A keyboard is a device with many buttons called keys that you press to input letters, numbers, and commands into a computer or other electronic device. Each key makes a specific letter or symbol appear on the screen when pressed. Computer keyboards typically have over 100 keys, including all the letters of the alphabet, numbers, punctuation marks, and special function keys.

Before computers, typewriters used a similar layout to print letters onto paper. When personal computers became common in the 1980s, they kept this arrangement, which is why the letters on most keyboards follow the QWERTY pattern (named for the first six letters on the top row).

Keyboards come in many forms. Desktop computers use full-sized keyboards that sit on your desk. Laptops have keyboards built right into them. Tablets and phones use virtual keyboards that appear on the touchscreen. Musical keyboards, like those on pianos and synthesizers, work differently: they produce sounds rather than text, with each key playing a different note.

Learning to type without looking at the keys, called touch typing, is a valuable skill that helps you write faster and more efficiently.