Adding a German Keyboard to Windows 11

Because the BBC Language German site wasn't updated, I revisited the DW website, which I had briefly used in the past. After taking the placement test, I scored an A2.

Before starting my serious German studies with Deutsch Info, which I discovered before bed yesterday, the most important thing is to install a German keyboard that allows me to input umlauts, one of the German alphabet characters. I had attempted this before and even blogged about it, but I can barely recall where. So, with a fresh start, I'll carefully detail the process here and share it with you.

First, click on the language icon in the taskbar. This window will appear. Click on the "Keyboard settings" area as indicated.

Next, click the light blue button that says "Add a language" at the top.

Then, search for the desired language. Since I'll be studying Standard German, I naturally select German.

The next step is crucial: absolutely do not check the box at the very bottom. If you do, all languages displayed on your computer will be German. Keep this in mind!

The Language Pack installation took some time, but the German keyboard is successfully installed!

Clicking the language icon on the taskbar again confirms the successful installation.

However, even though I briefly used it before, the German keyboard layout differs slightly from the English alphabet in several places, making it confusing. (Considering the addition of umlauts not found in English) Even the special characters on the number keys are different; I guess I'll have to adapt to this through continuous use.

Finally, I want to share a useful tip. For those of you, like me, who use multiple input languages on a Windows PC, you don't have to repeatedly click on the taskbar. Instead, you can quickly switch to the next language using the Windows key + Spacebar shortcut. I discovered this incredibly useful tip from a pop-up window I saw by chance some time ago. If you didn't know this, put it to good use from now on!

Next time, I'll show you how to add a German keyboard to a Samsung Galaxy phone. Thank you all for watching until the end. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend~.