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To switch the keyboard layout while typing, press Windows key + Spacebar and choose an installed layout. To change the Windows interface language, install the language in Settings > Time & language > Language & region, select it as the display language, and sign out. Keyboard, interface, preferred-app, and regional-format settings are separate.

Which language setting do you need to change?

Setting What it changes
Windows display language The Windows interface, including Settings, File Explorer, and system menus.
Input language or keyboard layout How your physical keystrokes produce characters. It does not translate the Windows interface.
Preferred language order The language used by supported Microsoft Store apps and websites.
Regional format Date, time, number, and currency formats. It is separate from the display language.

Switch the keyboard language while typing

If you only need to type in another language, you do not need to change Windows’ display language.

Using the taskbar

  1. Select the input language icon in the notification area of the taskbar. It may show an abbreviation such as ENG.
  2. Select the keyboard layout you want to use.

The icon indicates the active keyboard layout. It does not necessarily indicate the language used by the Windows interface.

Using a keyboard shortcut

  • Press Windows key + Spacebar to cycle forward through installed layouts.
  • Press Windows key + Shift + Spacebar to cycle backward.

Pressing Windows key + Spacebar repeatedly cycles through all available layouts. If nothing happens, only one keyboard layout is installed.

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Note: Alt + Shift is often suggested as a Windows language shortcut, but Microsoft’s current Windows shortcut documentation lists Windows key + Spacebar and Windows key + Shift + Spacebar for switching input languages and layouts. Alt + Shift may work in some configurations or legacy contexts, but it is not the primary shortcut listed.

Add another language in Windows 11

Install a complete language if you want Windows to use it as an interface language or need its language features as well as its keyboard.

  1. Open Start > Settings.
  2. Select Time & language > Language & region.
  3. Under Preferred languages, select Add a language.
  4. Search for the language, select it, and choose Next.
  5. Choose the language features you need.
  6. Select Install.

To use the new language for the Windows interface, select Set as my Windows display language before selecting Install. Windows downloads language packs and optional features over the internet.

Add only a keyboard layout

You can add a keyboard without installing a complete matching language pack. This is useful if you want a different physical layout but intend to keep Windows in its current language.

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  1. Go to Start > Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
  2. Under Preferred languages, find a suitable installed language.
  3. Select its three-dot More button, then select Language options.
  4. Under Keyboards, select Add a keyboard.
  5. Select the layout you want.

The layout may be listed under a language you would not intuitively associate with it. If you cannot find it, check the Language options pages for both your current display language and the language associated with the desired keyboard.

Change the Windows 11 display language

The language must be installed before it can appear in the display-language list.

  1. Open Start > Settings.
  2. Select Time & language > Language & region.
  3. Open the Windows display language drop-down menu.
  4. Select the installed language.
  5. When Windows displays the sign-out prompt, select Sign out.
  6. Sign back in.

The interface language changes after you sign out and sign back in. A full restart is normally unnecessary. If no prompt appears, right-click Start, select Shutdown or sign out, and then select Sign out.

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Changing the display language also moves that language to the top of Preferred languages. The first supported language in that list is used by supported Microsoft Store apps and websites.

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Some Windows languages are only partially localized. If yours is not fully localized, some interface elements may remain in the first fully localized language in the Preferred languages list.

Change regional formats

If your goal is to change dates, times, numbers, or currency rather than the Windows interface, use the regional-format setting on the same page:

  1. Open Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
  2. Under Regional format, open the drop-down menu.
  3. Select the region whose date, time, number, and currency conventions you want.

This setting is independent of the Windows display language. You can use English for Windows while selecting a regional format appropriate to another country.

Check whether your Windows edition supports multiple display languages

Windows 11 Home Single Language and Home Country Specific editions do not support adding languages for multiple display languages.

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  1. Open Start > Settings > System > About.
  2. Under Windows specifications, check Edition.

If the edition is Windows 11 Home Single Language, adding a second display language is not supported. Microsoft’s supported solution is to upgrade to Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro. Other Windows 11 editions support multiple display languages.

Messages such as “Only one language pack allowed” or “Your Windows license supports only one display language” also indicate this restriction. You may still be able to change or add keyboard layouts, but the Windows interface itself cannot use multiple display languages on that edition.

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Fix a missing language or keyboard icon

The Windows key + Spacebar shortcut does nothing

This usually means that only one keyboard layout is installed. Add another one at Settings > Time & language > Language & region > [language] > More > Language options > Keyboards > Add a keyboard.

The input-language icon is missing

  1. Open Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
  2. Under the notification-area settings, open Turn system icons on or off.
  3. Turn Input Indicator on.

If the icon is still absent, check whether the legacy desktop language bar is enabled:

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  1. Go to Settings > Time & language > Typing.
  2. Select Advanced keyboard settings.
  3. Under Switching input methods, clear Use the desktop language bar when it’s available.

The desktop language bar and taskbar input indicator are alternative interfaces. Enabling the legacy bar can suppress the taskbar icon.

The language is installed but missing from the display-language list

The required language pack may not actually be installed. Return to Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Preferred languages > Add a language and install it.

The Remove button is disabled

For a keyboard, Windows will not remove the only layout installed for the current display language. Add another keyboard first, then remove the unwanted one.

For a language, the Remove button is disabled when that language is currently the Windows display language. Switch to another display language, sign out, and then remove the old language.

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The keyboard changes at the sign-in screen

Changing the display language can also change the selected keyboard layout. Before entering your password, check the input-language icon on the sign-in screen and choose the correct layout. This matters especially when symbols or letters are in different positions on the two layouts.

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Microsoft Office still uses another language

Changing the Windows display language does not guarantee that Microsoft Office changes with it. Office uses its own language settings and may require a separate Microsoft 365 language pack.

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Install a language with PowerShell

The Settings app is the normal method, but administrators can use PowerShell. Open PowerShell as administrator and run:

Install-Language ja-JP

Replace ja-JP with the required BCP-47 language tag, such as en-US, fr-FR, or de-DE.

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To install the language and apply it to system and default-device settings, use:

Install-Language ja-JP -CopyToSettings

A sign-out or restart is required before these changes take effect.

To set the current user’s Windows UI language override, run:

Set-WinUILanguageOverride -Language de-DE

Sign out and sign back in. To verify the current override, run:

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Get-WinUILanguageOverride

If no override is configured, that command returns no value. To clear the override, run:

Set-WinUILanguageOverride

FAQ

How do I quickly switch languages on Windows 11?

Press Windows key + Spacebar to cycle through installed keyboard layouts. You can also select the input-language icon on the taskbar and choose a layout.

Why does Windows key + Spacebar not switch languages?

Only one keyboard layout is probably installed. Add another at Settings > Time & language > Language & region > [language] > Language options > Add a keyboard.

How do I change the entire Windows 11 interface to another language?

Install the language under Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Add a language. Then select it from the Windows display language menu and sign out and back in.

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Can Windows 11 Home Single Language use another display language?

No. Windows 11 Home Single Language supports only one display language. Microsoft recommends upgrading to Windows 11 Home or Pro. Keyboard layouts may still be configurable.

Does changing the Windows language change Office too?

Not necessarily. Microsoft Office has separate language settings and may require its own Microsoft 365 language pack.

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