Keystroke
A single key press — the atomic unit of typing.
What Is a Keystroke?
A keystroke is a single press of a keyboard key — the physical act of pushing one key down and releasing it. It is the smallest unit of typing. A keystroke can produce a visible character (a letter, number, or symbol), a space, or trigger a function (like Backspace, Shift, or Enter).
Keystrokes in Typing Tests
Typing tests count keystrokes to measure speed. The industry-standard definition of one "word" is five keystrokes (characters), which is why WPM is calculated as total characters ÷ 5 ÷ minutes. This standardization lets tests compare results regardless of whether individual words are long or short.
Correct vs Incorrect Keystrokes
Typing tests track whether each keystroke produces the correct character. A correct keystroke matches the expected character; an incorrect one doesn't. Accuracy is calculated as: correct keystrokes ÷ total keystrokes × 100. Backspaces may or may not be counted as keystrokes depending on the test implementation.
Keystrokes Per Hour (KPH)
Some job listings specify requirements in keystrokes per hour rather than WPM. To convert: 10,000 KPH ÷ 60 minutes ÷ 5 characters = 33 WPM. Most data-entry roles require 8,000–12,000 KPH (approximately 27–40 WPM).
Keystroke Timing and Anti-Cheat
Modern typing test systems record the timestamp of every keystroke. This timing data is used to verify that results are humanly plausible — detecting macros, auto-typers, and copy-paste cheating by analysing the distribution of inter-keystroke intervals.