Why is my LinkedIn showing Chinese language?

Many LinkedIn users have reported seeing parts of the LinkedIn interface suddenly switch to Chinese. This can be confusing and concerning when you don’t understand the language. Here are some quick answers about why this happens and what you can do about it:

• It’s likely due to your browser or device language settings being set to Chinese.
• LinkedIn automatically detects your language settings and adjusts parts of the interface to match.
• To fix it, you need to change your browser or device language back to your preferred language.

Don’t worry, your account has not been hacked or compromised in any way. It’s just LinkedIn’s automatic translation causing the issue. Keep reading for more details on troubleshooting and fixing this annoying problem.

What Causes LinkedIn to Show Chinese Language?

The main reason LinkedIn may suddenly switch parts of its interface to Chinese is because your web browser or device language is set to Chinese.

Here are some common scenarios that can trigger this:

• You’re browsing LinkedIn on a shared or public device, like at an internet cafe or library, where the default language is set to Chinese.
• You’re using a browser that syncs settings across devices. If you used a device with Chinese language elsewhere, it may have synced to your current browser.
• You or someone else accidentally changed the language setting on your browser or device to Chinese.
• Your operating system defaulted to Chinese during an update or reinstallation.
• You’re using a VPN that routes your traffic through China, causing LinkedIn to think you’re located there.

In all these cases, LinkedIn is just doing what it’s designed to do – automatically translating based on your browser/device language. As soon as it detects Chinese as the language, it will switch parts of the interface like menus, buttons, and prompts into Chinese.

How Does LinkedIn Detect Language Settings?

When you visit any website, including LinkedIn, your browser sends information about your language preferences using a standard called HTTP Accept-Language. This allows websites to automatically provide content in your preferred language.

Based on this language information from your browser, LinkedIn will render parts of the interface in that language. It has translations for most major languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and many others.

So if your browser is indicating Chinese as the language, LinkedIn will show Chinese text by default. Typically it will only translate things like menus and prompts, not your full profile content or posts. But it can be very confusing to suddenly see Chinese characters across the site!

How to Fix LinkedIn Showing Chinese Language

The good news is this issue is quick and easy to fix. You simply need to change your browser or device language setting back to your preferred language, usually English. Here are specific steps for some common situations:

On an Individual Browser:

• Chrome – Click the 3 dots at top right > Settings > Language > Select your language
• Firefox – Click the 3 lines at top right > Options > Language > Choose your language
• Safari – Preferences > General > Set ‘Preferred languages’ to your language
• Edge – Settings > Languages > Drag your language to the top

On a Mobile Device:

• iPhone – Settings > General > Language & Region > Select your language
• Android – Settings > System > Languages & input > Languages > Add your language

On a Windows Computer:

• Click Start > Settings > Time & Language > Language > Add your language, drag it to the top

On a Mac Computer:

• Apple Menu > System Preferences > Language & Region > Click the ‘+’ and add your language, drag it to the top

Once you have reset your system or browser language, LinkedIn should display in that language again on your next visit. This resolves the issue for most people. Make sure to double check your browser and device settings to prevent it from reverting back to Chinese.

Other Troubleshooting Tips

In some cases, simply changing your browser language may not fully resolve seeing Chinese text on LinkedIn. Here are a few other things to try:

• Log Out and Back In – After changing languages, log completely out of LinkedIn and then log back in. This will reload the interface in the new language.
• Clear Browser Cookies/Cache – Your browser may be caching old language settings. Clear your cookies and cache to force a refresh.
• Use Incognito/Private Mode – Open an incognito or private browsing window and access LinkedIn. This will ignore any saved language settings.
• Check VPN/Proxy Settings – If you’re using a VPN or proxy that routes through China, it can cause this issue. Connect directly instead.
• Change Your LinkedIn Language – In your account settings, set your LinkedIn language to match your preference.
• Use the Mobile App – The LinkedIn mobile app may not be impacted by your browser settings. Try it as a workaround.

With a little trial and error, you should be able to eliminate any Chinese text and restore your preferred language on LinkedIn.

Preventing Recurrence of the Issue

Once you get LinkedIn back to your own language, you’ll want to take steps to prevent it from happening again. Here are some tips:

• Double check language settings on ALL your browsers and devices – phone, tablet, computer, etc. Set them to your preferred language.
• If using a public/shared computer, be sure to sign out of LinkedIn and browsers to avoid saving Chinese settings.
• Turn off syncing of browser data across devices if that may be overriding your settings.
• Be careful when installing new software or changing OS languages that it doesn’t reset your default.
• Don’t use a VPN/proxy routing through China as it can cause this issue.

Staying aware of your language settings across browsers and devices can prevent LinkedIn from accidentally changing to Chinese again in the future.

Understanding LinkedIn’s Translation Features

Beyond this specific issue, it’s helpful to understand how language translation works on LinkedIn in general.

As a global platform used in over 200 countries, LinkedIn aims to provide a localized experience to all users by automatically detecting languages and translating parts of the interface.

Here are some key facts about LinkedIn language translation:

• LinkedIn can detect over 150 languages based on your browser, device, IP address, and account settings.
• It will only translate certain UI elements like menus and buttons, not your full profile content.
• Personal messages between members are not translated.
• Support is available in 10 core languages – English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, and Russian.
• The mobile app and desktop site may detect languages differently and show different translations.
• Premium Job posters can target languages to reach candidates who speak those languages.
• Pages can be translated into 100+ languages to share content globally.

So in most cases, you’ll see minimal translations based solely on detecting your language preferences automatically. But occasionally this detection can get confused, like when your browser is set to Chinese unintentionally. Thankfully it’s an easy fix once you know the cause.

Conclusion

LinkedIn suddenly showing Chinese language is often alarming and confusing for users who don’t speak Chinese. However, in nearly all cases it simply indicates your browser or device language settings are incorrectly set to Chinese.

By changing your language back to your own preference, typically English, you can quickly resolve this issue and restore everything to your own language. Be vigilant about checking settings across all browsers and devices to prevent it from happening again.

Understanding automatic translation is part of using LinkedIn globally. While the site aims to localize and provide language preferences when possible, it’s based on technologies like browser language detection that can sometimes be inaccurate. But a little awareness about your settings goes a long way.

Hopefully this breakdown gave you a better understanding of why you may see Chinese text on LinkedIn and how to troubleshoot it. Let us know if changing your language settings fixes the problem!

This table shows the top languages used on LinkedIn based on number of members. English has the most users by far, followed by other European languages and Chinese. Offering language translation allows LinkedIn to provide localized experiences to its diverse global audience.