Have you ever needed to display dates in multiple languages—like Spanish, French, or Japanese—in Excel? By using the “Custom” format option under Cell Formatting, you can easily switch your date displays to different languages. In this post, we’ll walk you through how to configure Excel to show dates in various languages. Whether you’re collaborating with international clients or working in a multilingual team, these tips will help your spreadsheets speak everyone’s language.
1. Why Use Custom Date Formats for Different Languages?
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1-1. Smoother International Communication
When working with colleagues or clients across different countries, aligning the date format to their local style—such as “month/day/year” or “day/month/year”—helps avoid confusion. Plus, seeing the month name and weekday in a familiar language streamlines communication and reduces errors.
1-2. Faster Multilingual Reports
If you need to produce reports or documents in multiple languages from the same Excel file, simply switching the custom format can save a lot of time. There’s no need to manually rewrite dates for each new language version—Excel does the heavy lifting for you.
2. Basic Steps for Applying a Custom Date Format in Excel
- Select the cell(s) in Excel that contain date values.
- On the ribbon, go to the Home tab and click on Format Cells (or right-click the cell and choose “Format Cells”).
- In the Number tab, choose Custom under Category.
- Under Type, enter the custom date format code you want.
- Click OK to confirm.
In the “Type” field, you’ll paste your desired format code. Below, we’ll show you some sample codes for popular languages.
3. Common Language Codes (LCID)
In order to display dates in a specific language, you’ll need to prepend the format code with [$-XXXX], where XXXX is the hexadecimal language code. Below are some examples:
- [$-40A] – Spanish (Spain)
- [$-40C] – French (France)
- [$-411] – Japanese (Japan)
- [$-409] – English (United States)
- [$-809] – English (United Kingdom)
- [$-804] – Chinese (China)
- [$-404] – Chinese (Taiwan)
- [$-412] – Korean (Korea)
- [$-464] – Filipino (Philippines)
Note: When you check the Locale Codes list, look for the LCID Hexadecimal value for Excel. There are many other codes available for different languages and regions, so be sure to browse the entire list if you need something more specific.
4. Practical Examples: How to Customize Your Date Format
We’ll use ddd dd/mmm/yyyy as our sample format to demonstrate how languages can change the appearance of days, months, and the overall date structure.
4-1. Spanish (Spain)
- Sample Format:
[$-40A]ddd dd/mmm/yyyy - Possible Output:
vie 31/ene/2025
- Days (lun, mar, mié, jue, vie, sáb, dom)
- Months (ene, feb, mar, abr, may, jun, jul, ago, sep, oct, nov, dic)
4-2. French (France)
- Sample Format:
[$-40C]ddd dd/mmm/yyyy - Possible Output:
ven. 31/janv./2025
- Days (lun., mar., mer., jeu., ven., sam., dim.)
- Months (janv., févr., mars, avr., mai, juin, juil., août, sept., oct., nov., déc.)
4-3. Japanese (Japan)
- Sample Format:
[$-411]ddd dd/mmm/yyyy - Possible Output:
金 31/1月/2025
- “ddd” shows abbreviated day names (月, 火, 水…)
- “mmm” shows abbreviated months (1月, 2月…)
- “yyyy” is the four-digit year
4-4. English (USA)
- Sample Format:
[$-409]ddd dd/mmm/yyyy - Possible Output:
Fri 31/Jan/2025
- Days in English (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun)
- Months in English (Jan, Feb, Mar…)
4-5. Other Asian Languages (Chinese, Korean, etc.)
Simply change the LCID code to display dates in Chinese, Korean, and many more languages. For example:
- Chinese (China):
[$-804]ddd dd/mmm/yyyy - Chinese (Taiwan):
[$-404]ddd dd/mmm/yyyy - Korean (Korea):
[$-412]ddd dd/mmm/yyyy
5. Looking for More Language Codes?
If you need other languages or regions, make sure to browse the site below. It includes a comprehensive list of LCID codes that Excel can interpret. Simply place the code in the [$-XXXX] tag before your date format.
For example, you might see something like [$-C0A] for another form of Spanish or [$-80C] for a French variant. Feel free to experiment with different codes to match your exact language needs.
6. Conclusion
Using Excel’s Custom date format lets you easily shift your date displays to any language or region. This is especially handy for international collaborations, multilingual reports, and global projects. If you work with multiple countries, simply change the LCID code, and Excel will handle the rest.
Check out the LCID list for a complete range of options. By entering [$-XXXX] correctly, you can customize Excel to show dates in almost any language you can think of. Give it a try and add a global flair to your spreadsheets!
That’s it! Now you have a quick guide on how to display dates in different languages in Excel. Whether you’re dealing with Spanish, French, Japanese, or beyond, these simple tweaks can make your spreadsheets more accessible and user-friendly for everyone.
