Believe it or not, not everyone prefers to speak English in their homes (gasp!). Some speak another language as their primary means of communication, while others may want to practice their skills when picking up a new language. The good news is that Amazon has made it easy to change the default language that Alexa will listen for and reply in. This can be done in the Amazon Alexa app or directly on touchscreen Echo devices. We'll walk you through just how to do this in the steps below.
Products used in this guide
- Alexa, Show me you understand: ($50 at Amazon)
- Alexa the linguist: (Free at Google Play)
- Open the Alexa app on your phone.
- Tap on the menu icon (three lines) at the top left corner.
Tap on Settings in the slide over menu, or tap on Devices on the bottom right of the screen.
- Tap on Device Settings, which will pull up your list of All Devices.
- Tap the device with the language you wish to change.
Scroll down the settings list until you find Language, and tap on it.
- Scroll through the list of languages until you find the one you want, and tap on it.
A prompt will pop up that says that updating your language settings may take a few moments. Tap OK.
Now your Echo device will speak and listen in the language you selected. To change the language settings on your other Echo devices, repeat this process per device.
How to do change the language on your Echo on Echo Show
- Swipe down from the top of the screen on your Echo Show device.
Tap on the Settings gear icon in the top right corner.
Scroll down the list of options and tap on Device Options.
Scroll down and tap on Device Language.
Scroll through the list of options until you find the one you want. Tap on it.
Now your Echo Show will listen for, and respond with, the language preferences you set. Pretty easy, right?
Alexa can speak in seven languages (and regional dialects of those languages): English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. Amazon hopes to continue adding more supported langauges.
The company also recently announced a that it is rolling out to Echo devices starting in the U.S. The first language to be supported is Spanish, and Alexa and reply in whichever language it is spoken to, be that English or Spanish. Amazon says it plans to roll out multilingual mode support for English and Spanish in the U.S., Indian English and Hindi in India, and Canadian English and French in Canada.
Our top equipment picks
The Echo Show devices are the only Echo products on which you can directly and easily change device settings like language.
Languages at your fingertips
Amazon Echo Show 5
Your personalized portal to Alexa
The Echo Show 5 addresses many of the criticisms of earlier generation products, adding privacy-focused features, a great screen, and a good speaker — all in a convenient size!
Touchscreen Echo devices like the Echo Show 5, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show (2nd Gen) provide a quick and easy way to adjust all sorts of device settings, including your language preference. Just a few taps and Alexa will be speaking to you in French, Spanish, or even Japanese!
Additional Equipment
Just a reminder that it is easiest to change the language settings for all of your Echo devices directly from the Alexa app, so make sure you have it downloaded and installed on your phone!
Amazon Alexa App
Download the Alexa app to control your Amazon Echo and enable productive and fun skills.