# Kapitel 9. Configuring KDE

# 9.1. How do I set the language to be used by KDE?

There are two ways to set the language KDE uses in the messages it will display:

Using the KDE Control Center

In the KDE Control Center (`kcontrol`), there is the entry `Desktop|language`. You can select three languages, according to your preferences. If KDE can't find a translation in to first language, it will fall back on the second or third. If there is no appropriate translation at all, the default language will be used. This will usually be English.

Using kcontrol is the preferred way of choosing the language.

Using the LANG environment variable

The second method uses the standard locale setting on your system. To change the language, simply set the environment variable `LANG` accordingly.

For example if your shell is bash, execute the following:

     export LANG=de