List of ISO 639 language codes
ISO 639 is a standardized nomenclature used to classify all known languages. Each language is assigned a 3 letter abbreviation, amended in later versions of the nomenclature. The system is highly useful for linguists and ethnographers to categorize the languages spoken on a regional basis, and to compute analysis in the field of lexicostatistics. ISO 639 has five code lists.
This table lists all of:
- ISO 639-1: two-letter codes, one per language or macrolanguage
And some of:
- ISO 639-2/T: three-letter codes, for the same languages as 639-1
- ISO 639-2/B: three-letter codes, mostly the same as 639-2/T, but with some codes derived from English names rather than native names of languages. In the following table, these differing codes are highlighted in boldface.
- ISO 639-3: three-letter codes, the same as 639-2/T for languages, but with distinct codes for each dialect of macrolanguages
| Language family | Language name | Native name | 639-1 | 639-2/T | 639-2/B | 639-3 | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Caucasian | Abkhaz | аҧсуа | ab | abk | abk | abk | ||
| Afro-Asiatic | Afar | Afaraf | aa | aar | aar | aar | ||
| Indo-European | Afrikaans | Afrikaans | af | afr | afr | afr | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Akan | Akan | ak | aka | aka | aka + 2 | macrolanguage, Twi is [tw/twi], Fanti is [fat] | |
| Indo-European | Albanian | Shqip | sq | sqi | alb | sqi + 4 | macrolanguage | |
| Afro-Asiatic | Amharic | አማርኛ | am | amh | amh | amh | ||
| Afro-Asiatic | Arabic | العربية | ar | ara | ara | ara + 30 | macrolanguage, Standard Arabic is [arb] | |
| Indo-European | Aragonese | Aragonés | an | arg | arg | arg | ||
| Indo-European | Armenian | Հայերեն | hy | hye | arm | hye | ||
| Indo-European | Assamese | অসমীয়া | as | asm | asm | asm | ||
| Northeast Caucasian | Avaric | авар мацӀ, магӀарул мацӀ | av | ava | ava | ava | ||
| Indo-European | Avestan | avesta | ae | ave | ave | ave | ancient | |
| Aymaran | Aymara | aymar aru | ay | aym | aym | aym + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Turkic | Azerbaijani | azərbaycan dili | az | aze | aze | aze + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Mande | Bambara | bamanankan | bm | bam | bam | bam | ||
| Turkic | Bashkir | башҡорт теле | ba | bak | bak | bak | ||
| Language isolate | Basque | euskara, euskera | eu | eus | baq | eus | ||
| Indo-European | Belarusian | Беларуская | be | bel | bel | bel | ||
| Indo-European | Bengali | বাংলা | bn | ben | ben | ben | ||
| Indo-European | Bihari | भोजपुरी | bh | bih | bih | — | collective language code for Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Maithili | |
| English Creole | Bislama | Bislama | bi | bis | bis | bis | ||
| Indo-European | Bosnian | bosanski jezik | bs | bos | bos | bos | [sh] for Serbo-Croatian has been withdrawn | |
| Indo-European | Breton | brezhoneg | br | bre | bre | bre | ||
| Indo-European | Bulgarian | български език | bg | bul | bul | bul | ||
| Sino-Tibetan | Burmese | ဗမာစာ | my | mya | bur | mya | ||
| Indo-European | Catalan; Valencian | Català | ca | cat | cat | cat | ||
| Austronesian | Chamorro | Chamoru | ch | cha | cha | cha | ||
| Northeast Caucasian | Chechen | нохчийн мотт | ce | che | che | che | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Chichewa; Chewa; Nyanja | chiCheŵa, chinyanja | ny | nya | nya | nya | ||
| Sino-Tibetan | Chinese | 中文 (Zhōngwén), 汉语, 漢語 | zh | zho | chi | zho + 13 | macrolanguage | |
| Turkic | Chuvash | чӑваш чӗлхи | cv | chv | chv | chv | ||
| Indo-European | Cornish | Kernewek | kw | cor | cor | cor | ||
| Indo-European | Corsican | corsu, lingua corsa | co | cos | cos | cos | ||
| Algonquian | Cree | ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ | cr | cre | cre | cre + 6 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Croatian | hrvatski | hr | hrv | hrv | hrv | [sh] for Serbo-Croatian has been withdrawn | |
| Indo-European | Czech | česky, čeština | cs | ces | cze | ces | ||
| Indo-European | Danish | dansk | da | dan | dan | dan | ||
| Indo-European | Divehi; Dhivehi; Maldivian; | ދިވެހި | dv | div | div | div | ||
| Indo-European | Dutch | Nederlands, Vlaams | nl | nld | dut | nld | ||
| Sino-Tibetan | Dzongkha | རྫོང་ཁ | dz | dzo | dzo | dzo | ||
| Indo-European | English | English | en | eng | eng | eng | ||
| Constructed | Esperanto | Esperanto | eo | epo | epo | epo | constructed | |
| Finno-Ugric | Estonian | eesti, eesti keel | et | est | est | est + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Ewe | Eʋegbe | ee | ewe | ewe | ewe | ||
| Indo-European | Faroese | føroyskt | fo | fao | fao | fao | ||
| Austronesian | Fijian | vosa Vakaviti | fj | fij | fij | fij | ||
| Finno-Ugric | Finnish | suomi, suomen kieli | fi | fin | fin | fin | ||
| Indo-European | French | français, langue française | fr | fra | fre | fra | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Fula; Fulah; Pulaar; Pular | Fulfulde, Pulaar, Pular | ff | ful | ful | ful + 9 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Galician | Galego | gl | glg | glg | glg | ||
| South Caucasian | Georgian | ქართული | ka | kat | geo | kat | ||
| Indo-European | German | Deutsch | de | deu | ger | deu | ||
| Indo-European | Greek, Modern | Ελληνικά | el | ell | gre | ell | ||
| Tupi-Guarani | Guaraní | Avañe'ẽ | gn | grn | grn | grn + 5 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Gujarati | ગુજરાતી | gu | guj | guj | guj | ||
| French Creole | Haitian; Haitian Creole | Kreyòl ayisyen | ht | hat | hat | hat | ||
| Afro-Asiatic | Hausa | Hausa, هَوُسَ | ha | hau | hau | hau | ||
| Afro-Asiatic | Hebrew (modern) | עברית | he | heb | heb | heb | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Herero | Otjiherero | hz | her | her | her | ||
| Indo-European | Hindi | हिन्दी, हिंदी | hi | hin | hin | hin | ||
| Austronesian | Hiri Motu | Hiri Motu | ho | hmo | hmo | hmo | ||
| Finno-Ugric | Hungarian | Magyar | hu | hun | hun | hun | ||
| Constructed | Interlingua | Interlingua | ia | ina | ina | ina | constructed by International Auxiliary Language Association | |
| Austronesian | Indonesian | Bahasa Indonesia | id | ind | ind | ind | covered by macrolanguage [ms/msa] | |
| Constructed | Interlingue | Originally called Occidental; then Interlingue after WWII | ie | ile | ile | ile | constructed by Edgar de Wahl, first published in 1922 | |
| Indo-European | Irish | Gaeilge | ga | gle | gle | gle | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Igbo | Asụsụ Igbo | ig | ibo | ibo | ibo | ||
| Eskimo-Aleut | Inupiaq | Iñupiaq, Iñupiatun | ik | ipk | ipk | ipk + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Constructed | Ido | Ido | io | ido | ido | ido | ||
| Indo-European | Icelandic | Íslenska | is | isl | ice | isl | ||
| Indo-European | Italian | Italiano | it | ita | ita | ita | ||
| Eskimo-Aleut | Inuktitut | ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ | iu | iku | iku | iku + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Japonic | Japanese | 日本語 (にほんご／にっぽんご) | ja | jpn | jpn | jpn | ||
| Austronesian | Javanese | basa Jawa | jv | jav | jav | jav | ||
| Eskimo-Aleut | Kalaallisut, Greenlandic | kalaallisut, kalaallit oqaasii | kl | kal | kal | kal | ||
| Dravidian | Kannada | ಕನ್ನಡ | kn | kan | kan | kan | ||
| Nilo-Saharan | Kanuri | Kanuri | kr | kau | kau | kau + 3 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Kashmiri | कश्मीरी, Template:Rtl-lang | ks | kas | kas | kas | ||
| Turkic | Kazakh | Қазақ тілі | kk | kaz | kaz | kaz | ||
| Austro-Asiatic | Khmer, Cambodian | ភាសាខ្មែរ | km | khm | khm | khm | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Kikuyu, Gikuyu | Gĩkũyũ | ki | kik | kik | kik | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Kinyarwanda | Ikinyarwanda | rw | kin | kin | kin | ||
| Turkic | Kirghiz, Kyrgyz | кыргыз тили | ky | kir | kir | kir | ||
| Finno-Ugric | Komi | коми кыв | kv | kom | kom | kom + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Kongo | KiKongo | kg | kon | kon | kon + 3 | macrolanguage | |
| Language isolate (controversial) | Korean | 한국어 (韓國語), 조선말 (朝鮮語) | ko | kor | kor | kor | ||
| Indo-European | Kurdish | Kurdî, Template:Rtl-lang | ku | kur | kur | kur + 3 | macrolanguage | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Kwanyama, Kuanyama | Kuanyama | kj | kua | kua | kua | ||
| Indo-European | Latin | latine, lingua latina | la | lat | lat | lat | ancient | |
| Indo-European | Luxembourgish, Letzeburgesch | Lëtzebuergesch | lb | ltz | ltz | ltz | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Luganda | Luganda | lg | lug | lug | lug | ||
| Indo-European | Limburgish, Limburgan, Limburger | Limburgs | li | lim | lim | lim | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Lingala | Lingála | ln | lin | lin | lin | ||
| Tai-Kadai | Lao | ພາສາລາວ | lo | lao | lao | lao | ||
| Indo-European | Lithuanian | lietuvių kalba | lt | lit | lit | lit | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Luba-Katanga | Kiluba | lu | lub | lub | lub | ||
| Indo-European | Latvian | latviešu valoda | lv | lav | lav | lav | ||
| Indo-European | Manx | Gaelg, Gailck | gv | glv | glv | glv | ||
| Indo-European | Macedonian | македонски јазик | mk | mkd | mac | mkd | ||
| Austronesian | Malagasy | Malagasy fiteny | mg | mlg | mlg | mlg + 10 | macrolanguage | |
| Austronesian | Malay | bahasa Melayu, Template:Rtl-lang | ms | msa | may | msa + 13 | macrolanguage, Standard Malay is [zsm], Indonesian is [id/ind] | |
| Dravidian | Malayalam | മലയാളം | ml | mal | mal | mal | ||
| Afro-Asiatic | Maltese | Malti | mt | mlt | mlt | mlt | ||
| Austronesian | Māori | te reo Māori | mi | mri | mao | mri | ||
| Indo-European | Marathi (Marāṭhī) | मराठी | mr | mar | mar | mar | ||
| Austronesian | Marshallese | Kajin M̧ajeļ | mh | mah | mah | mah | ||
| Mongolic | Mongolian | монгол | mn | mon | mon | mon + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Austronesian | Nauru | Ekakairũ Naoero | na | nau | nau | nau | ||
| Dene-Yeniseian | Navajo, Navaho | Diné bizaad, Dinékʼehǰí | nv | nav | nav | nav | ||
| Indo-European | Norwegian Bokmål | Norsk bokmål | nb | nob | nob | nob | covered by macrolanguage [no/nor] | |
| Atlantic-Congo | North Ndebele | isiNdebele | nd | nde | nde | nde | ||
| Indo-European | Nepali | नेपाली | ne | nep | nep | nep | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Ndonga | Owambo | ng | ndo | ndo | ndo | ||
| Indo-European | Norwegian Nynorsk | Norsk nynorsk | nn | nno | nno | nno | covered by macrolanguage [no/nor] | |
| Indo-European | Norwegian | Norsk | no | nor | nor | nor + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Sino-Tibetan | Nuosu | ꆈꌠ꒿ Nuosuhxop | ii | iii | iii | iii | standard form of Yi languages | |
| Atlantic-Congo | South Ndebele | isiNdebele | nr | nbl | nbl | nbl | ||
| Indo-European | Occitan | Occitan | oc | oci | oci | oci | ||
| Algonquian | Ojibwe, Ojibwa | ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ | oj | oji | oji | oji + 7 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Old Church Slavonic, Church Slavic, Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian, Old Slavonic | ѩзыкъ словѣньскъ | cu | chu | chu | chu | ancient | |
| Afro-Asiatic | Oromo | Afaan Oromoo | om | orm | orm | orm + 4 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Oriya | ଓଡ଼ିଆ | or | ori | ori | ori | ||
| Indo-European | Ossetian, Ossetic | ирон æвзаг | os | oss | oss | oss | ||
| Indo-European | Panjabi, Punjabi | ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, Template:Rtl-lang | pa | pan | pan | pan | ||
| Indo-European | Pāli | पाऴि | pi | pli | pli | pli | ancient | |
| Indo-European | Persian | فارسی | fa | fas | per | fas + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Polish | polski | pl | pol | pol | pol | ||
| Indo-European | Pashto, Pushto | پښتو | ps | pus | pus | pus + 3 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Portuguese | Português | pt | por | por | por | ||
| Quechuan | Quechua | Runa Simi, Kichwa | qu | que | que | que + 44 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Romansh | rumantsch grischun | rm | roh | roh | roh | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Kirundi | kiRundi | rn | run | run | run | ||
| Indo-European | Romanian, Moldavian, Moldovan | română | ro | ron | rum | ron | [mo] for Moldavian has been withdrawn, recommending [ro] also for Moldavian | |
| Indo-European | Russian | русский язык | ru | rus | rus | rus | ||
| Indo-European | Sanskrit (Saṁskṛta) | संस्कृतम् | sa | san | san | san | ancient, still spoken | |
| Indo-European | Sardinian | sardu | sc | srd | srd | srd + 4 | macrolanguage | |
| Indo-European | Sindhi | सिन्धी, Template:Rtl-lang | sd | snd | snd | snd | ||
| Finno-Ugric | Northern Sami | Davvisámegiella | se | sme | sme | sme | ||
| Austronesian | Samoan | gagana fa'a Samoa | sm | smo | smo | smo | ||
| Ubangian | Sango | yângâ tî sängö | sg | sag | sag | sag | ||
| Indo-European | Serbian | српски језик | sr | srp | srp | srp | [sh] for Serbo-Croatian has been withdrawn | |
| Indo-European | Scottish Gaelic; Gaelic | Gàidhlig | gd | gla | gla | gla | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Shona | chiShona | sn | sna | sna | sna | ||
| Indo-European | Sinhala, Sinhalese | සිංහල | si | sin | sin | sin | ||
| Indo-European | Slovak | slovenčina | sk | slk | slo | slk | ||
| Indo-European | Slovene | slovenščina | sl | slv | slv | slv | ||
| Afro-Asiatic | Somali | Soomaaliga, af Soomaali | so | som | som | som | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Southern Sotho | Sesotho | st | sot | sot | sot | ||
| Indo-European | Spanish; Castilian | español, castellano | es | spa | spa | spa | ||
| Austronesian | Sundanese | Basa Sunda | su | sun | sun | sun | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Swahili | Kiswahili | sw | swa | swa | swa + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Swati | SiSwati | ss | ssw | ssw | ssw | ||
| Indo-European | Swedish | svenska | sv | swe | swe | swe | ||
| Dravidian | Tamil | தமிழ் | ta | tam | tam | tam | ||
| Dravidian | Telugu | తెలుగు | te | tel | tel | tel | ||
| Indo-European | Tajik | тоҷикӣ, toğikī, Template:Rtl-lang | tg | tgk | tgk | tgk | ||
| Tai-Kadai | Thai | ไทย | th | tha | tha | tha | ||
| Afro-Asiatic | Tigrinya | ትግርኛ | ti | tir | tir | tir | ||
| Sino-Tibetan | Tibetan Standard, Tibetan, Central | བོད་ཡིག | bo | bod | tib | bod | ||
| Turkic | Turkmen | Türkmen, Түркмен | tk | tuk | tuk | tuk | ||
| Austronesian | Tagalog | Wikang Tagalog, ᜏᜒᜃᜅ᜔ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔ | tl | tgl | tgl | tgl | the code [fil] is used for Filipino (Pilipino) | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Tswana | Setswana | tn | tsn | tsn | tsn | ||
| Austronesian | Tonga (Tonga Islands) | faka Tonga | to | ton | ton | ton | ||
| Turkic | Turkish | Türkçe | tr | tur | tur | tur | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Tsonga | Xitsonga | ts | tso | tso | tso | ||
| Turkic | Tatar | татарча, tatarça, Template:Rtl-lang | tt | tat | tat | tat | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Twi | Twi | tw | twi | twi | twi | covered by macrolanguage [ak/aka] | |
| Austronesian | Tahitian | Reo Tahiti | ty | tah | tah | tah | one of the Reo Mā`ohi (languages of French Polynesia) | |
| Turkic | Uighur, Uyghur | Uyƣurqə, Template:Rtl-lang | ug | uig | uig | uig | ||
| Indo-European | Ukrainian | українська | uk | ukr | ukr | ukr | ||
| Indo-European | Urdu | اردو | ur | urd | urd | urd | ||
| Turkic | Uzbek | O'zbek, Ўзбек, Template:Rtl-lang | uz | uzb | uzb | uzb + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Venda | Tshivenḓa | ve | ven | ven | ven | ||
| Austro-Asiatic | Vietnamese | Tiếng Việt | vi | vie | vie | vie | ||
| Constructed | Volapük | Volapük | vo | vol | vol | vol | constructed | |
| Indo-European | Walloon | Walon | wa | wln | wln | wln | ||
| Indo-European | Welsh | Cymraeg | cy | cym | wel | cym | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Wolof | Wollof | wo | wol | wol | wol | ||
| Indo-European | Western Frisian | Frysk | fy | fry | fry | fry | ||
| Atlantic-Congo | Xhosa | isiXhosa | xh | xho | xho | xho | ||
| Indo-European | Yiddish | ייִדיש | yi | yid | yid | yid + 2 | macrolanguage | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Yoruba | Yorùbá | yo | yor | yor | yor | ||
| Tai-Kadai | Zhuang, Chuang | Saɯ cueŋƅ, Saw cuengh | za | zha | zha | zha + 16 | macrolanguage | |
| Atlantic-Congo | Zulu | isiZulu | zu | zul | zul | zul |