What are ISO 639 language codes?
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What are ISO 639 language codes?
ISO 639 language codes exist to identify the languages, dialects and language scripts worldwide. It is an international standardization of linguistic codes.
The most important for localization are: the 639-1, 639-2, and 639-3 ISO code set.
ISO 639 basics
ISO 639 language codes were released by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). ISO standards are the most frequently used linguistic codification - from language recognition to translation; ISO language codes have proven to be crucial for neural learning. LingoHub translation management platform supports all language codes defined in ISO 639 standard.
ISO 639 contains language designators that allow the assignment of target locales for localization projects. A locale is a set that defines the language and region preferences that the user wants to see in their user interface. Usually, a locale identifier includes a language code and a country or region code. The most famous ISO language standard sets are the ISO 639 for language codes and ISO 15924 standard of codes for language scripts.
ISO 639 language standard has several different sets, while the following three are currently the most relevant:
ISO 639-1: two-character code which serves as identifiers for major (macro) languages from the world, as well as some ancient languages.
ISO 639-2: the three-character code covers almost all the languages of the world and has identifiers for language families. Includes as well historical and constructed languages.
ISO 693-3: largely overlaps with ISO 639-2, but includes several less-known languages. Created with computer systems in mind.
How to choose the right ISO code for your project?
Here are several things to take into account when choosing the right language code for the localization of your project:
Will you be able to reach your target audience with a macro language?
Is your audience’s language region-specific? Is there a language variant that exists in several different territories?
Does your localization project require different scripts for the same language?
ISO 639-1 Language Code List
The 639-1 language code list is available below.
ISO Code Language | ISO Code Language | ISO Code Language | |||
aa | Afar | hy | Armenian | or | Oriya |
ab | Abkhaz | hz | Herero | os | Ossetian |
af | Afrikaans | id | Indonesian | pa | Panjabi |
ak | Akan | ig | Igbo | pl | Polish |
am | Amharic | ii | Nuosu | ps | Pashto |
an | Aragonese | ik | Inupiaq | pt | Portuguese |
ar | Arabic | io | Ido | qu | Quechua |
as | Assamese | is | Icelandic | rm | Romansh |
av | Avaric | it | Italian | rn | Kirundi |
ay | Aymara | iu | Inuktitut | ro | Romanian |
az | Azerbaijani | ja | Japanese | ru | Russian |
ba | Bashkir | jv | Javanese | rw | Kinyarwanda |
be | Belarusian | ka | Georgian | sa | Sanskrit |
bg | Bulgarian | kg | Kongo | sc | Sardinian |
bh | Bihari | ki | Kikuyu | sd | Sindhi |
bi | Bislama | kj | Kwanyama | se | Northern Sami |
bm | Bambara | kk | Kazakh | sg | Sango |
bn | Bengali | kl | Kalaallisut | si | Sinhala |
bo | Tibetan | km | Khmer | sk | Slovak |
br | Breton | kn | Kannada | sl | Slovenian |
bs | Bosnian | ko | Korean | sm | Samoan |
ca | Catalan | kr | Kanuri | sn | Shona |
ce | Chechen | ks | Kashmiri | so | Somali |
ch | Chamorro | ku | Kurdish | sq | Albanian |
co | Corsican | kv | Komi | sr | Serbian |
cr | Cree | kw | Cornish | ss | Swati |
cs | Czech | ky | Kyrgyz | st | Southern Sotho |
cv | Chuvash | lb | Luxembourgish | su | Sundanese |
cy | Welsh | lg | Ganda | sv | Swedish |
da | Danish | li | Limburgish | sw | Swahili |
de | German | ln | Lingala | ta | Tamil |
dv | Divehi | lo | Lao | te | Telugu |
dz | Dzongkha | lt | Lithuanian | tg | Tajik |
ee | Ewe | lu | Luba-Katanga | th | Thai |
el | Greek | lv | Latvian | ti | Tigrinya |
en | English | mg | Malagasy | tk | Turkmen |
es | Spanish | mh | Marshallese | tl | Tagalog |
et | Estonian | mi | Māori | tn | Tswana |
eu | Basque | mk | Macedonian | to | Tonga |
fa | Persian | ml | Malayalam | tr | Turkish |
ff | Fula | mn | Mongolian | ts | Tsonga |
fi | Finnish | mr | Marathi | tt | Tatar |
fj | Fijian | ms | Malay | tw | Twi |
fo | Faroese | mt | Maltese | ty | Tahitian |
fr | French | my | Burmese | ug | Uighur |
fy | Western Frisian | na | Nauru | uk | Ukrainian |
ga | Irish | nb | Norwegian Bokmål | ur | Urdu |
gd | Scottish Gaelic | nd | North Ndebele | uz | Uzbek |
gl | Galician | ne | Nepali | ve | Venda |
gn | Guaraní | ng | Ndonga | vi | Vietnamese |
gu | Gujarati | nl | Dutch | wa | Walloon |
gv | Manx | nn | Norwegian Nynorsk | wo | Wolof |
ha | Hausa | no | Norwegian | xh | Xhosa |
he | Hebrew | nr | South Ndebele | yi | Yiddish |
hi | Hindi | nv | Navajo | yo | Yoruba |
ho | Hiri Motu | ny | Chichewa | za | Zhuang |
hr | Croatian | oc | Occitan | zh | Chinese |
ht | Haitian | oj | Ojibwe | zu | Zulu |
hu | Hungarian | om | Oromo |
|
What is the ISO 639-2 language standard?
ISO 639-2 is part of the ISO 639 language code standards, which exist to identify the languages, dialects and languages scripts around the world. ISO 639-2 has three-letter codes for languages.
The ISO 639-2 standard was released for the first time in 1998, as a build up of ISO 639-1. The ISO 639-1 language provides a list of two-letter identifiers of mostly macro languages. On the other hand, the ISO 639-2 standard provides a more extensive list and a three-letter codification.
Which languages does ISO 639-2 include?
The ISO 639-2 language standard includes:
Individual languages
Macrolanguages - a group of linguistically varied dialects within one “umbrella language“.
Language collections - or collective language codes refer to languages which have a similarity, but not a high enough level of similarity to be considered dialects (example, Germanic, Slavic languages)
Special situations
Special situations group include 4 generic codes, which are also present in the ISO 639-3 standard:
mis - uncoded or miscellaneous languages
mul - when several languages are used simultaneously
und - undetermined, when a language is not identified
zxx - non linguistic content, such as onomatopoeia (animal sounds)
ISO 639-2 Code Language Checklist
ISO 639-2 Code Language | ISO 639-2 Code Language | ||
aar | Afar | lad | Ladino |
abk | Abkhazian | lah | Lahnda |
ace | Achinese | lam | Lamba |
ach | Acoli | lao | Lao |
ada | Adangme | lat | Latin |
ady | Adyghe; Adygei | lav | Latvian |
afa | Afro-Asiatic languages | lez | Lezghian |
afh | Afrihili | lim | Limburgan; Limburger; Limburgish |
afr | Afrikaans | lin | Lingala |
ain | Ainu | lit | Lithuanian |
aka | Akan | lol | Mongo |
akk | Akkadian | loz | Lozi |
alb (B), sqi (T) | Albanian | ltz | Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch |
ale | Aleut | lua | Luba-Lulua |
alg | Algonquian languages | lub | Luba-Katanga |
alt | Southern Altai | lug | Ganda |
amh | Amharic | lui | Luiseno |
ang | English, Old (ca.450-1100) | lun | Lunda |
anp | Angika | luo | Luo (Kenya and Tanzania) |
apa | Apache languages | lus | Lushai |
ara | Arabic | mac (B), mkd (T) | Macedonian |
arc | Official Aramaic (700-300 BCE); Imperial Aramaic (700-300 BCE) | mad | Madurese |
arg | Aragonese | mag | Magahi |
arm (B), hye (T) | Armenian | mah | Marshallese |
arn | Mapudungun; Mapuche | mai | Maithili |
arp | Arapaho | mak | Makasar |
art | Artificial languages | mal | Malayalam |
arw | Arawak | man | Mandingo |
asm | Assamese | mao (B), mri (T) | Maori |
ast | Asturian; Bable; Leonese; Asturleonese | map | Austronesian languages |
ath | Athapascan languages | mar | Marathi |
aus | Australian languages | mas | Masai |
ava | Avaric | may (B), msa (T) | Malay |
ave | Avestan | mdf | Moksha |
awa | Awadhi | mdr | Mandar |
aym | Aymara | men | Mende |
aze | Azerbaijani | mga | Irish, Middle (900-1200) |
bad | Banda languages | mic | Mi'kmaq; Micmac |
bai | Bamileke languages | min | Minangkabau |
bak | Bashkir | mis | Uncoded languages |
bal | Baluchi | mac (B), mkd (T) | Macedonian |
bam | Bambara | mkh | Mon-Khmer languages |
ban | Balinese | mlg | Malagasy |
baq (B), eus (T) | Basque | mlt | Maltese |
bas | Basa | mnc | Manchu |
bat | Baltic languages | mni | Manipuri |
bej | Beja; Bedawiyet | mno | Manobo languages |
bel | Belarusian | moh | Mohawk |
bem | Bemba | mon | Mongolian |
ben | Bengali | mos | Mossi |
ber | Berber languages | mao (B), mri (T) | Maori |
bho | Bhojpuri | may (B), msa (T) | Malay |
bih | Bihari languages | mul | Multiple languages |
bik | Bikol | mun | Munda languages |
bin | Bini; Edo | mus | Creek |
bis | Bislama | mwl | Mirandese |
bla | Siksika | mwr | Marwari |
bnt | Bantu languages | bur (B), mya (T) | Burmese |
tib (B), bod (T) | Tibetan | myn | Mayan languages |
bos | Bosnian | myv | Erzya |
bra | Braj | nah | Nahuatl languages |
bre | Breton | nai | North American Indian languages |
btk | Batak languages | nap | Neapolitan |
bua | Buriat | nau | Nauru |
bug | Buginese | nav | Navajo; Navaho |
bul | Bulgarian | nbl | Ndebele, South; South Ndebele |
bur (B), mya (T) | Burmese | nde | Ndebele, North; North Ndebele |
byn | Blin; Bilin | ndo | Ndonga |
cad | Caddo | nds | Low German; Low Saxon; |
cai | Central American Indian languages | nep | Nepali |
car | Galibi Carib | new | Nepal Bhasa; Newari |
cat | Catalan; Valencian | nia | Nias |
cau | Caucasian languages | nic | Niger-Kordofanian languages |
ceb | Cebuano | niu | Niuean |
cel | Celtic languages | dut (B), nld (T) | Dutch; Flemish |
cze (B), ces (T) | Czech | nno | Norwegian Nynorsk; Nynorsk, Norwegian |
cha | Chamorro | nob | Bokmål, Norwegian; Norwegian Bokmål |
chb | Chibcha | nog | Nogai |
che | Chechen | non | Norse, Old |
chg | Chagatai | nor | Norwegian |
chi (B), zho (T) | Chinese | nqo | N'Ko |
chk | Chuukese | nso | Pedi; Sepedi; Northern Sotho |
chm | Mari | nub | Nubian languages |
chn | Chinook jargon | nwc | Classical/Old Newari; Classical Nepal Bhasa |
cho | Choctaw | nya | Chichewa; Chewa; Nyanja |
chp | Chipewyan; Dene Suline | nym | Nyamwezi |
chr | Cherokee | nyn | Nyankole |
chu | Church Slavic; Old Slavonic; Church Slavonic; Old Bulgarian | nyo | Nyoro |
chv | Chuvash | nzi | Nzima |
chy | Cheyenne | oci | Occitan (post 1500) |
cmc | Chamic languages | oji | Ojibwa |
cnr | Montenegrin | ori | Oriya |
cop | Coptic | orm | Oromo |
cor | Cornish | osa | Osage |
cos | Corsican | oss | Ossetian; Ossetic |
cpe | Creoles and pidgins, English based | ota | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928) |
cpf | Creoles and pidgins, French-based | oto | Otomian languages |
cpp | Creoles and pidgins, Portuguese-based | paa | Papuan languages |
cre | Cree | pag | Pangasinan |
crh | Crimean Tatar; Crimean Turkish | pal | Pahlavi |
crp | Creoles and pidgins | pam | Pampanga; Kapampangan |
csb | Kashubian | pan | Panjabi; Punjabi |
cus | Cushitic languages | pap | Papiamento |
wel (B), cym (T) | Welsh | pau | Palauan |
cze (B), ces (T) | Czech | peo | Persian, Old (ca.600-400 B.C.) |
dak | Dakota | per (B), fas (T) | Persian |
dan | Danish | phi | Philippine languages |
dar | Dargwa | phn | Phoenician |
day | Land Dayak languages | pli | Pali |
del | Delaware | pol | Polish |
den | Slave (Athapascan) | pon | Pohnpeian |
ger (B), deu (T) | German | por | Portuguese |
dgr | Dogrib | pra | Prakrit languages |
din | Dinka | pro | Provençal, Old (to 1500); Occitan, Old (to 1500) |
div | Divehi; Dhivehi; Maldivian | pus | Pushto; Pashto |
doi | Dogri | qaa-qtz | Reserved for local use |
dra | Dravidian languages | que | Quechua |
dsb | Lower Sorbian | raj | Rajasthani |
dua | Duala | rap | Rapanui |
dum | Dutch, Middle (ca.1050-1350) | rar | Rarotongan; Cook Islands Maori |
dut (B), nld (T) | Dutch; Flemish | roa | Romance languages |
dyu | Dyula | roh | Romansh |
dzo | Dzongkha | rom | Romany |
efi | Efik | rum (B), ron (T) | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan |
egy | Egyptian (Ancient) | rum (B), ron (T) | Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan |
eka | Ekajuk | run | Rundi |
gre (B), ell (T) | Greek, Modern (1453-) | rup | Aromanian; Arumanian; Macedo-Romanian |
elx | Elamite | rus | Russian |
eng | English | sad | Sandawe |
enm | English, Middle (1100-1500) | sag | Sango |
epo | Esperanto | sah | Yakut |
est | Estonian | sai | South American Indian languages |
baq (B), eus (T) | Basque | sal | Salishan languages |
ewe | Ewe | sam | Samaritan Aramaic |
ewo | Ewondo | san | Sanskrit |
fan | Fang | sas | Sasak |
fao | Faroese | sat | Santali |
per (B), fas (T) | Persian | scn | Sicilian |
fat | Fanti | sco | Scots |
fij | Fijian | sel | Selkup |
fil | Filipino; Pilipino | sem | Semitic languages |
fin | Finnish | sga | Irish, Old (to 900) |
fiu | Finno-Ugrian languages | sgn | Sign Languages |
fon | Fon | shn | Shan |
fre (B), fra (T) | French | sid | Sidamo |
fre (B), fra (T) | French | sin | Sinhala; Sinhalese |
frm | French, Middle (ca.1400-1600) | sio | Siouan languages |
fro | French, Old (842-ca.1400) | sit | Sino-Tibetan languages |
frr | Northern Frisian | sla | Slavic languages |
frs | Eastern Frisian | slo (B), slk (T) | Slovak |
fry | Western Frisian | slo (B), slk (T) | Slovak |
ful | Fulah | slv | Slovenian |
fur | Friulian | sma | Southern Sami |
gaa | Ga | sme | Northern Sami |
gay | Gayo | smi | Sami languages |
gba | Gbaya | smj | Lule Sami |
gem | Germanic languages | smn | Inari Sami |
geo (B), kat (T) | Georgian | smo | Samoan |
ger (B), deu (T) | German | sms | Skolt Sami |
gez | Geez | sna | Shona |
gil | Gilbertese | snd | Sindhi |
gla | Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic | snk | Soninke |
gle | Irish | sog | Sogdian |
glg | Galician | som | Somali |
glv | Manx | son | Songhai languages |
gmh | German, Middle High (ca.1050-1500) | sot | Sotho, Southern |
goh | German, Old High (ca.750-1050) | spa | Spanish; Castilian |
gon | Gondi | alb (B), sqi (T) | Albanian |
gor | Gorontalo | srd | Sardinian |
got | Gothic | srn | Sranan Tongo |
grb | Grebo | srp | Serbian |
grc | Greek, Ancient (to 1453) | srr | Serer |
gre (B), ell (T) | Greek, Modern (1453-) | ssa | Nilo-Saharan languages |
grn | Guarani | ssw | Swati |
gsw | Swiss German; Alemannic; Alsatian | suk | Sukuma |
guj | Gujarati | sun | Sundanese |
gwi | Gwich'in | sus | Susu |
hai | Haida | sux | Sumerian |
hat | Haitian; Haitian Creole | swa | Swahili |
hau | Hausa | swe | Swedish |
haw | Hawaiian | syc | Classical Syriac |
heb | Hebrew | syr | Syriac |
her | Herero | tah | Tahitian |
hil | Hiligaynon | tai | Tai languages |
him | Himachali languages; Western Pahari languages | tam | Tamil |
hin | Hindi | tat | Tatar |
hit | Hittite | tel | Telugu |
hmn | Hmong; Mong | tem | Timne |
hmo | Hiri Motu | ter | Tereno |
hrv | Croatian | tet | Tetum |
hsb | Upper Sorbian | tgk | Tajik |
hun | Hungarian | tgl | Tagalog |
hup | Hupa | tha | Thai |
arm (B), hye (T) | Armenian | tib (B), bod (T) | Tibetan |
iba | Iban | tig | Tigre |
ibo | Igbo | tir | Tigrinya |
ice (B), isl (T) | Icelandic | tiv | Tiv |
ido | Ido | tkl | Tokelau |
iii | Sichuan Yi; Nuosu | tlh | Klingon; tlhIngan-Hol |
ijo | Ijo languages | tli | Tlingit |
iku | Inuktitut | tmh | Tamashek |
ile | Interlingue; Occidental | tog | Tonga (Nyasa) |
ilo | Iloko | ton | Tonga (Tonga Islands) |
ina | Interlingua (International Auxiliary Language Association) | tpi | Tok Pisin |
inc | Indic languages | tsi | Tsimshian |
ind | Indonesian | tsn | Tswana |
ine | Indo-European languages | tso | Tsonga |
inh | Ingush | tuk | Turkmen |
ipk | Inupiaq | tum | Tumbuka |
ira | Iranian languages | tup | Tupi languages |
iro | Iroquoian languages | tur | Turkish |
ice (B), isl (T) | Icelandic | tut | Altaic languages |
ita | Italian | tvl | Tuvalu |
jav | Javanese | twi | Twi |
jbo | Lojban | tyv | Tuvinian |
jpn | Japanese | udm | Udmurt |
jpr | Judeo-Persian | uga | Ugaritic |
jrb | Judeo-Arabic | uig | Uighur; Uyghur |
kaa | Kara-Kalpak | ukr | Ukrainian |
kab | Kabyle | umb | Umbundu |
kac | Kachin; Jingpho | und | Undetermined |
kal | Kalaallisut; Greenlandic | urd | Urdu |
kam | Kamba | uzb | Uzbek |
kan | Kannada | vai | Vai |
kar | Karen languages | ven | Venda |
kas | Kashmiri | vie | Vietnamese |
geo (B), kat (T) | Georgian | vol | Volapük |
kau | Kanuri | vot | Votic |
kaw | Kawi | wak | Wakashan languages |
kaz | Kazakh | wal | Wolaitta; Wolaytta |
kbd | Kabardian | war | Waray |
kha | Khasi | was | Washo |
khi | Khoisan languages | wel (B), cym (T) | Welsh |
khm | Central Khmer | wen | Sorbian languages |
kho | Khotanese; Sakan | wln | Walloon |
kik | Kikuyu; Gikuyu | wol | Wolof |
kin | Kinyarwanda | xal | Kalmyk; Oirat |
kir | Kirghiz; Kyrgyz | xho | Xhosa |
kmb | Kimbundu | yao | Yao |
kok | Konkani | yap | Yapese |
kom | Komi | yid | Yiddish |
kon | Kongo | yor | Yoruba |
kor | Korean | ypk | Yupik languages |
kos | Kosraean | zap | Zapotec |
kpe | Kpelle | zbl | Blissymbols; Blissymbolics; Bliss |
krc | Karachay-Balkar | zen | Zenaga |
krl | Karelian | zgh | Standard Moroccan Tamazight |
kro | Kru languages | zha | Zhuang; Chuang |
kru | Kurukh | chi (B), zho (T) | Chinese |
kua | Kuanyama; Kwanyama | znd | Zande languages |
kum | Kumyk | zul | Zulu |
kur | Kurdish | zun | Zuni |
kut | Kutenai | zxx | No linguistic content; Not applicable |
|
| zza | Zaza; Dimili; Dimli; Kirdki; Kirmanjki; Zazaki |
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