diff --git a/client_test.go b/client_test.go
index 698efa6..c3207ef 100644
--- a/client_test.go
+++ b/client_test.go
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ func TestClientEnqueueWithProcessAtOption(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.IgnoreIDOpt, cmpopts.EquateEmpty()); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("%s;\nmismatch found in %q; (-want,+got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("%s;\nmismatch found in %q; (-want,+got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantScheduled {
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ func TestClientEnqueue(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			got := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, got, h.IgnoreIDOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("%s;\nmismatch found in %q; (-want,+got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("%s;\nmismatch found in %q; (-want,+got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ func TestClientEnqueueWithProcessInOption(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.IgnoreIDOpt, cmpopts.EquateEmpty()); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("%s;\nmismatch found in %q; (-want,+got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("%s;\nmismatch found in %q; (-want,+got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantScheduled {
diff --git a/forwarder_test.go b/forwarder_test.go
index 27728b3..a197f58 100644
--- a/forwarder_test.go
+++ b/forwarder_test.go
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ func TestForwarder(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q after running forwarder: (-want, +got)\n%s", base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q after running forwarder: (-want, +got)\n%s", base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/internal/asynqtest/asynqtest.go b/internal/asynqtest/asynqtest.go
index c1ef6f1..5c3e3d1 100644
--- a/internal/asynqtest/asynqtest.go
+++ b/internal/asynqtest/asynqtest.go
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ func FlushDB(tb testing.TB, r redis.UniversalClient) {
 func SeedPendingQueue(tb testing.TB, r redis.UniversalClient, msgs []*base.TaskMessage, qname string) {
 	tb.Helper()
 	r.SAdd(base.AllQueues, qname)
-	seedRedisList(tb, r, base.QueueKey(qname), msgs)
+	seedRedisList(tb, r, base.PendingKey(qname), msgs)
 }
 
 // SeedActiveQueue initializes the active queue with the given messages.
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ func seedRedisZSet(tb testing.TB, c redis.UniversalClient, key string, items []b
 // GetPendingMessages returns all pending messages in the given queue.
 func GetPendingMessages(tb testing.TB, r redis.UniversalClient, qname string) []*base.TaskMessage {
 	tb.Helper()
-	return getListMessages(tb, r, base.QueueKey(qname))
+	return getListMessages(tb, r, base.PendingKey(qname))
 }
 
 // GetActiveMessages returns all active messages in the given queue.
diff --git a/internal/base/base.go b/internal/base/base.go
index 0f900d8..7ca5c23 100644
--- a/internal/base/base.go
+++ b/internal/base/base.go
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ const Version = "0.16.0"
 const DefaultQueueName = "default"
 
 // DefaultQueue is the redis key for the default queue.
-var DefaultQueue = QueueKey(DefaultQueueName)
+var DefaultQueue = PendingKey(DefaultQueueName)
 
 // Global Redis keys.
 const (
@@ -45,9 +45,9 @@ func ValidateQueueName(qname string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// QueueKey returns a redis key for the given queue name.
-func QueueKey(qname string) string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("asynq:{%s}", qname)
+// PendingKey returns a redis key for the given queue name.
+func PendingKey(qname string) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("asynq:{%s}:pending", qname)
 }
 
 // ActiveKey returns a redis key for the active tasks.
diff --git a/internal/base/base_test.go b/internal/base/base_test.go
index a75baea..71642f8 100644
--- a/internal/base/base_test.go
+++ b/internal/base/base_test.go
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ func TestQueueKey(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range tests {
-		got := QueueKey(tc.qname)
+		got := PendingKey(tc.qname)
 		if got != tc.want {
 			t.Errorf("QueueKey(%q) = %q, want %q", tc.qname, got, tc.want)
 		}
diff --git a/internal/rdb/inspect.go b/internal/rdb/inspect.go
index 7f1d9ce..9c1cc50 100644
--- a/internal/rdb/inspect.go
+++ b/internal/rdb/inspect.go
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ func (r *RDB) CurrentStats(qname string) (*Stats, error) {
 	}
 	now := time.Now()
 	res, err := currentStatsCmd.Run(r.client, []string{
-		base.QueueKey(qname),
+		base.PendingKey(qname),
 		base.ActiveKey(qname),
 		base.ScheduledKey(qname),
 		base.RetryKey(qname),
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ func (r *RDB) CurrentStats(qname string) (*Stats, error) {
 		key := cast.ToString(data[i])
 		val := cast.ToInt(data[i+1])
 		switch key {
-		case base.QueueKey(qname):
+		case base.PendingKey(qname):
 			stats.Pending = val
 			size += val
 		case base.ActiveKey(qname):
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ func (r *RDB) ListPending(qname string, pgn Pagination) ([]*base.TaskMessage, er
 	if !r.client.SIsMember(base.AllQueues, qname).Val() {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("queue %q does not exist", qname)
 	}
-	return r.listMessages(base.QueueKey(qname), pgn)
+	return r.listMessages(base.PendingKey(qname), pgn)
 }
 
 // ListActive returns all tasks that are currently being processed for the given queue.
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ func (r *RDB) listZSetEntries(key string, pgn Pagination) ([]base.Z, error) {
 // the given queue and enqueues it for processing.
 // If a task that matches the id and score does not exist, it returns ErrTaskNotFound.
 func (r *RDB) RunArchivedTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID, score int64) error {
-	n, err := r.removeAndRun(base.ArchivedKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname), id.String(), float64(score))
+	n, err := r.removeAndRun(base.ArchivedKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname), id.String(), float64(score))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ func (r *RDB) RunArchivedTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID, score int64) error {
 // the given queue and enqueues it for processing.
 // If a task that matches the id and score does not exist, it returns ErrTaskNotFound.
 func (r *RDB) RunRetryTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID, score int64) error {
-	n, err := r.removeAndRun(base.RetryKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname), id.String(), float64(score))
+	n, err := r.removeAndRun(base.RetryKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname), id.String(), float64(score))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ func (r *RDB) RunRetryTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID, score int64) error {
 // from the given queue and enqueues it for processing.
 // If a task that matches the id and score does not exist, it returns ErrTaskNotFound.
 func (r *RDB) RunScheduledTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID, score int64) error {
-	n, err := r.removeAndRun(base.ScheduledKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname), id.String(), float64(score))
+	n, err := r.removeAndRun(base.ScheduledKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname), id.String(), float64(score))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -427,19 +427,19 @@ func (r *RDB) RunScheduledTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID, score int64) error {
 // RunAllScheduledTasks enqueues all scheduled tasks from the given queue
 // and returns the number of tasks enqueued.
 func (r *RDB) RunAllScheduledTasks(qname string) (int64, error) {
-	return r.removeAndRunAll(base.ScheduledKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname))
+	return r.removeAndRunAll(base.ScheduledKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname))
 }
 
 // RunAllRetryTasks enqueues all retry tasks from the given queue
 // and returns the number of tasks enqueued.
 func (r *RDB) RunAllRetryTasks(qname string) (int64, error) {
-	return r.removeAndRunAll(base.RetryKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname))
+	return r.removeAndRunAll(base.RetryKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname))
 }
 
 // RunAllArchivedTasks enqueues all archived tasks from the given queue
 // and returns the number of tasks enqueued.
 func (r *RDB) RunAllArchivedTasks(qname string) (int64, error) {
-	return r.removeAndRunAll(base.ArchivedKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname))
+	return r.removeAndRunAll(base.ArchivedKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname))
 }
 
 var removeAndRunCmd = redis.NewScript(`
@@ -530,7 +530,7 @@ return 1
 `)
 
 func (r *RDB) archivePending(qname, msg string) (int64, error) {
-	keys := []string{base.QueueKey(qname), base.ArchivedKey(qname)}
+	keys := []string{base.PendingKey(qname), base.ArchivedKey(qname)}
 	now := time.Now()
 	limit := now.AddDate(0, 0, -archivedExpirationInDays).Unix() // 90 days ago
 	args := []interface{}{msg, now.Unix(), limit, maxArchiveSize}
@@ -548,7 +548,7 @@ func (r *RDB) archivePending(qname, msg string) (int64, error) {
 // ArchivePendingTask finds a pending task that matches the given id  from the given queue
 // and archives it. If a task that maches the id does not exist, it returns ErrTaskNotFound.
 func (r *RDB) ArchivePendingTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID) error {
-	qkey := base.QueueKey(qname)
+	qkey := base.PendingKey(qname)
 	data, err := r.client.LRange(qkey, 0, -1).Result()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -602,7 +602,7 @@ return table.getn(msgs)`)
 // ArchiveAllPendingTasks archives all pending tasks from the given queue and
 // returns the number of tasks that were moved.
 func (r *RDB) ArchiveAllPendingTasks(qname string) (int64, error) {
-	keys := []string{base.QueueKey(qname), base.ArchivedKey(qname)}
+	keys := []string{base.PendingKey(qname), base.ArchivedKey(qname)}
 	now := time.Now()
 	limit := now.AddDate(0, 0, -archivedExpirationInDays).Unix() // 90 days ago
 	args := []interface{}{now.Unix(), limit, maxArchiveSize}
@@ -705,7 +705,7 @@ func (r *RDB) DeleteScheduledTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID, score int64) error
 // DeletePendingTask deletes a pending tasks that matches the given id from the given queue.
 // If a task that matches the id does not exist, it returns ErrTaskNotFound.
 func (r *RDB) DeletePendingTask(qname string, id uuid.UUID) error {
-	qkey := base.QueueKey(qname)
+	qkey := base.PendingKey(qname)
 	data, err := r.client.LRange(qkey, 0, -1).Result()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -800,7 +800,7 @@ return n`)
 // DeleteAllPendingTasks deletes all pending tasks from the given queue
 // and returns the number of tasks deleted.
 func (r *RDB) DeleteAllPendingTasks(qname string) (int64, error) {
-	res, err := deleteAllPendingCmd.Run(r.client, []string{base.QueueKey(qname)}).Result()
+	res, err := deleteAllPendingCmd.Run(r.client, []string{base.PendingKey(qname)}).Result()
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, err
 	}
@@ -895,7 +895,7 @@ func (r *RDB) RemoveQueue(qname string, force bool) error {
 		script = removeQueueCmd
 	}
 	keys := []string{
-		base.QueueKey(qname),
+		base.PendingKey(qname),
 		base.ActiveKey(qname),
 		base.ScheduledKey(qname),
 		base.RetryKey(qname),
@@ -1064,7 +1064,7 @@ func (r *RDB) Unpause(qname string) error {
 
 // ClusterKeySlot returns an integer identifying the hash slot the given queue hashes to.
 func (r *RDB) ClusterKeySlot(qname string) (int64, error) {
-	key := base.QueueKey(qname)
+	key := base.PendingKey(qname)
 	return r.client.ClusterKeySlot(key).Result()
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/rdb/inspect_test.go b/internal/rdb/inspect_test.go
index 0e278ef..00355ae 100644
--- a/internal/rdb/inspect_test.go
+++ b/internal/rdb/inspect_test.go
@@ -1088,7 +1088,7 @@ func TestRunDeadTask(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 
@@ -1193,7 +1193,7 @@ func TestRunRetryTask(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 
@@ -1298,7 +1298,7 @@ func TestRunScheduledTask(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 
@@ -1405,7 +1405,7 @@ func TestRunAllScheduledTasks(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("%s; mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("%s; mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantScheduled {
@@ -1511,7 +1511,7 @@ func TestRunAllRetryTasks(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("%s; mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("%s; mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantRetry {
@@ -1617,7 +1617,7 @@ func TestRunAllDeadTasks(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("%s; mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("%s; mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", tc.desc, base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantArchived {
@@ -2717,7 +2717,7 @@ func TestRemoveQueue(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 
 		keys := []string{
-			base.QueueKey(tc.qname),
+			base.PendingKey(tc.qname),
 			base.ActiveKey(tc.qname),
 			base.DeadlinesKey(tc.qname),
 			base.ScheduledKey(tc.qname),
@@ -2846,7 +2846,7 @@ func TestRemoveQueueError(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.pending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("%s;mismatch found in %q; (-want,+got):\n%s", tc.desc, base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("%s;mismatch found in %q; (-want,+got):\n%s", tc.desc, base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.inProgress {
diff --git a/internal/rdb/rdb.go b/internal/rdb/rdb.go
index c557a71..650fa13 100644
--- a/internal/rdb/rdb.go
+++ b/internal/rdb/rdb.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func (r *RDB) Enqueue(msg *base.TaskMessage) error {
 	if err := r.client.SAdd(base.AllQueues, msg.Queue).Err(); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	key := base.QueueKey(msg.Queue)
+	key := base.PendingKey(msg.Queue)
 	return r.client.LPush(key, encoded).Err()
 }
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ func (r *RDB) EnqueueUnique(msg *base.TaskMessage, ttl time.Duration) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	res, err := enqueueUniqueCmd.Run(r.client,
-		[]string{msg.UniqueKey, base.QueueKey(msg.Queue)},
+		[]string{msg.UniqueKey, base.PendingKey(msg.Queue)},
 		msg.ID.String(), int(ttl.Seconds()), encoded).Result()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ return nil`)
 func (r *RDB) dequeue(qnames ...string) (msgjson string, deadline int64, err error) {
 	for _, qname := range qnames {
 		keys := []string{
-			base.QueueKey(qname),
+			base.PendingKey(qname),
 			base.PausedKey(qname),
 			base.ActiveKey(qname),
 			base.DeadlinesKey(qname),
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ func (r *RDB) Requeue(msg *base.TaskMessage) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	return requeueCmd.Run(r.client,
-		[]string{base.ActiveKey(msg.Queue), base.DeadlinesKey(msg.Queue), base.QueueKey(msg.Queue)},
+		[]string{base.ActiveKey(msg.Queue), base.DeadlinesKey(msg.Queue), base.PendingKey(msg.Queue)},
 		encoded).Err()
 }
 
@@ -443,10 +443,10 @@ func (r *RDB) Archive(msg *base.TaskMessage, errMsg string) error {
 //and enqueues any tasks that  are ready to be processed.
 func (r *RDB) CheckAndEnqueue(qnames ...string) error {
 	for _, qname := range qnames {
-		if err := r.forwardAll(base.ScheduledKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname)); err != nil {
+		if err := r.forwardAll(base.ScheduledKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		if err := r.forwardAll(base.RetryKey(qname), base.QueueKey(qname)); err != nil {
+		if err := r.forwardAll(base.RetryKey(qname), base.PendingKey(qname)); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/internal/rdb/rdb_test.go b/internal/rdb/rdb_test.go
index af06409..1e8a396 100644
--- a/internal/rdb/rdb_test.go
+++ b/internal/rdb/rdb_test.go
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func TestEnqueue(t *testing.T) {
 
 		gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, tc.msg.Queue)
 		if len(gotPending) != 1 {
-			t.Errorf("%q has length %d, want 1", base.QueueKey(tc.msg.Queue), len(gotPending))
+			t.Errorf("%q has length %d, want 1", base.PendingKey(tc.msg.Queue), len(gotPending))
 			continue
 		}
 		if diff := cmp.Diff(tc.msg, gotPending[0]); diff != "" {
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ func TestDequeue(t *testing.T) {
 		for queue, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, queue)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q: (-want,+got):\n%s", base.QueueKey(queue), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q: (-want,+got):\n%s", base.PendingKey(queue), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for queue, want := range tc.wantActive {
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ func TestDequeueIgnoresPausedQueues(t *testing.T) {
 		for queue, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, queue)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q: (-want,+got):\n%s", base.QueueKey(queue), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q: (-want,+got):\n%s", base.PendingKey(queue), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for queue, want := range tc.wantActive {
@@ -734,7 +734,7 @@ func TestRequeue(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantActive {
@@ -1337,7 +1337,7 @@ func TestCheckAndEnqueue(t *testing.T) {
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantPending {
 			gotPending := h.GetPendingMessages(t, r.client, qname)
 			if diff := cmp.Diff(want, gotPending, h.SortMsgOpt); diff != "" {
-				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.QueueKey(qname), diff)
+				t.Errorf("mismatch found in %q; (-want, +got)\n%s", base.PendingKey(qname), diff)
 			}
 		}
 		for qname, want := range tc.wantScheduled {