Assign a language for text

Last updated on Oct 9, 2026

Control how Photoshop hyphenates and spell-checks your text by assigning a language dictionary.

When you assign a language to text, Photoshop uses that language's hyphenation rules and spell-check dictionary. This affects how words break across lines and which words are flagged during spell-checking. For example, "Cactophiles" hyphenates differently in US English, UK English, and French based on each language's syllable-break rules.

You can assign a language to selected text, entire layers, or set a default for new documents.

Before you begin

Ensure you have a document open in Photoshop with text layers.

Assign a language to the selected text

Select the type layer in the Layers panel or use the Horizontal Type tool to select specific text.

Select Window > Character to open the Character panel.

Select your desired language from the dropdown menu in the lower-left corner of the Character panel.

The language setting applies to your selection immediately. If you select text containing multiple languages, the dropdown menu displays "Multiple".

Tip

Set your preferred language before creating new text layers to avoid having to change it repeatedly.

Assign a language to a text layer

Select your text layer in the Layers panel.

Select Window > Properties.

Select your desired language from the Language dropdown menu.

This applies the language setting to the entire selected layer.

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