How To Change Keyboard Language On Mac

Write in another language on your Mac

Write in another language on your Mac with additional keyboard layouts, known as input sources. To use additional keyboard layouts, add the language you want to use to the input menu. Then switch to that language when you want to use it. You can also quickly switch languages using your keyboard or remain in your primary language and use the accent menu to enter characters with accent marks when writing.

Set up your Mac to write in another language

On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard , then click Input Sources.

Open the Input Sources pane for me
Click the Add button , then search for a language (such as Chinese, Simplified). Select one or more input sources for each language you want to use.
Click Add.
To begin writing in another language, select the language you want to use in the Input menu in the menu bar. Click Show Keyboard Viewer to see the keyboard layout of the language you have currently selected.

After you add an input source, the option to show the Input menu in the menu bar is automatically selected. The Input menu lets you quickly switch input sources as needed.

Switch between languages when writing

Switch between languages when writing by selecting the language you want to use in the Input menu. You can also set up your Mac to quickly switch between languages using your keyboard.

Use the Input menu: Click the Input menu in the menu bar, then choose an input source. If an input source is dimmed, the current app doesn't support it.

You can also press Option-Control-Space bar to select the next input source in the Input menu, or Control-Space bar to select the previous input source.
Use the Caps Lock key: If you set an option in Input Sources preferences to change input sources by using the Caps Lock key or a dedicated language switching key (for example, "中 /英" on Chinese – Pinyin and Chinese – Zhuyin keyboards), press the key to switch between a non-Latin input source (such as Chinese or Korean) and a Latin input source (such as French or English).

To check your settings in Input Sources preferences, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard , then click Input Sources.

Open the Input Sources pane for me
Use the Fn key or : If you set an option in Keyboard preferences to change input sources by using the Fn key or (if available on the keyboard), press the key to display a list of your input sources, then continue pressing the key until the input source you want to switch to is selected. The list disappears automatically.

To check your settings in Keyboard preferences, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Keyboard.

Open the Keyboard pane for me
Use the Touch Bar: If your Mac has a Touch Bar, and you customized the Control Strip by adding the Input Sources button , the Handwriting button , or both, tap the button, then tap the input source you want to use. See Customize the Touch Bar.

When you add input sources, those languages are automatically added to the list of preferred languages in Language & Region preferences; you can set your Mac to use one of those languages.

When you choose an input source that doesn't match your keyboard, the keys you see and press on your keyboard may be different from the characters that are displayed when you type. To see which keys to press, use the Keyboard Viewer.

Tip: To quickly view the keyboard layout in Input Sources preferences, select the language on the left, then press the Shift, Control, Option, or Command key and watch the keyboard display change on the right.

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