Change Word's language in three places
Microsoft Word lets you change the language in three separate ways, and which one you need depends on what you're trying to do. You can change the language that Word itself displays (the menus, buttons, and dialog boxes), change the language of a specific block of text so the spell-checker knows what language to check, or change your keyboard layout so you type in a different language. Most people need only one of these, but some need all three.
The most common reason to change language is to fix the red squiggly underlines on words that are spelled correctly in another language. Word's spell-checker marks words as wrong when they don't match the language you've told it to use. If you're writing in French but Word is set to English, every French word gets flagged. Changing the language of your text stops that.
Key Takeaways
- To stop red spell-check lines under words in another language, select the text and change its language through Tools > Language or the Review tab.
- To change the menus and buttons Word displays, go to File > Options > Language and set your display language there.
- Changing the text language does not change what language Word's menus appear in — these are two separate settings.
- If you're typing in another language regularly, you may also need to add that language to your Windows keyboard settings so you can type the correct characters.
Fix spell-check for text in another language
This is the fastest fix if Word is underlining words that are actually spelled correctly. Select the text you want to change, then go to the Review tab at the top of the window. Look for the button labeled Language or Set Proofing Language — the exact name depends on your Word version. Click it and a small window opens showing a list of languages.
Find the language you need in the list and click it once to select it. You'll see a checkmark appear next to it. Then click OK at the bottom of the window. Word stops checking that text against the English dictionary and starts checking it against the dictionary for the language you chose. The red underlines should disappear from correctly spelled words in that language.
If you have multiple sections in different languages, you can repeat this for each section. Select the French paragraph, set it to French. Select the Spanish paragraph, set it to Spanish. Word remembers which language goes with which part of your document.
Change the language Word's menus display
If you want Word's buttons, menus, and dialog boxes to appear in a different language, you need to go to File in the top left corner. Click it, then look for Options near the bottom of the menu that appears. Click Options.
In the Options window, click Language on the left side. You'll see a section called Office Display Language with a dropdown menu. Click the dropdown and choose the language you want Word's interface to display in. Some languages may need to be downloaded first — if you see a button that says Download next to a language, click it and wait for the download to finish.
After you've chosen your language and any downloads are complete, close the Options window. Word may ask you to restart the program. When you open it again, the menus and buttons will be in the language you selected. This change affects only Word on your computer — it doesn't change anything in your documents themselves.
Add a keyboard layout for typing in another language
If you need to type characters that don't exist on a standard English keyboard — like accented letters, umlauts, or characters from another alphabet — you need to add a keyboard layout to Windows itself. This is separate from Word and affects your whole computer, not just Word.
On Windows 10 or 11, go to Settings (the gear icon), then click Time & Language. Click Language & Region on the left. Scroll down to Related Settings and click Keyboard. Click Add a Keyboard and choose the language and keyboard layout you want. Once it's added, you can switch between keyboard layouts using the language icon in the bottom right corner of your screen, near the clock.
Once you've added a keyboard layout, you can type in that language in Word or any other program. When you switch to that keyboard layout, your keys produce the characters for that language. This doesn't change Word's menus or spell-check — it only changes what characters your keyboard produces when you press keys.
What to do if you don't see your language
If the language you need isn't showing up in the language list, it may need to be installed first. In the Review tab's Language button, look for a link that says Add Additional Languages or Set Language Preferences. Click it and you'll be taken to Windows Settings, where you can download language packs for languages that aren't currently installed.
After the language pack downloads, go back to Word and try again. The language should now appear in your list. This process can take several minutes depending on your internet speed and the size of the language pack.
Changing language for a single word or phrase
You don't have to change the language for an entire paragraph. If you have just one word or short phrase in another language, select only that text, then use the Review tab's Language button to set it to the correct language. Word will check only that selection against the other language's dictionary and leave the rest of your document set to English.
This is useful when you're writing mostly in English but have a few French phrases or Spanish terms scattered through your document. You can set each one individually, or select multiple instances at once if they're the same word. Just hold Ctrl and click each instance to select them all, then set the language once for all of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will changing the language of my text change how it looks or prints?
No. Changing the language only tells Word which dictionary to use for spell-checking. It doesn't change the font, size, color, or any other appearance of the text. The document looks and prints exactly the same.
If I change Word's menu language, will my documents change language too?
No. Changing the display language only affects what language Word's menus appear in. Your documents stay exactly as they are. You can have Word's menus in Spanish and your document in English, or any other combination.
Do I have to set the language every time I open Word?
No. Word remembers the language you set for each part of your document. When you open the file again, the language settings stay the same. You only need to change it once per section.
What if I'm typing in a language that uses a different alphabet?
You need to add that keyboard layout to Windows (as described in the "Add a Keyboard Layout" section above) so you can type the correct characters. Then set the text language in Word so the spell-checker works correctly. Both steps are necessary.
Can I change the language of just the headers and footers?
Yes. Click inside a header or footer to edit it, select the text you want to change, then use the Review tab's Language button just like you would for body text. Headers and footers can be in a different language from the main document.