Many of us work with multiple languages on our computer. Generally, people use English for professional and native language for personal communication. This makes it necessary to quickly switch the language when you type on your computer. The prerequisite for language switch is that you have installed the required language packs on your Mac. After having the necessary languages, it is easy to switch the language using keyboard shortcut. Also learn how to switch input language source in Windows PC.
Keyboard Shortcuts to Switch Language in Mac
There are multiple keyboard shortcuts available:
- “Control + Space” is the default keyboard shortcuts for switching language in Mac.
- Use fn or globe key to toggle through the installed language list.
- Use Caps Lock key to switch the language.
Since the settings screens are different in macOS Ventura or later and earlier versions, we have covered both old and new macOS setup in the following sections.
1. Automatic Language Switcher Icon in Text Box
The latest macOS version 14 named Sonoma will automatically show a small language switcher icon whenever you click in the text box. It also appears when you press “Control + Space” or select language from top menu bar icon. Below is how it looks and the letter A indicates ABC English language input.
You can click on that icon and select another available language to switch the input language.
2. Enable Control + Space or Assign Custom Shortcut Keys
Follow the below steps if “Control + Space” shortcut is not working or you want to change the assignment and use custom shortcut instead.
macOS Monterey or Earlier
- Go to “Apple Menu > System Preferences…”.
- Click on the “Keyboard” option and go to “Shortcuts” tab.
- Go to “Input Sources” and enable “Select the previous input source” and “Select next source in Input menu” options.
- As you can see, “Control + Space” will toggle previous language, you can also use “Control + Option + Space” to go through the next input sources.
- If you do not want to use the default shortcut keys, click on them to change and assign your custom shortcuts. Any time you can reset the shortcuts by clicking on the “Restore Defaults” button.
macOS Ventura or Later
- Click the Apple logo menu and select “System Settings…” option.
- Scroll down on the left sidebar and go to “Keyboard” section.
- Click “Keyboard Shortcuts…” button on the right pane.
- Go to “Input Sources” section and enable the default “Control + Space” or “Control + Shift + Space” shortcuts.
- Double click on the shortcut keys field to delete the default keys and assign custom shortcut keys.
- For example, you can replace “Control + Space” with “Control + U” or anything like that.
Using Control + Space Shortcut Keys
You can use the shortcuts in two ways. Simply pressing the shortcut keys will automatically toggle the previous or next language input source. However, pressing and holding the shortcut keys will show the list of available languages to select as below:
You can use mouse or press space by continuing to hold control key to navigate through the options.
3. Switch Language with Caps Lock Key
We do not recommend this option as it can confuse you while turning on the Caps Lock. However, you can try it by enabling the option as explained below:
macOS Monterey or Earlier
- Go to “Apple menu > System Preferences… > Keyboard” section.
- Click the “Input Sources” tab and enable “Use the Caps Lock key to switch to and from last used Latin input source” option.
macOS Ventura or Later
- Go to “Apple menu > System Settings… > Keyboard” settings section.
- Click the “Edit” button showing against “Input Sources” option under “Text Input” section.
- On the pop-up, make sure you are in “All Input Sources” section.
- You will see list of options on the right side and turn on “Use the Caps Lock key to switch to and from ABC” option.
- Now you can single press the Caps Lock key and see the language is changed on the top bar Input menu icon. Press and hold the key to turn on or off the Caps Lock function.
Note: You see “中 / 英” in the above screenshot which means toggle Chinese / English. It appears like that as the Magic Keyboard we use has the same letters on the Caps Lock key. You may see the letters written on your Caps Lock key in the Settings.
4. Switch Language with Function or Globe Key
You will see the fn key at the lower left corner of your Mac keyboard. Some models and Magic Keyboard will show the key with globe symbol and fn letters. You can change the key’s function and use for switching language.
On macOS Monterey or Earlier
- Go to “Apple menu > System Preferences… > Keyboard” section.
- Click “Keyboard” tab and find “Press fn key to” option.
- Click the dropdown against that option and select “Change Input Source”.
On macOS Ventura or Later
- Go to “Apple menu > System Settings… > Keyboard” settings section.
- Click the dropdown against “Press Globe key to” option.
- Select “Change Input Source” from the list of available options.
- Now, you can press the globe / fn key to see the language switcher pop-up appears. Again, press the same key to navigate in the list and select the available language.
5. Using Input Method Icon on Top Bar to Switch Language
On Mac, the language or input method icon appears on the top bar. You can click on the input method icon and switch to one of the available languages instead of using keyboard shortcuts.
If you are not seeing the input icon on the top bar, follow the below instructions to enable it.
On macOS Monterey or Earlier:
- Go to “Apple Menu > System Preferences… > Keyboard” section.
- Navigate to “Input Sources” tab and enable the check box for the option “Show Input menu in menu bar”.
On macOS Ventura or Later:
- Go to “Apple menu > System Settings… > Keyboard” section.
- Click the “Edit” button showing against the “Input Sources” option.
- On the pop-up that appears, enable “Show Input menu in menu bar”.
This will show the input menu icon on the top bar. In the same dialog, click on + icon and add new language if you want. Learn how to add Unicode Hex Input method in Mac.
Handwriting Input Source
Some languages support handwriting inputs. Press, “Control + Shift + Space” to open handwriting panel. You can start using freehand writing on the panel and use the same shortcut keys to hide the panel after writing.
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