Each symbol on a keyboard has a different name and a different use. When talking to people about keyboard commands etc you may come across a lot of jargon that may seem unfamiliar.
So to save you time, I've compiled a list of all the most commonly used symbols on a keyboard, alongside their names:
- mpersand &
- apostrophe or single quote '
- asterisk *
- at @
- back quote `
- back slash
- braces or curly braces {}
- brackets []
- carat ^
- close brace }
- close bracket ]
- close parenthesis )
- colon :
- comma ,
- dollar $
- equal =
- exclamation point !
- greater than >
- less than <
- minus or hyphen -
- open brace {
- open bracket [
- open parenthesis (
- parenthesis ()
- percent %
- pipe or bar |
- plus +
- pound or number sign #
- quote "
- semi-colon ;
- slash or forward slash /
- tilde ~
- underscore _
The list above are the symbols that you are most likely to use when typing on a keyboard. However, there are several others such as:
- ¥ - Chinese Yuan
- § - Micro or section
Also, some geographic areas that don't speak English as a first language may have keyboards or other hardware that cater to the characters of the local language of course.
An extreme example would be some keyboard manufactured in China for speakers (and typers) of Mandarin and Cantonese!
