How to Change the Language in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word supports hundreds of languages for both display and editing — but changing the language isn't always a single setting. Depending on what you want to change, you may need to adjust two or three separate areas. Understanding how Word handles language will save you from the frustration of fixing one thing and finding another still set to the wrong locale.

Why Word Uses Multiple Language Settings

Word separates language into distinct layers, and each one works independently:

• Display language — the language of Word's menus, buttons, and interface
• Editing language — the language used for spell check, grammar check, and autocorrect
• Document language — the language tag applied to specific text within a document

You can have an English interface while writing in Spanish with French spell check active — which is useful in multilingual workflows but also a common source of confusion. Changing one does not automatically change the others.

How to Change the Editing Language (Spell Check & Grammar)

This is the most commonly needed change, especially when Word keeps flagging correctly spelled words as errors or autocorrecting them incorrectly.

In Word for Windows:

1. Go to File → Options → Language
2. Under Office authoring languages and proofing, you'll see installed languages
3. Select your preferred language and click Set as Preferred
4. Restart Word for the change to take effect

In Word for Mac:

1. Go to Word → Preferences → Spelling & Grammar (or use the Tools menu)
2. On newer versions: Tools → Language, then select from the list and click Default

In Word Online:

1. Open the Review tab
2. Select Spelling & Grammar → Set Proofing Language
3. Choose your language from the dropdown

One important note: if a language appears in the list but has no proofing tools installed, spell check won't work for it. Word will usually indicate this with a note next to the language name.

How to Change the Display Language (Interface)

The display language controls what language Word's own menus and buttons appear in. This is tied more closely to your Microsoft 365 account or Office installation than to any individual document.

On Windows:

1. Go to File → Options → Language
2. Under Office display language, add or select your preferred language
3. Move it to the top of the list and click Set as Preferred
4. You may need to restart Word, and in some cases restart Windows, for the change to apply

On Mac:

The display language in Word for Mac typically follows your macOS system language settings. To change it, go to System Settings (or System Preferences) → Language & Region, add your preferred language, and set it as primary. Word will reflect this on next launch.

Microsoft 365 subscribers can also manage display language preferences directly through their account settings at account.microsoft.com, which syncs across devices.

How to Change Language for Specific Text in a Document 🌐

Sometimes you only need to change the language for a section — a quote in another language, a bilingual document, or a legal clause. This prevents Word from incorrectly flagging foreign-language text as spelling errors.

1. Select the text you want to tag with a different language
2. Go to Review → Language → Set Proofing Language
3. Choose the correct language from the list
4. Optionally check "Do not check spelling or grammar" if no proofing tools are installed for that language

This applies a language tag to just that text block without affecting the rest of the document.

Variables That Affect How This Works

Not everyone's experience will be identical. Several factors shape which options are available and how changes behave:

Common Issues and What They Usually Mean

Spell check still flags words after changing language: The language was changed at the interface level but not for the document text itself, or the proofing tools for that language aren't installed.

The language option is grayed out: This typically means the document has a formatting restriction applied, or the text is in a protected section.

Language reverts after closing Word: The change was made at the document level, not set as the default. Going back to Options → Language and clicking Set as Preferred (then restarting) usually resolves this.

Missing languages in the list: Not all languages are installed by default. On Windows, you can add Office language packs through File → Options → Language → Add a language. On Mac, this is often managed through the Microsoft AutoUpdate tool or Office installer. 💡

The Spectrum of Use Cases

A student writing a single essay in a second language needs something very different from a translator managing multilingual documents daily or a business deploying Word across a multilingual team. For a one-off document, changing the proofing language for selected text may be all that's needed. For consistent multilingual workflows, adjusting the default authoring language and potentially installing additional language packs becomes more relevant.

Mobile users on Word for iOS or Android will find the settings more limited — proofing language can usually be changed, but display language control is largely handled at the device OS level rather than within Word itself. ⚙️

How much of this applies to you depends on whether you're working across one document or many, whether you need the interface to change or just the proofing behavior, and which version and platform you're on.