The Hebrew layout
The picture shows Windows’ Hebrew layout on a US-shaped (ANSI) board. The 22 letters and five final forms fill the letter keys: ש ד ג כ on the left of the home row, ק ר א on the top row, and ת and ץ on the keys where US boards have , and . . The first two top-row keys type / and ’, the key left of 1 types ; and ~, and the comma sits on the ’ key.
Shift is unusual: on letter keys it types the Latin capital, so the picture shows the capital above each Hebrew letter. The table under this text lists every key that differs from a US keyboard, including the mirrored brackets and the AltGr characters.
Right to left, keys left to right
Hebrew text runs right to left, but the tester goes by each key’s position: a key lights up the same way whether the computer is set to Hebrew or English. A key that never lights up is a hardware fault; one that lights up but types the wrong letter points to the layout setting. In Chrome and Edge the line under the picture tells you when the computer isn’t on Hebrew.
Switching to Hebrew
- Windows: Settings, Time & language, Language & region, Add a language, Hebrew. Switch with Win+Space or left Alt+Shift. Windows also offers Hebrew (Standard), which adds niqqud on AltGr.
- macOS: System Settings, Keyboard, Text Input, Edit, +, Hebrew. “Hebrew – PC” matches Windows keyboards.
- Linux (GNOME): Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, +, Hebrew.
The Hebrew keys at a glance
These keys differ from a US keyboard. The browser code is the name the key sends in the event log, taken from the US key in the same place. AltGr is the right Alt key; on Windows, Ctrl+Alt does the same.
| Key | Shift | AltGr | Browser code | US keyboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ; | ~ | Backquote | ` | |
| 4 | $ | ₪ | Digit4 | 4 |
| 9 | ) | Digit9 | 9 | |
| 0 | ( | Digit0 | 0 | |
| - | _ | ◌ֿ | Minus | - |
| / | Q | KeyQ | Q | |
| ' | W | KeyW | W | |
| ק | E | € | KeyE | E |
| ר | R | KeyR | R | |
| א | T | KeyT | T | |
| ט | Y | KeyY | Y | |
| ו | U | װ | KeyU | U |
| ן | I | KeyI | I | |
| ם | O | KeyO | O | |
| פ | P | KeyP | P | |
| ] | } | BracketLeft | [ | |
| [ | { | BracketRight | ] | |
| ש | A | KeyA | A | |
| ד | S | KeyS | S | |
| ג | D | KeyD | D | |
| כ | F | KeyF | F | |
| ע | G | KeyG | G | |
| י | H | ײ | KeyH | H |
| ח | J | ױ | KeyJ | J |
| ל | K | KeyK | K | |
| ך | L | KeyL | L | |
| ף | : | Semicolon | ; | |
| , | " | Quote | ' | |
| ז | Z | KeyZ | Z | |
| ס | X | KeyX | X | |
| ב | C | KeyC | C | |
| ה | V | KeyV | V | |
| נ | B | KeyB | B | |
| מ | N | KeyN | N | |
| צ | M | KeyM | M | |
| ת | > | Comma | , | |
| ץ | < | Period | . | |
| . | ? | Slash | / |