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How to switch keyboard language on Windows 11 (Hebrew ↔ English)

Last updated: 7 October 2026 · 6 min read

Press Alt+Shift (left side) or Win+Space to switch. The current language shows as ENG or עב next to the clock. If the shortcut stopped working, it was almost always reassigned in Settings → Time & language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings, or Hebrew is no longer installed.

1. The shortcuts

2. The taskbar indicator

Next to the clock you will see ENG or עב. Click it to open the language menu and pick with the mouse. If the indicator is missing, either only one language is installed (nothing to switch to) or the indicator is hidden: right-click the taskbar → Taskbar settings → System tray icons, and make sure the input indicator is on.

3. Adding Hebrew (or English) if it is missing

  1. Open Settings → Time & language → Language & region.
  2. Click Add a language, search for Hebrew (עברית), and install it. You can untick the language pack and keep only the keyboard if you do not want Hebrew menus.
  3. Open the three-dot menu next to Hebrew → Language options → under Keyboards, make sure Hebrew (Standard) is listed. Remove extra layouts you do not use, so Ctrl+Shift cannot land you on one by accident.

Windows offers three Hebrew layouts: Hebrew (Standard), Hebrew (Standard, 2018) and the old Hebrew. The letters are in the same places on all three; they differ in nikud and symbols. Pick Standard unless your organization says otherwise, and keep only one. Phonetic layouts (Hebrew-QWERTY) are a different matter: see the layout map.

4. Changing the shortcut

If you keep hitting Alt+Shift by accident, or your editor uses it, you can change or disable it:

  1. Settings → Time & language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings.
  2. Click Input language hot keys. A classic dialog opens.
  3. Select "Between input languages" and click Change Key Sequence. Choose Ctrl+Shift, Left Alt+Shift, the grave accent (`) key, or Not assigned.

In the same dialog you can give a specific language its own direct shortcut (for example Ctrl+1 for English, Ctrl+2 for Hebrew), which is the most reliable setup for people who switch all day: you always know what you are switching to.

5. One language for all windows, or one per window?

By default Windows uses one input language for the whole session: switch in one window and every window follows. The alternative, which many long-time users prefer, is a different language per window (how Windows 7 behaved): the browser can stay in English while Outlook stays in Hebrew. Toggle it in Advanced keyboard settings → "Let me use a different input method for each app window". Both modes cause wrong-language typing, just in different situations: global mode surprises you when a shortcut slipped, per-window mode surprises you when you switch windows.

6. "Alt+Shift stopped working"

Go through this list in order; one of them is almost always it.

  1. The hotkey was reassigned. Check step 4: a Windows update, a corporate policy or a game once changed the setting from Left Alt+Shift to "Not assigned" more often than you would think.
  2. Only one language is installed. If the taskbar shows no language indicator at all, add the missing language (step 3).
  3. The app grabs the shortcut. Some programs (Visual Studio, a few games, remote-desktop clients) intercept Alt+Shift. Try Win+Space in that app; if it works there, the app is the culprit, and a direct per-language shortcut (step 4) usually gets around it.
  4. Remote Desktop / virtual machine. Inside a remote session, the language is the remote machine's, not yours. Switch inside the session, or set the remote app's keyboard options to apply shortcuts to the remote computer.
  5. A stuck modifier key. Press and release Alt, Shift and Ctrl one at a time (both sides). Laptop and wireless keyboards occasionally latch a modifier after sleep.
  6. The input service hiccuped. Open Task Manager → Run new task → type ctfmon.exe and run it; or just sign out and back in. This fixes the "indicator shows the right language but I still get the wrong letters" case.

7. Make the mistake not matter

However you set up the shortcut, you will still catch yourself typing akuo a few times a day; the indicator is simply too far from where you look. The alternative is to let the computer fix the mistake instead of preventing it. Kavanati notices a word that only makes sense in the other language, switches the keyboard and retypes it for you, in every app, on Windows 10 and 11. For apps that should always be English (terminals, code editors) it can even force English the moment the window gets focus.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add a Hebrew keyboard to Windows 11?
Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language → Hebrew. Then open Language options for Hebrew and make sure the "Hebrew (Standard)" keyboard is listed. You can skip the display-language pack and keep only the keyboard.
What is the difference between Alt+Shift and Win+Space?
Both switch the input language. Alt+Shift toggles silently; Win+Space shows a pop-up with the available languages so you can see and choose. Ctrl+Shift is different: it switches between keyboard layouts of the same language, not between languages.
The indicator says ENG but I still get Hebrew letters. Why?
The indicator and the actual input state have gone out of sync, usually after sleep or a remote session. Click into another window and back, press the shortcut twice, or restart the text-services process (Task Manager → Run new task → ctfmon.exe). Signing out and back in always resets it.
Can I keep a different language in each app?
Yes. Settings → Time & language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings → tick "Let me use a different input method for each app window". Each window then remembers its own language. Note that this makes wrong-language typing more likely when you switch windows, which is exactly what Kavanati corrects automatically.

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