7 Easy Steps to Change the Language on an iPhone or iPad

Quick guide to change the text on your phone to any language

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: September 14, 2024 Fact Checked

Did you know you can switch the language of the text on your iPhone? You can set another language as the primary or swap back and forth with English. Keep in mind that this will change the language on your entire device, and if you select a language that reads from right to left, all horizontal screen options will be reversed. Here's how to change the language on an iPhone.

Quick Steps

Open the Settings app.
Tap General .
Tap Language & Region .
Tap Add Language and select a language.
Set the new language as your primary or keep the current one.

Steps

Download Article

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/e\/ec\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/ec\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

1
Open your iPhone's Settings

{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/7\/7e\/Iphonesettingsappicon.png","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/7\/7e\/Iphonesettingsappicon.png\/30px-Iphonesettingsappicon.png","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":460,"bigWidth":30,"bigHeight":30,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>I edited this screenshot of an iPhone icon.\n<\/p><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a><br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

. This is the grey cog icon.
- Be sure to update your iPhone .
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/67\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/67\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-2-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

You may need to scroll down to find it.

Advertisement
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/d4\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/d4\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-3-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

3
Tap Language & Region . This will be in the same group as Date & Time .
- You can also use this page to change your region .
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/8e\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/8e\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-4-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

4
Tap Add Language… . This is in blue underneath the ' Preferred Languages banner.
- A new page will open.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/0\/00\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/0\/00\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

5
Select a new language. You can scroll down to find a language or use the search bar at the top.
- A pop-up menu will open.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/0\/08\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/0\/08\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

6
Set your primary language. You can select the new language as your primary language or keep your current primary language (usually English). ^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Once the language has been changed to your preferred one, you'll be back at the "Language & Region" screen.
- Adding a language will also add a new keyboard for that language.
{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/5\/51\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-7-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-7-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/5\/51\/Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-7-Version-2.jpg\/v4-728px-Change-the-Language-on-an-iPhone-Step-7-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a> (screenshot)<br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}

7
Change your primary language back to English (optional). When your language changes, you'll still have the previous language underneath the Preferred Languages header. The one set as primary will be at the top, and any other languages will be below it.
- To change your primary language back to English:
  - Tap and hold the ☰ next to English. Drag it to the top.
  - Tap the red words in the pop-up menu. This confirms the primary language change.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

How do I change the iPhone 4 language to Persian/Dari?

Community Answer

It's just as easy as any other language. Select your desired language from the list of languages. Persian and Dari should appear on the list as "فارسی" and "دری", respectively.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 4

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Tips

If your phone is stuck in a language that you can identify but can't understand and you can't find the Language & Region option, try typing "language & region" into Google Translate and setting the other side of the translator to the language in question.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
In this menu you can also set the country, such as USA, measurement system such as Metric or US, Temperature Unit (Celsius or Fahrenheit) and more.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

Some languages, such as Arabic, use right-to-left writing instead of left-to-right. If your phone is in a right-to-left language, all horizontal screen options will be reversed (e.g., top-left-corner options will be in the top-right corner, etc.).

Thanks
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

[1]

Log in

7 Easy Steps to Change the Language on an iPhone or iPad

Quick Steps

Steps

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

Warnings

You Might Also Like

References

About This Article

Is this article up to date?

Quizzes

You Might Also Like

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Featured Articles

Featured Articles

Watch Articles

Trending Articles

Quizzes

Explore Categories