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Write in another language on 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 Settings, then click Keyboardin the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Go to Text Input on the right, then click Edit.
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.
When you add input sources, those languages are automatically added to the list of preferred languages in Language & Region settings; you can set your Mac to use one of those languages.
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 Control-Space bar to select the previous input source, or Control-Option-Space bar to select the next input source in the Input menu. See Set a keyboard shortcut to switch input sources.
Use the Caps Lock key: If you set an option in the Text Input section of Keyboard settings 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 set Text Input options in Keyboard settings, choose Apple menu
> System Settings, then click Keyboardin the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) Go to Text Input on the right, then click Edit.
Use the Fn key or
key: If you set an option in Keyboard settings to change input sources by using the Fn key or
key (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 settings, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Use the Touch Bar: If your Mac has a Touch Bar, and you customised 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 Customise the Touch Bar.
View the keyboard layout
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Settings, then click Keyboardin the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)
Go to Text Input on the right, then click Edit.
Select the language on the left, then press the Control, Option, Shift or Command key and watch the keyboard display change on the right.
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.