Learn how to change the keyboard language on your Apple Watch if you want to compose a text message or email in another language from your wrist.
If you’re communicating with people around the world, whether for business or pleasure, the Apple Watch Messages and Mail apps can accommodate you. You can easily translate messages automatically or send messages and emails from your wrist in another dialect.
Type in another language on your Apple Watch
watchOS doesn’t have its own keyboard settings, so it relies on your iPhone’s keyboard preferences. To type in another language on your Apple Watch, you’ll have to add that keyboard to your iPhone, and then switch to it when typing on your watch. We’ll explain everything below.
1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone, go to General > Keyboard > Keyboards, and tap Add New Keyboard.
2) Select the language you want to type in. I’m adding French and Spanish keyboards.
Note that with some languages, such as French, German, Spanish, and Hindi, you’ll get the option to add this second keyboard as a new keyboard or add it to your current English keyboard for bilingual (or even trilingual) typing. You can select either option, and it appears as two different language keyboards on the Apple Watch.
3) After adding the new language keyboard to your iPhone, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on both devices, and wait at least 10 seconds for the keyboard settings to sync to your nearby Apple Watch.
4) Then, open Messages or Mail on your Apple Watch and tap the typing box to bring up the keyboard. Now, tap the language indicator or swipe up from the bottom of the screen and select the keyboard of a different language.
Alternatively, you can scroll past the suggestions in the Apple Watch Messages and Mail apps and tap “Language” to switch to another keyboard.
Keep in mind that selecting a different language for that particular text message will only apply to that message and not those you send to others.
For more on this, check out our dedicated guide on typing in another language on Apple Watch. And if you get a message in a foreign language, here’s how to translate text and voice on Apple Watch.