SAP Change Language Of The SAP Interface After Login

In case the SAP interface language isn’t a language that you understand or want to use, it might be useful to change the SAP HANA language to one that you understand, provided that the language has been installed and enabled by the system administrator.


How do I change the language in SAP to English?

In case the  SAP interface   language isn’t a language that you understand or want to use, it might be useful to change the SAP HANA language to one that you understand, provided that the language has been installed and enabled by the system administrator.

The language of the graphical interface is different than the language in which SAP is programmed, and if you are looking to identify SAP interfaces connections then you might want to check below link:

Identify SAP interfaces to external systems

In any case, changing the SAP HANA language is done by entering the correct SAP language key such as EN for English, FR for French, or DE for German, in the  SAP login   screen. If the language has been enabled in your system then the login will be done in your chosen language. See below a full guide on getting the SAP HANA language right on your  SAP IDES login   system!

SAP change language

In order to change the default language, the one displayed by default in the  SAP login   screen, you need to change it through the preferences. If you simply select another language while logging in, it will be applied to the current session only, and you'll have to enter it again the next time you log in.

To definitely change your default language, in the SAP Logon window, go to Options…

Find the SAP Logon Options => General options, and there change the Language. Also make sure the Use SAP Logon language as default logon screen is checked.

Apply the change, and restart your SAP Logon as prompted, all active sessions will be closed.

Then, reopen SAP Logon, you should already see the interface in the requested language, and find your SAP server.

The interface is by default in the selected language, and the proposed Logon Language is now the one chosen in Options... menu.

In case the language you'd like to use is not available, check with your system administrator, he might have to install it.

How To Change Language In SAP Logon?

SAP change language is simple, provided the language installation in sap has been done by the central team. SAP language settings allow to change the SAP logon language, which is also valid for SAP HANA language. This is how to change SAP language.

Simply go to SAP logon options > general, and select the language you want to switch from English to your preferred language.

How to change SAP language from German to English, how to change default logon language in SAP ? As German is what language is SAP written in, you might want to do a SAP language change to English. Once the SAP default language has been changed, the logon language SAP will always be that one, this will make SAP change language after login. The SAP default language parameter will also be changed accordingly.

SAP language key

SAP language key are the ISO 639-1 codes.

They consist of a two letter code to identify uniquely a language, and might be different from the country ISO code, even if the country has a single national unique language.

SAP logon language codes
  • SAP in English logon language code: EN – SAP code:
  • SAP in Arabic logon language code: AR – SAP code: A
  • SAP in Bulgarian logon language code: BG – SAP code: W
  • SAP in Catalan logon language code: CA – SAP code: c
  • SAP in Czech logon language code: CS – SAP code: C
  • SAP in Danish logon language code: DA – SAP code: K
  • SAP in German logon language code: DE – SAP code: D
  • SAP in Greek logon language code: EL – SAP code: G
  • SAP in Spanish logon language code: ES – SAP code: S
  • SAP in Estonian logon language code: ET – SAP code: 9
  • SAP in Finnish logon language code: FI – SAP code: U
  • SAP in French logon language code: FR – SAP code: F
  • SAP in Hebrew logon language code: HE – SAP code: B
  • SAP in Croatian logon language code: HR – SAP code: 6
  • SAP in Hungarian logon language code: HU – SAP code: H
  • SAP in Italian logon language code: IT – SAP code: I
  • SAP in Japanese logon language code: JA – SAP code: J
  • SAP in Korean logon language code: KO – SAP code: 3
  • SAP in Lithuanian logon language code: LT – SAP code: X
  • SAP in Latvian logon language code: LV – SAP code: Y
  • SAP in Dutch logon language code: NL – SAP code: N
  • SAP in Norwegian logon language code: NO – SAP code: O
  • SAP in Polish logon language code: PL – SAP code: L
  • SAP in Portuguese logon language code: PT – SAP code: P
  • SAP in Romanian logon language code: RO – SAP code: 4
  • SAP in Russian logon language code: RU – SAP code: R
  • SAP in Serbo-Croatian logon language code: SH – SAP code: d
  • SAP in Slovakian logon language code: SK – SAP code: Q
  • SAP in Slovenian logon language code: SL – SAP code: 5
  • SAP in Swedish logon language code: SV – SAP code: V
  • SAP in Thai logon language code: TH – SAP code: 2
  • SAP in Turkish logon language code: TR – SAP code: T
  • SAP in Ukrainian logon language code: UK – SAP code: 8
  • SAP in Chinese Traditional logon language code: ZF – SAP code: M
  • SAP in Chinese Simplified logon language code: ZH – SAP code: 1
SAP Supported Languages and Code Pages (Non-Unicode)
List of ISO 639-1 codes SAP language keys

SAP logon language table

SAP language table is SMLT, it is the SAP language codes table and SAP logon language table. SMLT is also the SAP transaction code for language import.

The table SMLT contains the installed languages that are available to choose in the SAP logon. To add a new language, the language code must also be available in T002C first, the central language table that defines the languages that could be used in the system, either for the logon, or in the user exits.

T002C SAP Customizing Data for T002 Table

SAP change language after login

If you want to change your user language after you have logged in SAP, open the menu system > user profile > own data.

There, in the default tab, change the logon language to the one you want, for example EN for English, or FR for French.

SAP language tcode

It is also possible to change the language via the SAP language tcode SU01 user administration, or the SAP language transaction SU3 maintain users own data.

Using these transactions, and filling your username, will take you to the same screen as going through the menu system > user profile > own data, in which the logon language field can be changed for the language of your choice.

However, selecting your preferred language in your user settings does not mean that SAP GUI changed language, as this language has to be installed on the server. It simply means that it is your user preference for information display in SAP when relevant, such as country specific locales like taxes or date and time.

SAP language transaction SU3 tcode usage

SAP business one change language

In SAP business one, go to the left sidebar menu administration > system initialization > general settings > display tab.

Here, a select menu called language will allow you to choose between all installed languages. By selecting the language you want, you will change language in SAP business one, which will promptly be applied to the user interface in your favorite language.

How to change the default language in SAP business one?

ABAP set language

To set the language in ABAP programming language to the desired language, start by opening the ABAP editor.

There, access the language system customization table T002C, and update the language to the required value for the target user.

How to change the SAP Supplementation Language

SAP HANA language

Changing the graphical user interface for HANA is the same as for standard SAP, as the interface is the same.

However, if you want to change the language of the SAP service server connection, this can be done in open service definition > SAP services > SAP server details.

Creating a SAP Service

SAP change language during session

It is not possible to change the SAP language during session without having to close all windows and login again.

To change the language in the session, and only for the session without modifying the user logon language, the best option is to select another language on the SAP logon screen, when entering the username and password. That way, the language for the session will be different than the user default language.

Change SAP Ariba language

Changing language in SAP Ariba, another web interface, is not as simple as going to the interface and selecting your favorite language, as it might not have any effect on the actual displayed language… probably an issue with their interface that will be solved in a later bug.

What you should do instead, to change the SAP Ariba language, is toto the target one in browser’s settings, restart it, and log back on the SAP Ariba interface – regardless of your user language preference, the Ariba display language will have been updated to the one of your browser, if available.

The process might be different per browser, but the end result will be the same, therefore make sure to follow the instructions corresponding to the Web browser you are using, and make sure it is compatible with SAP Ariba.

What browser versions are certified for SAP Ariba cloud solutions?

In general, you should go to your browser’s settings, find the browsers page language display options, and setup your target language as first language – there will usually be a list of languages in order, and the first language that you’ve selected and that is available on the website will be used.

And that’s it – at the end, your SAP Ariba’s interface will be displayed in the language of your choice – you might have to log out of the interface, and log back in, to see the language change in SAP Ariba after having updated your browser display language.

SAP FIORI change language of the interface

Changing the SAP  FIORI interface   language can be challenging if you are accessing it directly from an SAP transaction, and do not log directly in the FIORI system.

However, you can simply select the FIORI language on the FIORI login page in the list of available system languages!

To access this page, simply copy the FIORI URL address in your web browser, log out of FIORI, and open a new browser. Access the URL you have copied, and login using your standard SAP logon credentials, after having selected the  FIORI interface   language.

SAP change logon language questions and answers

How can I change original language in ABAP?
To change the original language in ABAP, update the language table T002C.
How do I change SAP?
To change SAP language or system color, follow our guides: change SAP language or  change SAP theme   to customize your SAP GUI!
How do I change icons in SAP?
To use different icons in SAP, open the SAP GUI options and select a different theme. Most themes come with their own set of icons.
How do I change the language on SAP to English?
To change the language in SAP to English, open your user preferences in your user profile and own data menu, or select the correct language on the SAP logon window.
How do I change to classic view in SAP?
To use the SAP classic design, open the GUI options in SAP logon, and select the appropriate classic theme.
How do I customize a layout in SAP?
To customize a layout in SAP,
How do you maintain language in SAP?
Languages maintenance and importation in SAP can be achieved in transaction SMLT.
What is language key SAP?
The SAP language key is a 2 digits ISO code on logon or 1 digit code in ABAP coding that is used to identify uniquely a language.
How do I know what languages are installed in SAP?
To find out which languages are installed in SAP, have a look at the transaction SMLT or the table SMLT.

Consider getting a  SAP GUI training   to know everything you need about the SAP GUI usage!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to change SAP settings for a language?
To change the default language, the one displayed by default on the SAP Login screen, you need to change it through the settings.
Can you change the SAP interface language after logging in, and how?
Yes, the SAP interface language can be changed after login by accessing the user profile settings and selecting the desired language.
How can you change the language of the SAP interface after login?
The language of the SAP interface after login can be changed in the user profile settings, where available languages installed by the system administrator can be selected.

How to check installed SAP languages in video


Yoann Bierling
About the author - Yoann Bierling
Yoann Bierling is a Web Publishing & Digital Consulting professional, making a global impact through expertise and innovation in technologies. Passionate about empowering individuals and organizations to thrive in the digital age, he is driven to deliver exceptional results and drive growth through educational content creation.



Comments (9)

 2018-08-19 -  Leon Roberts
Thanks that was helpful
 2018-08-19 -  Margarita Garner
Incredible, now it's my turn to try!
 2018-08-19 -  Becites
Yes, that's exactly what I needed
 2018-08-19 -  Weekking
I can’t believe I finally found the solution, it used to be a nightmare, now it’s solved
 2018-11-05 -  Hans
Thank you for the detailed description. Do you know where these language settings are being stored? I would like to roll out the SAP GUI with a predefined language setting, and I'm hoping there is somewhere a configuration file for this.
 2018-11-05 -  admin
Hello Hans, have you tried changing the code page in the saplogon.ini file ? You can force there a language. See more details on file format at »  More information on this link
 2018-11-05 -  Hans
Hello Yoann, Sorry, I couldn't make it work. Unfortunately, the description regarding the code page section in Note 99435 is not very specific, and doesn't provide an example. -1 = default code page is used: 1100 0 to nn = index on the language ID according to the sequence in the selection box in the extended dialog in SAPlogon. I tried different values. But all I got was a SAP System Message invalid GUI connect data error message.
 2019-12-03 -  Mahmoud
Thanks for your information.
 2022-04-30 -  sapcourses
I like the blog. Thanks for sharing the awesome information.

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