Want to make your Mac speak Tagalog? Use Chinese as your main OS language but English for Messages? Find out here how to change the macOS interface language on a Mac as well as the preferred language for the web.
First, a Programmer Sees a Balloon
From newsstands across the states in August 1981, a colorful balloon invites you to buy BYTE magazine’s latest issue, some 490 pages explaining a new object-oriented programming language called “Smalltalk.”
Like many a software engineer at the time, Brad Cox took the bait, read the magazine and—ran off to hack an “object-oriented” “programming language” which turned into an object-oriented programming language called Objective-C.
Objective-C is the language under macOS’s hood, of course, and it helps you choose a language for the OS’s dashboard:
How to Change the macOS Interface Language on a Mac
Time needed: 5 minutes
To change the interface language on a Mac for macOS and applications:
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences) on the Mac.
Here’s how: Select System Settings… from the Apple menu (), for example.
- Go to the General category.
macOS Monterey: in macOS Monterey and earlier, you can skip this step.
- Open Language & Region.
- Add missing languages to the list of preferred languages. (See below.)
Language variants: You can add both a local variant and a more broadly supported language code as a fallback.
- Drag and drop the languages under Preferred language in order of preference with the primary language on top.
Default language: macOS will automatically make the language on top the default for its user interface.
Per-app default: You can also pick a different default language for specific applications, however; see below.
- Close the Language & Region preferences window.
- Select Restart Now to have the new language preferences apply immediately in all applications or Don’t Restart to have your new language applied universally when next you restart.
Just one app: You can restart Finder to have it use the new macOS language preferences, for instance.
How to Add a Language to a Mac Using macOS
To add a new language to your Mac for use:
- Open the Language & Region preferences. (See above.)
- Click + under the Preferred languages: list.
- Highlight the language or language variant you want to add.
More than one: Hold down the Command key to select and add multiple language in one go and Shift to select a range.
Find your language: Try searching by country name (in English or in the native tongue) in addition to language names to find local variants.
Add a fallback: Add a more commonly supported language in addition to a local variant to give macOS something to fall back on when an application does not support the more specific variant. - Click Add.
- Your newly added language be added to the bottom of the list; click Use <new language> to move it to the top right away.
- If the language has an associated keyboard layout not yet enabled, macOS will offer to add it; click Add Input Source to add the layout.
Choose a Different Default Language for a Specific Application
To change the interface language for a specific macOS application without changing the operating system default language:
- Open the macOS Language & Region settings. (See above.)
- Click the + sign at the bottom (under Applications).
macOS Monterey: In macOS Monterey and earlier, go to the Apps tab first.
Already there: If the application is already in the list, you can also highlight it and pick the desired language from the language drop-down menu next to it; clicking + will still work as an alternative, though. - Choose the desired app under Application:.
- Now pick the language you want to use under Language:.
No languages: Legacy applications (e.g., Firefox) do not support different interface languages using the standard macOS method, but you may still be able to change the language with settings inside the app (again, Firefox is an example).
- If the application is currently open, choose between Relaunch Now to have the new interface language come into effect immediately or Don’t Relaunch.
How to Change the macOS Interface Language on a Mac: FAQ
What does “While some applications and web pages can use the selected language, it is not fully supported by macOS.” mean?
macOS itself and applications ship with translations for many but not all language variants. If you see this message when adding a language, macOS apps have not been fully translated to the language.
Safari also lets web sites know which languages you prefer for content with language tags that can be precise—too preise while more general language variant may be available.
Here’s what to do:
- Add the specific language variant.
- Add a more generally supported version of the same or a similar language.
- Order them with the more specific vibrant on top.
Can I find out which languages a macOS app supports?
Yes.
To quickly see which languages an application supports:
- Open the Language & Region preferences. (See above.)
- Click + underneath the Applications list (or on the Apps tab, depending on your version of macOS).
- Now select the app under Application.
- Click the System Default language under Language:.
- Find the supported languages listed in the menu that appears.
I only need to type in a specific language. Can I change just the keyboard layout?
Yes.
You can add any keyboard layout as an input source (including a universal hex Unicode keyboard) to your Mac without changing the display language.
Will changing the macOS language influence the keyboard and autocorrect language?
No.
You can alter both the keyboard language and layout and the spelling language independently (of each other and of the Mac’s interface language):
(How to change the interface language on a Mac tested with macOS Sonoma 14.3, Ventura 13, Monterey 12.3, Big Sur 11.3 and Catalina 10.15; updated March 2024)