How to Master Keyboard Shortcuts for Language Switching on Mac

by

Navigating through multiple languages on your Mac doesn’t have to be a challenge. With a few keyboard shortcuts and settings adjustments, you can effortlessly switch between languages. This guide will walk you through the simple steps to make language switching on your Mac a breeze.

Interesting articles:

First, let’s set up your Mac to handle multiple languages:

  1. Add Languages: Open System Preferences and click on Language & Region. Hit the + button to add new languages to your Mac.
  2. Set Primary Language: Drag your most frequently used language to the top of the list to set it as the default.
  3. Apply Changes: Remember, a restart is needed for the changes to take effect.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts ToQuick Switch LanguagesMac provides several shortcuts to switch languages easily:

  1. Default Shortcut: The quickest way to switch languages is using the Control + Space shortcut. This will toggle between your selected languages.
  2. Alternative Shortcuts: You can also use the fn or globe key, and even set the Caps Lock key for switching languages.

Customizing Your Shortcuts

Tailor the shortcuts to your liking:

  1. For macOS Monterey or Earlier: Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > Keyboard. Under the Shortcuts tab, find Input Sources and set your preferred shortcuts.
  2. For macOS Ventura or Later: Head to Apple Menu > System Settings > Keyboard. Customize your shortcuts in the Keyboard Shortcuts section.

Advanced Language Switching Features

In addition to keyboard shortcut, there are also language switching features you can take advantage of: 

  1. Language Switcher Icon: In macOS Sonoma, an icon appears in text boxes for quick language switching.
  2. Handwriting Input: For supported languages, activate handwriting input by pressing Control + Shift + Space.

Managing Language Preferences

To manage the languages available in MacOS you can do so by:

  1. Adjusting Settings in Ventura: Find Language & Region settings under the General section in System Settings.
  2. Region Preferences: Customize settings like date, time, and currency formats to match your region.

How to Remove Languages from MacOS

If you’ve added a language you don’t use any longer or need to clean it  up you can do so by removing unused languages in the Language & Region section of Settings.  Select the language and then press the Minus button. 

With these keyboard shortcuts and settings, switching languages on your Mac becomes a seamless part of your workflow. Customize them to fit your needs and enhance your multilingual capabilities.