How to Change Language in League of Legends: 3 Methods That Work in 2026

To change language in League of Legends, open the Riot Client settings, choose League of Legends and pick a language from the dropdown; the client downloads the language files and restarts. That dropdown only lists languages supported on your region. For others, players use an unofficial edit of the locale setting in LeagueClientSettings.yaml or a shortcut with a locale flag.

How do you change language in League of Legends?

The official way is quick. In the current Riot Client, the steps look like this, and the only wait is the language download at the end:

1. Open the Riot Client. If League is running, close the game first.
2. Click the profile icon in the top-right corner and open Settings.
3. Select League of Legends in the list on the left.
4. Find the language setting and pick the language you want.
5. Close Settings. The client downloads the language files and restarts League.

That is the whole job for most people. Expect the download to take a few minutes on a normal connection, because voice files for a new language are the largest part of it. The language you pick controls the League client (menus, store, collection) and the game itself (ability text, item descriptions and, where Riot recorded it, voice-over).

The Riot Client has its own language setting too, separate from the game. If the launcher window stays in the old language while League switches, that is why. Bothered? Change it under the Riot Client’s general settings.

Why can’t I change League of Legends to my language?

Because the dropdown is tied to your account’s region. Each region offers the languages Riot supports there, so an EUW account sees a wider set of European languages, while an NA account sees a short list. Want Korean on EUW, or Japanese on NA? The official menu will not offer it.

Honestly, that limit is the reason the other two methods exist at all. Both are community workarounds rather than Riot features: they change a client setting before the game loads. Neither touches game code, but Riot can overwrite them during a patch, and support will not help if something goes wrong. Keep that in mind before you start.

Edit LeagueClientSettings.yaml to change the LoL language

This edit forces a language the dropdown does not offer. On Windows:

1. Close League and quit the Riot Client completely, including its icon in the system tray.
2. Open your League install folder (by default C:\Riot Games\League of Legends).
3. Open the Config folder and find LeagueClientSettings.yaml.
4. Open the file in Notepad and find the line that starts with locale: followed by a code such as en_US.
5. Replace the code with the one you want, for example ko_KR or ja_JP, keeping the same format.
6. Save the file and start League again.

Only change the locale line. Leave the region line, the install path and everything else in that file alone, because a wrong region value makes the client try to load a different server’s setup. If the client ignores the change or reverts it on the next launch, the shortcut method below usually sticks better.

On a Mac the same file lives inside the League app bundle, in its Config folder. Same edit. (Well, assuming you are comfortable opening an app’s package contents in Finder.)

The locale shortcut method for Windows

Short version: a desktop shortcut that starts League with a language flag, every single time you launch from it.

1. Open the League install folder and find LeagueClient.exe.
2. Right-click it and create a shortcut, then move the shortcut to your desktop.
3. Right-click the shortcut, open Properties, and click at the end of the Target field after the closing quote mark.
4. Type a space and then --locale=ko_KR (or another code).
5. Click Apply, then OK, and always start League from this shortcut.

The full target line looks like this: "C:\Riot Games\League of Legends\LeagueClient.exe" --locale=ko_KR. Start League any other way and it ignores the flag. The Riot Client’s Play button, for instance, uses the normal language setting from the dropdown, so pin the shortcut to the taskbar if you want to stop clicking the wrong thing out of habit.

Thing is, this method is the one that patches break most often. If League suddenly opens in your old language after an update, recreate the shortcut and check the Target line before anything else.

League of Legends language codes

The yaml file and the shortcut both use the same locale codes. These are the common ones:

Watch the order of letters. The code is language first, then country, so Japanese is ja_JP, never jp_JA. A typo usually leaves the client in English, which looks like the method failed when it was just one swapped letter.

Can you have English text with Japanese or Korean voices?

Not through the official menu, which sets one language for both. The language you choose decides the text and, where a full voice-over exists, the voices. Players who want English menus with Korean or Japanese voice lines usually switch to that language for the voices and accept the foreign text, or switch back and forth depending on what they are doing.

Funny enough, plenty of players do this for one champion. Some voice casts are famous in their own right, and hearing a favourite champion in Korean or Japanese is a common reason people search for this in the first place. Not every language has a complete voice-over for every champion, though, so a few lines may stay in English.

Does changing the language affect your account or ranked?

No. Language is a display setting on your computer. It does not change your region, your server, your matchmaking or your rank, and it does not move your account anywhere. You play with the same people and the same ranked ladder as before, just with different text and voices.

Playing on a laptop and a desktop? The setting also does not follow you to another computer. Log in somewhere else and League uses that machine’s language setting, which is why a friend’s PC may greet you in their language.

One thing that does depend on region is which languages are official there, and that never changes by editing files. If you actually want to play on a different server, that is a region choice. Our guide on how to switch your Riot account region covers transfers and their limits.

Common problems after you change the LoL language

Most issues come from a leftover file or a patch reset.

• The game reverts to the old language after a patch. Recheck the yaml locale line or recreate the shortcut.
• The client is stuck downloading the new language. Check free disk space first; each language adds a set of files of its own.
• Text shows boxes instead of letters. The language pack did not finish downloading; repair the game from the Riot Client settings.
• The client will not start after a yaml edit. Undo the edit, or delete LeagueClientSettings.yaml so the client recreates it with default values.

In practice, a repair from the Riot Client settings fixes almost everything here. If League refuses to open at all, our guide to fixing League not opening goes through the other causes. And if the language mix-up started with chat, our page on how to disable chat in League of Legends covers the chat settings.

For what it’s worth, the safest order is always the same: try the official dropdown first, use the yaml edit only for a language your region does not offer, and keep the shortcut as the backup when you change language in League of Legends. Switching back takes the same steps in reverse, and none of them touch your rank, your skins or your account data.

FAQ

How do I change the language in League of Legends?

Open the Riot Client, go to Settings, select League of Legends and choose a language from the dropdown. The client downloads the files and restarts.

Why is my language not available in League?

The official dropdown only shows languages supported on your account’s region. Other languages need an unofficial edit of LeagueClientSettings.yaml or a shortcut with a locale flag.

What is the Korean language code for League of Legends?

ko_KR. Japanese is ja_JP, Chinese (Simplified) is zh_CN and English (US) is en_US.

Can I get Korean voices in League of Legends?

Yes, by setting the game language to Korean (ko_KR) with the yaml edit or the locale shortcut. The text will also switch to Korean.

Can you get banned if you change the language file in LoL?

Changing the locale is a display setting, not a cheat, and it does not modify game code. It is still unofficial, so Riot can reset it during a patch and support will not help with problems it causes.

Does changing language change my server or rank?

No. Language only changes text and voices on your computer. Your region, server, matchmaking and rank stay the same.