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How to Add and Switch Between Keyboard Languages on Windows 11 and 10

Add the keyboard layout you need in Windows Settings, switch layouts from the taskbar or with Windows+Space, and find the taskbar language indicator if it disappears.
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To add a keyboard language in Windows, install a keyboard layout under a language in Settings; to switch layouts, choose the taskbar input indicator or press Windows+Space. A keyboard layout changes the characters keys produce. It does not change the language used for Windows menus and other interface text.

Add a keyboard layout in Windows 11

  1. Open Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
  2. Under the relevant language, open its additional options and select Language options.
  3. Look under Keyboards to see whether the layout you want is already installed.
  4. If it is not listed, select Add a keyboard and choose the layout.

If you cannot find the layout under the language you are viewing, check the language that matches that layout. You may need to install that language. A full language pack for the layout is not always necessary if the layout is already available under another installed language. Microsoft’s language settings guidance explains the distinction.

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Add a keyboard layout in Windows 10

  1. Open Settings > Time & language > Language.
  2. Select the relevant language and open Options.
  3. Under Keyboards, check the installed layouts.
  4. If the layout you want is absent, choose the option to add a keyboard. If it is not available, select or install the language that matches it.

These steps apply to computers that still run Windows 10. Microsoft support for Windows 10 ended on October 14, 2025, so the operating system no longer receives standard support. Microsoft’s language settings guidance covers the settings path.

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Switch between installed keyboard layouts

  • Use the taskbar: Select the input language indicator, usually shown as a language abbreviation, then choose the installed layout you want.
  • Cycle forward: Hold the Windows key and press Space.
  • Cycle backward: Press Windows+Shift+Space.

The taskbar choice and shortcuts switch among layouts that are already installed; they do not add a new one. Microsoft lists these shortcuts in its Windows keyboard shortcuts reference.

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Keyboard layout and Windows display language are different

A keyboard layout controls which characters you enter when you press keys. The display language controls the language Windows uses for interface text. You can change one without changing the other: adding or switching a layout does not, by itself, change Windows’ display language.

Changing the display language is a separate setting, and it can also change the selected keyboard layout. If the keyboard behaves differently at sign-in, check the input indicator on the sign-in screen before entering a username or password. Microsoft’s guidance on input and display language settings describes these related settings.

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Troubleshoot a missing taskbar language indicator

Check for the legacy desktop Language bar

In Windows 11, open Settings > Time & language > Typing > Advanced keyboard settings. If Use the desktop language bar when it’s available is selected, the legacy desktop Language bar replaces the taskbar input icon. Clear that option to restore the taskbar indicator. The legacy bar is an alternative way to switch layouts; its visibility can depend on whether more than one layout is enabled. See Microsoft’s language settings guidance and its Language bar instructions.

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Check the Input Indicator system icon

If the desktop Language bar is not in use, check whether the taskbar’s Input Indicator system icon is turned off. Windows can hide that icon independently of the layouts installed on the computer.

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If Windows+Space does nothing

Check whether more than one keyboard layout is installed. Microsoft notes that the shortcut may do nothing when only one layout is available. Add another layout using the steps above, then try the shortcut again. Microsoft’s input-language instructions cover this check.

Some users may prefer the legacy Language bar. Microsoft also documents Alt+Shift for switching layouts in its Language bar instructions.

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