How to change the Shopify Checkout language?

Method 1: Change your theme language

Many Shopify themes include a built-in translation feature that allows you to translate your entire store, including the checkout. This is the simplest method to change the checkout language, especially if you’re looking for basic translations.

Change your online store’s default language

You can easily change your store’s default language by following these steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Languages.
2. In the “Published languages” section, click … next to the current default language, then click Change default.
3. Select the new default language from the menu, then click Save.

Add new languages to your online store

If the language you want is not available in the published list, you’ll need to add it manually. Keep in mind that adding a language provides checkout translations only for compatible themes. Here’s how to proceed:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Languages.
2. Click Add language, then select the desired language from the dropdown menu. Once selected, click Add.
3. Use the Translate & Adapt app, an app created by Shopify to import your translations into Shopify, or visit the Shopify App Store to install a translation app. Follow the app’s instructions to translate and publish the new languages.
4. Click Translate to automatically translate the language.
5. Once you’ve added a language, you can publish it to make it available to your customers:
   • In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Languages.
   • In the “Unpublished languages” section, click Publish next to the language you want to make available.
   • Click Publish to confirm.

Note: Without additional translations, only the theme and checkout default translations will be displayed, while all other content will revert to the default language.

Create your own translations for your theme

If your theme doesn’t have the language you need, or if you want to adjust the default translations, you can create your own translations. Here’s how to proceed:

Create your own translations with the Shopify Translate & Adapt app

1. Install the Shopify Translate & Adapt app
2. Go to Theme > Default theme content > Checkout and system
3. Replace the text with its equivalent in the other language then click Save

If you see angle brackets ( < > ) around words or phrases in a text block, this means you can edit the HTML code. Click on it and translate only the relevant text. For example, if the HTML shows Checkout, focus on translating the word “Checkout” only. I would translate it to Vietnamese here as Thanh toán.

Add language translations via CSV files

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Languages.
2. Click Export.
3. Select the language you want to export.
4. In the downloaded CSV file, add your translations in the “Translated content” column. Save your changes. You don’t need to modify the values in the other columns of the CSV file.
5. Return to Settings > Languages.
6. Click Import.
7. Click Add file and select your translated CSV file.
8. Check Overwrite existing translations if you want the translated language content in your CSV file to replace existing translations. Uncheck this option if you want to import only new translated content without replacing existing translations.
9. Click Upload and continue.
10. Review the import information and click Import.

You will receive a confirmation email listing any failed or ignored translations. If your CSV file contains errors, the import will stop and the errors will be displayed on the page.