How to Change the Interface Language of Yahoo Mail

Change folder names and menu items to your chosen language

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Updated on April 12, 2021
Reviewed by
Lisa Mildon
Lisa Mildon
Reviewed by Lisa Mildon
  • Southern New Hampshire University
Lisa Mildon is a Lifewire writer and an IT professional with 30 years of experience. Her writing has appeared in Geekisphere and other publications.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • Select your profile icon, then go to Add or Manage Accounts > Account info > Preferences > Language.
  • If the language change doesn't take effect immediately, log out of your Yahoo Mail account and then back in.
  • Changing the default language affects the names of folders and menus, navigation options, advertisements, and other Yahoo pages.

This article explains how to change the language in Yahoo Mail in any web browser.

How to Change Languages in Yahoo Mail

To change the language used for your Yahoo Mail account interface:

  1. Log in to your Yahoo account, then select your name or profile image in Yahoo Mail.

    The profile image in Yahoo Mail

  2. Select Add or Manage Accounts.

    The "Add or Manage Accounts" option in Yahoo Mail

  3. In the Manage accounts window, select Account info.

    The Account Info option

  4. In the Personal Info window, select Preferences.

    Preferences in Yahoo Mail Personal Info

  5. In the Preferences window, select the Language drop-down arrow, and then choose the language you want to use for your Yahoo Mail interface.

    The language menu in Yahoo Mail

    Yahoo Mail also supports variants of a language (for example, U.S. English vs. Australian English).

  6. Close the tab and return to your inbox.

The language change takes effect immediately. If it doesn't, log out of your Yahoo Mail account and then log back in.

You can also change the spell checker language in Yahoo Mail on the fly if you compose messages in multiple languages.

What Do the Yahoo Mail Language Settings Do?

When you open a Yahoo Mail account, the language used for the interface is determined by your location. For example, if you live in the United States, the default language is English. As a result, the buttons, menu options, and other Yahoo Mail interface elements are in English.

English isn't the only option available, though. Yahoo Mail supports more than 80 languages and variations of languages to select as alternatives. Changing your default language affects the following:

  • The names of folders and menus.
  • Navigation options.
  • The contents of some advertisements.
  • Other Yahoo pages you visit while logged in to your account.

The emails that were sent to you in the original language and those in your Sent Messages folder aren't translated. The language change applies only to the Yahoo Mail interface.

A person changing language settings on Yahoo Mail
Lifewire / Chelsea Damraksa
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