Office for Mac Issues

How to Fix Excel for Mac Displaying in Spanish Despite English Settings

Steve K Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user is experiencing an issue where Excel for Mac displays its user interface or workbook content in Spanish, even though the preferred language settings are configured to English.

How to Fix Excel for Mac Displaying in Spanish Despite English Settings

Product: Microsoft Excel for Mac
Device & OS: macOS
Scenario: Using the Excel application for daily tasks and noticing that menus, dialog boxes, or cell text have unexpectedly switched to Spanish.
Observed behavior: Excel displays menus, ribbons, dialog boxes, or workbook text in Spanish instead of the configured English language.

Before you start

Before changing system preferences or deleting application caches, open a brand new, blank workbook to determine if the Spanish language issue affects the entire Excel application or only one specific file.

Solution 1Recommended

Clear the Excel Application Container Cache

Use this solution if all workbooks, including new blank ones, are displaying in Spanish. Clearing the container resets potentially corrupted app caches without deleting your files.

macOS isolates application data inside container folders. If Excel's cache becomes corrupted or misreads the system language, deleting the container forces Excel to rebuild its preferences based on your current macOS language settings.

Quit Excel

Ensure Microsoft Excel is completely closed. Right-click the Excel icon in the dock and select 'Quit'.

Open the 'Go to Folder' Dialog

Click on the Finder icon in your dock, then press 'Command + Shift + G' on your keyboard to open the path search box.

Locate the Excel Container

Type or paste '~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel' into the search box and press Return.

Delete the Container Folder

Drag the 'com.microsoft.Excel' folder to the Trash. Once deleted, reopen Excel to see if the interface has returned to English.

Clear the Excel Application Container Cache

Data Safety: Deleting this folder will not erase your saved workbooks. It only clears cached application preferences.

Solution 2

Check Workbook-Specific Language Settings

Use this solution if the application menus are in English, but the cells or spell check features in a specific workbook are in Spanish.

Solution 3

Restart macOS in Safe Mode

Use this solution if the language issue persists to determine whether a background program is interfering with Excel for Mac.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Switch to WPS Office for a Hassle-Free Mac Spreadsheet Experience

If you are tired of troubleshooting interface bugs and corrupted caches in Microsoft Excel for Mac, WPS Office offers a free, lightweight, and highly reliable alternative. It provides seamless language switching and a familiar interface without the technical headaches.

1. Download the Installer: Visit the official WPS Office website and download the Mac version.
2. Install WPS Office: Open the downloaded file and drag the WPS Office icon to your Applications folder.
3. Open Your Spreadsheets: Launch WPS Office and easily open all your existing Microsoft Excel files without worrying about formatting loss.

Completely free and lightweight office suite optimized for macOS100% format compatibility with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx and .xls) filesEasy and stable display language configurationFamiliar user interface requires no steep learning curveAll-in-one suite includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint alternatives

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Excel for Mac determine its display language?

Unlike the Windows version, Excel for Mac does not have its own internal display language setting. It automatically follows the primary language set in your macOS system preferences (Apple menu > System Settings > General > Language & Region).

Why is only one specific workbook showing Spanish words in the cells?

If your main menus and ribbons are in English but a single document shows Spanish, the document's internal proofing language or spelling dictionary is likely set to Spanish. You can fix this by navigating to Tools > Language and selecting English.

Will clearing the Excel cache container delete my macros or custom templates?

Deleting the 'com.microsoft.Excel' container mainly resets interface preferences and cached data. However, if you have saved custom templates or Personal Macro Workbooks locally within that specific container path instead of the standard document directories, they might be affected. It is best to back up the folder to your desktop rather than emptying it immediately into the Trash.

What should I do if the Safe Mode test fixes the language issue?

If Excel runs correctly in English during Safe Mode, it means a background application or a startup item on your Mac is interfering with Office. You will need to review your login items (System Settings > General > Login Items) and disable them one by one to find the culprit.

Office App Problems