Widely available Supported across all major browsers. Safe to use in production.

Language

The language read-only property of the Navigator interface returns a string representing the preferred language of the user, usually the language of the browser UI.

Utilities

Browser support

Feature Desktop Mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Safari
Chrome Android
Safari iOS
language
1
12
1
1
18
1
languages

The languages read-only property of the Navigator interface returns an array of strings representing the user's preferred languages. The language is described using a BCP 47 language tag. In the returned array they are ordered by preference with the most preferred language first.
37
16
32
10.1
37
10.3
languagechange_event

The languagechange event is fired at the global scope object when the user's preferred language changes.
37
79
32
10.1
37
10.3
languagechange_event

The languagechange event is fired at the global scope object when the user's preferred language changes.
4
79
74
18
language

The WorkerNavigator.language read-only property returns a string representing the preferred language of the user, usually the language of the browser UI.
4
12
3.5
10
18
10
languages

The WorkerNavigator.languages read-only property returns an array of strings representing the user's preferred languages. The language is described using BCP 47 language tag. In the returned array they are ordered by preference with the most preferred language first.
37
16
32
10.1
37
10.3
1+Supported (version) Not supported ※Has note Sub-feature descriptions sourced from MDN Web Docs (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • Before Firefox 4, this property's value was also part of the user agent string, as reported by `navigator.userAgent`. Starting in Firefox 5, this property's value is based on the value of the `Accept-Language` HTTP header.
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • Before Chrome 65, `navigator.languages[0]` is not guaranteed to equal `navigator.language`.
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • In Firefox, the `navigator.languages` property's value is taken from the `intl.accept_languages` preference.
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • Before Chrome Android 65, `navigator.languages[0]` is not guaranteed to equal `navigator.language`.
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • Before Firefox 4, this property's value was also part of the user agent string, as reported by `navigator.userAgent`. Starting in Firefox 5, this property's value is based on the value of the `Accept-Language` HTTP header.
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • Before Chrome 65, `navigator.languages[0]` is not guaranteed to equal `navigator.language`.
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • In Firefox, the `navigator.languages` property's value is taken from the `intl.accept_languages` preference.
Notes 1 item(s)
Implementation note
  • Before Chrome Android 65, `navigator.languages[0]` is not guaranteed to equal `navigator.language`.

Use cases

  • Using Language

    The language read-only property of the Navigator interface returns a string representing the preferred language of the user, usually the language of the browser UI.

Cautions

  • May not be supported in older browsers.

Implementation notes

  • Some APIs require a secure context (HTTPS) or user activation. Check the requirements before use.

Related links