained a curve and became the modern comma, while the upright stroke survived unchanged and found new work in arithmetic.
The mistake people make
Using it where a backslash belongs, or the reverse. Web addresses and Mac or Linux paths use the forward slash; only Windows file paths use the backslash. Getting this wrong is the most common reason a path or link fails.
If the key is missing or gives the wrong character
- Numeric keypad: the dedicated / key.
- Windows: hold Alt and type 47 on the numeric keypad.
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.