How to move one word left in the vi editor
VimViVim Problem Overview
I use the shortcut w to move the cursor one word right. Is there a shortcut to move a word left?
Vim Solutions
Solution 1 - Vim
Use b to move back one word.
Use w to move forward one word.
And here is a cheat sheet that might be useful for you:
Solution 2 - Vim
It's b.
You can see other motions here:
Vim documentation: motion, 4. Word motions
Generally a Vim command consists of:
count action motion
Where:
count is number of times you want it to execute. The default is 1.
action is obviously an action: d for delete, c for change, default is empty, and it means simply move.
motion is the direction. You got that already.
Solution 3 - Vim
In addition to the b movement mentioned in the other answers, another movement which may be interesting is ge.
It brings you to the last letter of the word on the left. When b is considered as the opposite of w, ge can be considered as the opposite of e which brings you to the end of the current word.
Also note that all of those word-wise movement have a WORD-wise equivalent: W, B, E and gE which are "faster". For the difference between words and WORDS see: :h word.
Solution 4 - Vim
Yes, you can use "b" to backforward a word, and in advance, "2b" to move back two words.
Solution 5 - Vim
You want to move left (back). b does it.