3 Simple Ways to Change the Default Language in Wikipedia

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Update the Wikipedia language

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: February 9, 2025 Fact Checked

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Using Desktop

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Using Mobile

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Using Google Translate

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

Want to access Wikipedia in another language? Whether you're learning or want to read in your native language, this can be done in your account settings. If you don't have an account, you can use Google Translate to quickly translate any Wikipedia webpage. Here's how to change the language in a Wikipedia article using your mobile device or computer.

Using Wikipedia in a Different Language

To change the language on Wikipedia, log into your account and navigate to your Preferences. Select the Internationalisation drop-down menu and select a new language. Select Done. Alternatively, paste the website URL into Google Translate to translate a page.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Desktop

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1
Create an account. To change the language on Wikipedia using the website itself, you must be logged into an account where you can manage your preferences.
- Go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Login and click "Create account" in the top-right corner.
- If you don't want to create an account, you can use Google Translate instead.
- Wikipedia offers translated articles in other languages. However, this doesn't apply to all existing articles. To see the available languages, go to https://www.wikipedia.org/ and click "Read Wikipedia in your language".
You can find this in the top-right corner.^{[1]
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This shows your current set language for Wikipedia.
Keep in mind that selecting a language other than English may show inaccurate external translations and may stop you from seeing parts of the interface properly.
5
Click Save. This is the blue button at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Wikipedia will now be set to the assigned language.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Mobile

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1
Create an account. To change the language on Wikipedia using the website itself, you must be logged into an account where you can manage your preferences.
- Go to https://www.wikipedia.org/. Tap ☰ > Log in > Join Wikipedia.
- If you don't want to create an account, you can use Google Translate instead.
- Wikipedia offers translated articles in other languages. However, this doesn't apply to all existing articles. To see the available languages, go to https://www.wikipedia.org/, scroll down, and tap a language under Wikipedia languages.
This is at the top-left corner. A side menu will open.
A new page will open.
You can find this at the bottom of the page.
This is the first option.
This shows your current set language for Wikipedia.
Keep in mind that selecting a language other than English may show inaccurate external translations and may stop you from seeing parts of the interface properly.
8
Tap Save. This is the blue button at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- Wikipedia will now be set to the assigned language.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Google Translate

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1
Copy the URL of the page you want to translate. You can find this in the address bar.
- On mobile, select the URL. Tap the URL, and then select Copy.
- On desktop, select the URL. Right-click, and then click Copy.
2
Go to https://translate.google.com/ in a web browser. You can use Google Translate in a desktop or mobile browser.
- Keep in mind that translations using this method may not be 100% accurate.
This is at the top.
4
Set the languages. Select the input language (first option) and then output language (second option).
- For example, if the article is in English and you want to translate it to Spanish, select English → Spanish.
On mobile, tap the field and select Paste. On desktop, right-click the field and click Paste.
6
Select the arrow icon. This will send the request. A new tab should open with the translated web page.
- If you browse in the translated site and it reverts back to the original language, set the input and output languages again at the top of the page.

Community Q&A

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Question

Can I change the language in Wikipedia into local language without any editing?

Kristikna

Community Answer

Yes, you can get the Google Translate extension, found on Chrome Web Store. This extension will allow you to easily translate any webpage with just a few clicks.

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Tips

If you have an account on one Wikimedia site, you could connect to the Unified Login system (SUL). This will let you log in to all of the projects of Wikimedia which are connected to SUL without needing to create an account first.

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