Every chord a beginner needs, drawn finger-by-finger for standard G‑C‑E‑A tuning. Majors, minors, 7ths and a few suspended chords — free, printable, and arranged so you can find what a song asks for in seconds.
Each diagram is the top of your ukulele neck, as if it were standing up in front of you. The four vertical lines are the strings — G C E A from left to right — and the horizontal lines are the frets. The thick bar at the very top is the nut, where the neck meets the head.
● filled dot — press here; the number is which finger○ open circle — play the string open (don't press)× — don't play this string
Fingers are numbered 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. Press just behind the fret, not on top of the metal, and use the very tips of your fingers so you don't mute the neighbouring string. The short row under each name (like o·o·o·3) is the same shape written as fret numbers, G to A.
First, is your uke in tune?
A soprano, concert or tenor ukulele is tuned G C E A. The quirk worth knowing: that top G is re-entrant — it's tuned higher than the C and E next to it, not lower. That's what gives the ukulele its bright, jangly voice and why the same chord shape sounds fuller than on a guitar. The chord diagrams here assume that standard tuning. If your strings sound sour, the lele tuner plays each reference tone for you to match by ear.
The 10 essentials
Learn these first. Nearly every campfire song lives inside this set, and most of them ask for just one or two fingers.
Co·o·o·3One finger. Ring on the A string, 3rd fret — the friendliest chord on the uke.Am2·o·o·oOne finger. Middle on the G string, 2nd fret.F2·o·1·oIndex on the E string 1st fret, middle on the G string 2nd fret.Go·2·3·2Three fingers making a little triangle: index C, ring E, middle A.G7o·2·1·2An easier G — same idea but the E string drops to the 1st fret.A2·1·o·oIndex on the C string 1st fret, middle on the G string 2nd. Bright and open.D2·2·2·oThree fingers stacked on the 2nd fret (G, C, E). Crowded but quick.Emo·4·3·2A stretch: index A 2nd, middle E 3rd, ring C 4th.Dm2·2·1·oIndex E 1st, middle G 2nd, ring C 2nd — a small triangle.A7o·1·o·oOne finger. Index on the C string, 1st fret.
Major chords
The bright, “happy” chords — the backbone of most songs.
A2·1·o·oA C# EB4·3·2·2B D# F# — a barre shape, one of the trickier opens.Co·o·o·3C E GD2·2·2·oD F# AE1·4·o·2E G# B — the easy-fingered version (open E string).F2·o·1·oF A CGo·2·3·2G B DBb3·2·1·1Bb D F — partial barre across the bottom two strings.Ebo·3·3·1Eb G BbAb5·3·4·3Ab C Eb — up the neck, good to know for keys with flats.
Minor chords
The softer, more wistful cousins. Am and Em turn up constantly in pop.
Am2·o·o·oA C E — the all-time easiest minor.Bm4·2·2·2B D F# — barre the 2nd fret, ring on G 4th.Cmo·3·3·3C Eb G — barre the 3rd fret across C, E and A.Dm2·2·1·oD F AEmo·4·3·2E G BFm1·o·1·3F Ab CGmo·2·3·1G Bb D
Dominant 7th chords
The bluesy, “leaning” chords. A 7th wants to resolve to the chord a fourth above it — G7 → C is the classic.
A7o·1·o·oA C# E G — one finger.B72·3·2·2B D# F# AC7o·o·o·1C E G Bb — one finger, 1st fret A string.D72·o·2·oTwo fingers, both on the 2nd fret (G and E).E71·2·o·2E G# B DF72·3·1·3F A C EbG7o·2·1·2G B D F
Major 7th & minor 7th chords
Mellow, jazzy colour. Am7 is literally all four strings open — your first free chord.
Cmaj7o·o·o·2C E G B — dreamy. One finger, A string 2nd fret.Dmaj72·2·2·4D F# A C#Gmaj7o·2·2·2G B D F# — barre-ish across the 2nd fret.Amaj71·1·o·oA C# E G#Am7o·o·o·oA C E G — every string open. Strum and you're playing it.Dm72·2·1·3D F A CEm7o·2·o·2E G B D
Suspended chords
Neither major nor minor — they hang in the air. Drop one in just before resolving and it adds a lovely lift.
Csus4o·o·1·3C F G — resolve it back to plain C and listen.Dsus4o·2·3·oD G AAsus22·4·o·oA B E — open and airy.Asus42·2·o·oA D E
Progressions worth knowing
A huge slice of popular music is built from a handful of chord loops. Learn a couple of these and you can busk through songs you've never seen before. The arrows just mean “keep going round.”
C → G → Am → FThe “four-chord song.” Hundreds of pop hits, all in C.
C → Am → F → GThe 50s doo-wop loop — Stand By Me, every slow dance.
Am → F → C → GThe same four chords, started on the minor — instantly moodier.
C → F → G7 → CA I–IV–V turnaround. The bones of blues, folk and most first songs.
C → FJust two chords. Iko Iko, countless campfire tunes.
G → C → DI–IV–V in the key of G — bright and folky.
Want to drill the hand-jump between any two of these? The one-minute change drill in the app times how many clean switches you can make in sixty seconds — the single fastest way to make a progression feel automatic. And once a loop feels solid, point it at a real tune from the easy songs list — or learn the chord progressions behind most songs so you know which shapes tend to go together.