Practice French typing and watch your WPM and accuracy update live — choose words, everyday sentences, quotes, or literary excerpts, with a strict mode for real French accents like é, à, ç. Free, no login required.
A French typing test has to deal with accents, and most typing-speed sites built for English simply don't — they score e the same as é, so a missing accent never actually costs you anything. This one does the opposite. In Accents stricts mode, on by default, é, è, ê, à, â, ù, ç, œ and î all have to be typed exactly or the character counts as an error — real French keyboard practice, not an English test with French words dropped in. Switch to Laxiste and accents stop counting, useful if you're typing on a keyboard that can't produce them.
Pick a timer — 15, 30, 60 or 120 seconds — and a text mode, then press any key to start the clock. There's nowhere to paste your own text: every run draws from one of four built-in text pools (below), so what you're measured against stays the same shape test to test. Net WPM, accuracy, raw WPM, corrects and errors all show the moment the timer ends, alongside your personal best and a short history of recent runs — kept in your browser only, no account needed.
France and most of French-speaking Europe type on AZERTY, not QWERTY — a different physical layout, not just an accent add-on:
| What changes | QWERTY | AZERTY |
|---|---|---|
| Top-left letters | Q, W | A, Z (swapped) |
| Bottom-row letter | Z is bottom-left | W moves to bottom-left; Z moves to the top row |
| M key | Bottom row, after N | Home row, next to L |
| Number row | Digits typed directly | Digits require Shift; unshifted keys type symbols and some accents |
| é, è, ç, à | No dedicated keys | Each has its own key — no modifier needed |
AZERTY gives é, è, ç and à their own keys, but Z, W, M and the digit row move too — a fluent QWERTY typist relearns the layout, not just the accents. You don't need a physical AZERTY keyboard to practise French typing here: Laxiste mode works on any setup, while Accents stricts builds the muscle memory that carries into a real exam. For the exact accent keystrokes on Mac, Windows and mobile, see the French Typing Test guide.
TCF Canada is entirely computer-based — no paper option — and TEF Canada offers computer delivery at most centres too. Once your exam is typed, typing speed stops being incidental: it directly affects how much time you have left to plan, reread and fix your response.
For French accent shortcuts on Mac, Windows and mobile, plus tips for each text mode, read the French Typing Test guide →
Typing speed is one skill; writing quality is another — the rest of FrenchWrite covers the second:
French typing speed usually runs 10–20% slower than English for the same typist — French words average longer, and accented characters cost an extra keystroke on most layouts. A 60 WPM French score is roughly a 70–75 WPM English one.
Le WPM net = (caractères corrects ÷ 5) ÷ minutes écoulées. Chaque groupe de 5 caractères corrects compte comme 1 « mot » selon la norme internationale. Le WPM brut compte toutes les frappes y compris les erreurs. L'écart entre les deux révèle le coût de vos fautes de frappe.
En mode Stricts, taper e à la place de é est une erreur. En mode Laxiste, les signes diacritiques sont ignorés lors de la comparaison (é = e, à = a, ç = c…). Utilisez Laxiste si vous êtes sur un clavier QWERTY sans saisie d'accents, Stricts pour un entraînement authentique au français.
Yes — switch to Laxiste mode using the Accents toggle. For genuine French practice, enable French accent input on your OS: Mac — hold Option + e then type the vowel (→ é). Windows — add the US International or AZERTY keyboard layout in Settings → Language. Mobile — long-press any vowel to see accented variants.
Oui. Touchez la zone de texte pour ouvrir le clavier de votre appareil. Ajoutez un clavier français dans les paramètres de votre téléphone pour accéder aux accents — sur iOS et Android, un appui long sur une voyelle affiche les variantes accentuées.
Start with Mots mode (30s) to build finger positions on the French keyboard layout. Move to Phrases once you reach 40+ WPM — natural sentences train rhythm. Use Citations to practise punctuation fluency. Enable strict accent mode as soon as possible; typing é from muscle memory is the biggest single speed gain for French. Aim for consistent daily 10-minute sessions rather than long sporadic ones.
Indirectement oui — taper plus vite vous laisse plus de temps pour planifier et réviser vos rédactions aux examens. Mais la compétence principale pour ces examens est la qualité de l'écrit. Utilisez l'outil TCF ou l'outil TEF pour vous entraîner directement aux sujets d'expression écrite.
More than just accents: A and Q swap places, W moves to the bottom row where Z is on QWERTY (and Z moves up to the top row), M moves from the bottom row to the home row, and the number row requires Shift to type digits. AZERTY does give é, è, ç, and à their own dedicated keys, but a fluent QWERTY typist is relearning the whole layout, not just adding accents.
If you can, yes — TCF Canada is exclusively computer-based, and you may not know in advance whether the test centre's keyboard is AZERTY, QWERTY, or French QWERTY. A few practice sessions in Accents stricts mode beforehand means an unfamiliar layout on exam day isn't a surprise that costs you time.
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