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Glossary

What is Language Code (ISO 639-1)?

The two-letter standard identifying languages — en, fr, de, ja — used in HTML lang attributes, hreflang and URLs.

In more depth

ISO 639-1 covers ~180 codes; combine with ISO 3166 country codes (en-GB) for regional targeting. Some legacy systems use deviations like Google's “iw” for Hebrew.

Why it matters for your website

Understanding Language Code (ISO 639-1) helps you make better decisions when taking a WordPress site multilingual — from choosing URL structures and engines to controlling costs. Transxlate handles the mechanics (language URLs, lang attributes, caching, hreflang on Pro) so terms like this become settings, not engineering projects.

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