my keyboard is not switching languages

Question

my keyboard is not switching languages

Yadnellys Orta 0

hi!

I want to write in Korean, but my keyboard keeps writing in English. It changes the language on the screen, and it switch when I press WINDOWS+SPACE, but when I start writing all letters still coming as English. I don't know what to do; HELP!!

Locked Question. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

2 answers

Answer 1

Hendrix-V 21,000 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Yadnellys Orta,

Thank you for reaching out.

Even though Korean appears selected, Windows can still be in English input mode inside the Korean keyboard. In that case, letters will continue typing in English until Hangul input is enabled.

In addition to Q&A Assist's answer, here's the clarified steps that you can try to resolve this:

Press Windows + Space and select Korean
Look at the taskbar near the clock
If you see A, click it so it changes to 가
Start typing - Korean characters should now appear
Keyboard shortcut: Press Right ALT to toggle A ↔ 가

If it still types English:

Go to Settings > Time & Language > Language
Select Korean > Options
Under Keyboards, confirm Microsoft IME is listed
If missing, select Add a keyboard > Microsoft IME

Optional check to confirm input mode

Press Windows + Ctrl + O to open the On‑Screen Keyboard
Make sure the input indicator shows 가 before typing

This behavior is expected with Korean IME and is easy to resolve once the 가 (Hangul) mode is active. After switching, Korean typing should work smoothly across apps.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Hendrix-V 21,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-18T01:06:01.26+00:00

Hi,

I just wanted to follow up and check if the information I provided was helpful. If you have any further questions or updates regarding this issue, please feel free to let me know in the Comments section. I'd be happy to assist you.
mmhmm 0 Reputation points

2026-10-28T07:07:36.4833333+00:00

Hi Hendric-V,

I just encountered the same issue with Japanese.
So, I followed the steps you provided all the way down to one step before the end. It says 'Make sure the input indicator shows 가 (あ for me) before typing', but what do I do if I don't see it, even though I see Japanese on the right-side keys?

It would be very helpful if you could reply and help me with this ;}.

Thank you in advance!
JuliaMarvin 24,175 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-28T07:26:10.06+00:00

@mmhmm
Please start your own thread. Do not resurrect old threads.

Answer 2

To type Korean instead of English, both the Korean keyboard layout and the Korean input mode must be active.

Follow these steps in Windows 10:

Check that Korean keyboard is installed
1. Select Start > Settings > Time & Language > Language.
2. Under Preferred languages, make sure Korean is listed.
  - If not, add it: Add a language → choose Korean → complete installation.
3. Select Korean → Options.
4. Under Keyboards, make sure Korean Microsoft IME (or similar Korean keyboard) is added. If not, select Add a keyboard and choose the Korean keyboard.
Switch to the Korean IME layout
- Use Windows logo key + Spacebar until Korean Microsoft IME is shown in the system tray instead of ENG.
- Or click the language icon in the taskbar and select Korean Microsoft IME.
Turn on Hangul input mode (very likely the missing step) When Korean IME is active:
1. In the system tray, next to the 한 icon, there is an A icon (English mode).
2. Click the A icon so it changes to 가. This switches to Hangul input mode.
  - Alternatively, press the Right Alt key to toggle between A (English) and 가 (Korean).
3. Now type: consonants with the left hand, vowels with the right hand. The IME will automatically combine them into Korean syllable blocks.
Optional: Use On-Screen Keyboard to see key mapping
- Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + O to open the On-Screen Keyboard while Korean IME is in Hangul mode (가). It shows which Hangul letter is on each key and can also be used to type.

If Windows+Space changes the language label but letters still appear in English, the usual cause is that Korean IME is active but still in A (English) mode; switching it to 가 resolves this.

References: