home / Self-development/ How to change the language on a Mac. How to change the MacOS interface language

How to change the language on a Mac. How to change the MacOS interface language

The language replacement function has been available on computers for a very long time. It is necessary so that the user can see the system on his native language, or type text in a foreign language. However, many people do not know how to change the keyboard layout, so we will tell you how to how to switch language on MacBook.

How to switch system language on MacBook

The system language is the language that is used by the system to send messages, to name applications, etc. It often happens that when purchasing, the system language is English or some other language.

In such cases, there is a need to know how to switch system language on MacBook. In order to change the system language, you will need to go to the system settings. In these settings you can adjust literally everything, but we are interested in the language setting. To do this, find the “language and regions” tab. This tab will allow you to add various languages, both system and for the keyboard.

In order to add a language, you need to click on + and add the languages you are interested in. It is noteworthy that in this tab you can add countless languages, but only one can be assigned to the system ones. When you exit the add menu, you will be able to change their purpose. To do this, you can move the languages you need. If you need to install one of the languages as the system language, then simply move it to the very top of the list.

All other languages will be retained for the keyboard. That is, this is the list of layouts that you can change when typing. The higher a language is in the list, the faster it can be enabled.

MacBook language switching

When typing text, you may also need to change the layout. To do this, you need to assign the languages that you need. This can be done in the same place where we changed the system dialect.

There are several ways to translate a language. The first method is not very convenient, but it is quite popular. This is a way to change the language with the mouse.

To do this, you need to hover the cursor over the name of the layout in the lower right corner.
When you click on it, you will see a list of all the available languages that you have added in the system settings.

This method can be quite convenient. It should be used when you have a lot of layouts. In order not to press the key combination ten times, you can do it with the mouse.

It will also be useful to know how to change language on macbook keyboard. To do this you need to use a very simple keyboard shortcut. But this method has a disadvantage: it switches layouts one by one, so if you have a lot of them, it’s better to do it with the mouse.

In order to change the language, you need to press the key combination comand + shift. Most often, laptops use this method of changing the language.
However, if this does not work, you can press shift + alt. This combination is most often found on desktop computers, but it is also very often applicable for laptops.

We hope we helped you figure out how to change the language on a MacBook.

Computers under control operating system Mac OS has many hotkey combinations that make working with the device much easier. As on other platforms, you can switch the keyboard layout using a special key combination. Let's figure out how to switch the language on a MacBook on the keyboard using OS tools, as well as how to set up hot keys for switching.

The simplest and most obvious way looks like this:

Click on the language or flag icon in the upper right part of the screen;

Select the required layout (ABC is the standard English version).

How to change the language on the MacBook keyboard?

Most users of Windows-based computers will have to relearn how the Shift+Alt combination does not work here. All shortcut combinations use the Command system key. On Macbook and iMac, you can use one of the following combinations:

Cmd+space;
CTRL+space (in the latest generations of devices).

If you use not only Russian and English, then there is a convenient function for you. If you hold down Cmd+spacebar and then do not release Cmd, a window will appear on the screen with all the languages that you can switch between. A useful feature for those who use several foreign languages alternately.
If you can’t change the language on your MacBook using these buttons, then you need to configure the switch directly through the operating system. To do this, follow these steps:

click on the apple icon;
open the “Keyboard” section in system settings;

then go to the “Keyboard Shortcuts” tab;
in the left list, click on the “Input Sources” section;

on the right side you can set the combination of buttons you need, which will be more convenient and familiar.

How to translate language on MacBook through settings?

You can fully manage your layout settings and switch languages using the built-in tool. To open it, follow the instructions:

open system settings through the apple menu;
go to the “Language and Region” utility;

in the window that opens you will see a list of connected layouts;
to add new layouts, you need to click on the + below the list;

to change the layout used in the operating system itself, you need to change the region on the right side of the application window;

You can also sort switching layouts using the “List sort order” menu.

Possible problems

If you can only change the language on your MacBook using hotkeys the second time, then you are faced with a problem with the latest operating system update. Switching layouts by double-clicking is extremely inconvenient. This is due to the fact that in new version The OS has added the Siri assistant, which is called by the same combination of buttons. To solve the problem, you can change the key combination with which you can change the layout on the MacBook, or change the button combination for Siri itself. To do this, go to system settings and select the Siri section. In the “Keyboard shortcut” column, select the “Customize” line. Here you can completely disable the voice assistant, or reassign buttons for quick calls.

Despite the fact that MAC OS X has come a long way in terms of improvement, it still has some inconveniences, for example, few people know how to switch the language on a MacBook.

This is due to the fact that there is no shortcut for changing the keyboard layout in this OS, so most new users are faced with the problem of not knowing how to change the language on a MacBook. But in fact, changing the layout is quite simple.

Changing the layout

So, you can change the layout by simultaneously pressing the space bar and the Cmd key. But the problem may be that this combination will already be assigned to the search string call. Therefore, before switching the language on the keyboard on your MacBook, you need to go to “System Preferences,” then select “Keyboard” and select “Keyboard Shortcuts” for Spotlight.

how to switch language on keyboard on macbook

In order to learn how to change the language on a MacBook on the keyboard, you need to carefully follow the following instructions.

You need to go to the “Keyboard” and “Input Sources” item, where you will need to activate the same layout combinations to change it.

how to switch language on macbook

Moreover, before changing the language on the keyboard on a MacBook, you need to understand the fundamental difference between choosing the next and previous input source option. In the case when you use the combination of the “Space” and “Cmd” keys, the layout will return to the previous one, and when you press it again, it will again become the same as it was before. Switching will occur exclusively between 2 languages.

For those people who need more than two languages, you need to use the shortcut “Space” + “Option” + “Cmd”. Therefore, before changing the language on your MacBook, it is best to swap the key combinations for greater convenience. But if you don't use them that often, you can leave everything as is.

Russian layout

How to change the language on a MacBook to Russian? If you have not added the Russian layout, you can do this manually in the “System Settings” menu, then go to “Keyboard”, then “Input Source”. Here you need to find the Russian layout, it will be called “Russian-PC”.

If necessary, in the same menu you can delete unused layouts or add new ones. In general, experts recommend installing “YouType”. After this, the active layout will always be displayed near your mouse cursor.

How to switch language on Mac OS

To switch the language on a Mac, use the cmd+space combination, similar to Shift+Alt in Windows. In recent versions of Mac OS, the default combination is ctrl+spacebar.

If in this case the language has not changed, then you need to add it in the Mac OS settings. To do this, click on the apple in the top left and open the “System Settings” menu item.

In the settings window on your Mac that opens, select “Language and Region.”

In the next window you will see a list of included this moment languages, if yours is not in it, click the plus sign and add the required one.

After the above manipulations, the language in your MacBook will switch as it should, when you press cmd+spacebar.

By the way, if you do not release the cmd key after pressing this combination, after a split second you will see a list of connected languages on the screen and you will be able to switch between them not at random, but knowing which one you have currently selected.

This is very convenient if you use more than two foreign languages on your computer.

If the cmd+spacebar shortcut does not work and the language does not switch, try using ctrl+spacebar, as this is the default in recent versions of Mac OS X.

You can check which key combination for changing the language you have installed, and also reassign the function of changing the layout to keys that are more convenient and familiar to you in the computer settings in the following way.

Why does the language switch the second time?

After updating to the latest version of the Mac OS operating system, many users began to complain that when they try to switch the language, the checkbox in the status bar changes, but the language remains the same, and only after the second click does the layout switch.

If you encounter this problem after upgrading to the new Mac OS Sierra operating system, the reason most likely lies in a hotkey conflict.

In the new version of Apple's OS, they added the voice assistant Siri, well known to all iOS users, which by default is called, as you might think, by pressing and holding the cmd+space keys at the same time, which results in a program conflict (if you have configured to change the language for the same combination).

If you encounter the same problem and the language on your Mac does not switch the first time, then go to the settings of the Siri voice assistant and change the keyboard shortcut for calling it to any other that you do not use anywhere else.

To do this, open Mac OS System Preferences and open the item called Siri.

If you don't use Siri on your Mac, you should simply turn it off. To do this, uncheck the box next to “Enable Siri”.

That's all. After you do one of the above actions, the hotkeys for changing the language will no longer conflict with the Siri hotkeys, and your Mac's layout will again switch the first time, as before.

macOS Sierra: Change the language your Mac uses

How to change the MAC OS interface language [Instructions]

So, below I have given a procedure that will help you change the MAC OS interface language. Personally, I need this to take screenshots for another site that I fill with English-language content. It just so happens that there is completely different money on the English-language Internet... But that’s another story... If you want, I’ll tell you in more detail in a separate article.

In the meantime... To change the MAC OS interface language, do this:

Step 1 Go to System Settings - Language and Region

Step 2 The Preferred languages box should be set to the language you want to use as your primary language. All interface labels in MAC OS are displayed in the language that is accepted as the main one.

Step 3 And here I got stuck... In fact, you need to pull the required language and place it at the top of the list. Elementary Watson! But it’s not intuitive at all, Holmes!

Step 4 Now close the settings window and restart your computer. Next time the system will boot with a different interface language.

How to change the keyboard layout language in MAC OS

The very first question that people who encounter MAC computers for the first time ask is “Well, how can I change the language here... I want to type in Russian/English.” Again, everything is simple. On MACs, this is done using the Command + Space key combination. This is the default combination and 99% of all MAC users use it. If this is not convenient for you, you can change it in the same Language and Region window by clicking on the Keyboard Settings button at the bottom of the window.

I hope this instruction will not gather dust on the back of the site and will help someone. I ask everyone to like the article they liked most on the site. This will really help me develop this site. Thank you.

Lana 10/06/2018
Super! Thanks for the useful information! Helped me))
Mikhail 01/29/2019
Shine! Everything ingenious is simple! Thank you!
Anatol 02/01/2019
thank you very much good man
Diver 04/01/2019
MacBook Pro 2016, switch layout control + spacebar
- Max 04/06/2019
  Layouts yes. And the interface language changes as described in the article.

Owners of Apple computers have to adapt to a different style of interaction with the operating system. The behavior of windows and the layout of menu items differs from what Windows users are accustomed to. The keyboard contains a different set of control keys, and, accordingly, the familiar order of combinations changes. Today we will look at the layout settings provided on Apple computers and figure out how to switch the input language on a MacBook.

Switch layout from menu bar

The right side of the macOS menu bar at the top of the screen plays a role similar to the system tray area in Windows. Here system information about time, date, network connection and the keyboard layout we need is displayed.

Language switching icon on the top menu bar

The current input language is indicated by the location country flag. The international keyboard, with the standard English QWERTY layout, is designated by the letter "A" by default. For convenience, it can be replaced with a flag English speaking country. Clicking on the layout icon displays the pop-up menu shown in the screenshot, containing four sections:

switch input language, the current one is indicated by a tick;
display the on-screen keyboard or panel for typing emoticons and additional Unicode characters;
highlighting the current layout; the name specified in the first paragraph will be displayed next to the flag in the menu bar;
section of the operating system settings responsible for assigning keyboard parameters.

Input Sources Menu

By calling this menu, you can use the first section to change the input language from English to Russian and vice versa.

Changing hotkey combinations

The change in standard keyboard shortcuts described above is caused by the appearance of the Siri voice assistant in macOS. To quickly call it, Cupertino engineers reserved the Command + Space combination in the system. This is where the force of habit comes into play. Some will agree with the keyboard shortcut proposed by Apple, while others will want to return everything to the way it was before. If you belong to the second category of users, go to the keyboard settings section. To do this, you can use the top line menu item described earlier or open general system settings:

Select the section indicated by the frame in the screenshot.
Keyboard options in system settings
Having opened the keyboard settings parameters, in the top menu of the window, select the tab shown with the number “1”. On the left side we find the “Input Sources” section. On the right side of the window, select the item responsible for changing the input source. By clicking on the area indicated by the arrow, we activate the window with the keyboard shortcut. The screenshot shows how to change the standard system combination to the one previously used in macOS.

Changing the keyboard shortcut

The language does not switch the first time, what should I do?

After changing the layout in the settings, some users encounter a problem. The keys have been reassigned to be more convenient, and switching does not always work the first time. This happens due to a conflict of keyboard shortcuts and is easily fixed.

Eliminating combination conflicts in settings

To avoid repetition and possible conflicts when using key combinations, macOS developers have provided a notification system. With its help, you can easily find a problematic combination and make the necessary adjustments to the settings.

When setting the keyboard shortcut that will be used on your Mac to change the layout, pay attention to the presence of icons with exclamation marks indicated by the number “2”. This way the system lets you know that this combination is already in use. Problematic sections are marked on the left side of the window, and repeating combinations are marked on the right. You need to configure a combination that will not be duplicated for another system application.
System error when specifying a duplicate key combination
Another source of problems can be the automatic detection of the language used in the document. If delays or false alarms occur during the change process, you need to go to the keyboard settings. On the “Input Sources” tab, uncheck the box indicated by the arrow.
Cancel automatic detection language in the document

Changing Siri call options

As we already know, Siri was included in the macOS distribution in 2016. The default settings for quickly calling the voice assistant are to hold down the Command and Space keys. In other words, a key combination similar to that traditionally used to change the layout is used. If you are not a fan of the voice assistant, you can disable it completely or change the settings to remove the conflict when switching input languages.

Go to system settings and find the Siri section indicated in the screenshot.
Siri in system settings
The switch marked “1” allows you to completely disable the voice assistant function. The area marked with a two is intended for changing keyboard shortcuts. By clicking on it, we expand the pop-up menu.
Siri Settings
In order not to disable Siri completely, but to be able to use it as needed, we assign a new key combination. This way we eliminate potential conflict when changing layouts.

Siri shortcut menu

How to switch layout with three languages installed

After installing an additional layout into the system, the user may encounter an unpleasant surprise. Changing layouts using hotkeys is performed only between the last two languages. Switching must be done using the drop-down menu on the top line. However, before sinning on the imperfection of the OS, let's figure out what's going on.

Using the OSD Menu

The standard switching option will work, but slightly differently. If you hold down the Command key and then press the space bar, an additional menu will appear on the screen with a list of installed languages.

OSD menu for switching layouts

Each repeated press of the spacebar leads to a sequential search of layouts.

Advanced layout change option

Not everyone likes the option of switching using the on-screen menu. Meanwhile, macOS already provides ready-made solution. There is a special combination for quickly changing layouts when installing three or more language packs:

Open the OS settings and go to the keyboard settings section.
We find the tab in which we changed the hot keys. The number “three” indicates a keyboard shortcut that allows you to change the input language without displaying an additional menu.

Input source selection menu

When using the combination indicated in the screenshot, a sequential transition between language packs is performed, accompanied by a change of flags in the top line of the system menu.

Using Punto Switcher to switch input sources

Knowing how to change the input language on a MacBook using standard means, let's consider the option of using third-party software for this purpose. The Punto Swither program was developed specifically for automatically changing the keyboard layout. Its algorithms are based on so-called “impossible combinations” of letters. By detecting them, the program automatically changes the language and converts incorrectly typed text.

Download latest version Punto Switcher can be installed on a Mac from the servers of Yandex, which is the owner of the program. It is distributed as an archive containing a standalone installer in PKG format.
Punto Switcher installer menu
At the final stage of installation, the program provides configuration recommendations. By clicking on the marked button, we go to the security section of the operating system.
The last step of installing Punto Switcher
The “Universal Access” area opens on the left side of the window. The programs included in it are considered trusted and are allowed to control the computer. To add Punto Switcher you need to click on the “+” icon and select it from the list of installed ones. The switch opposite the program icon in mandatory must be checked. Thus, we allow it to automatically start when the operating system starts and control the switching of layouts.
Adding permission to manage the system
The Punto Switcher icon will appear on the top menu bar. By clicking on it, we expand the main settings. We check that the automatic switching mode is turned on.

Punto Switcher icon and menu

After completing these steps, the program will begin to perform its task, changing the language layout depending on the entered text.

>In conclusion

Despite the fact that MAC OS X has come a long way in terms of improvement, it still has some inconveniences, for example, few people know how to switch the language on a MacBook.