D major has 2 sharps — F♯, C♯. Here's the signature on the staff, the full scale, its relative minor, and the trick to recognize it instantly.
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The fastest way to spot a sharp key is the last sharp: it always sits a semitone below the tonic. D major's final sharp is C♯, and a semitone above that is D — the key. Count 2 sharps and you have D major every time.
The D major scale runs D, E, F♯, G, A, B, C♯. Every sharpened note in the piece takes the key's accidentals automatically, which is exactly what the signature saves you from writing note by note.
D major shares its signature — 2 sharps — with its relative minor, B minor, a minor third below the tonic. They use the same seven pitches; what tells them apart is which note the music settles on and treats as home.
D major has 2 sharps — F♯, C♯.
The relative minor of D major is B minor — it shares the identical key signature (2 sharps).
The D major scale is D, E, F♯, G, A, B, C♯.
Keep practicing: key signature quiz · circle of fifths · key trainer
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