You’re typing in Russian, but macOS keeps suggesting English words — or vice versa. Autocorrect confidently replaces your text with words from the wrong language, turning a quick message into a confusing mess. This happens when macOS doesn’t know which language you’re actually typing in. The good news: a few settings changes will get autocorrect speaking your language again.
How to Fix Foreign Autocorrect Suggestions on macOS
- Check your active input source. Look at the menu bar — you’ll see a flag or globe icon showing the current keyboard language. If it doesn’t match the language you’re typing in, that’s the problem. Click the icon to see all available input sources.
- Switch input sources quickly. Press the Globe (Fn) key or Control + Space to cycle between keyboards. Get in the habit of checking the menu bar icon before you start typing in a different language. This simple step prevents most autocorrect mix-ups.
- Remove keyboards you don’t use. Extra input sources confuse both you and macOS. Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input, then look at Input Sources. Remove any keyboards you don’t actively type in — if you only write in Russian, keep just Russian. Fewer sources means fewer chances for macOS to guess wrong.
- Set the spelling language explicitly. This is the key fix. Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input, click Edit…, then find the Spelling option. Change it from “Automatic by Language” to Russian (or whichever language you type in most). “Automatic” sounds smart, but it often guesses incorrectly — telling macOS exactly which dictionary to use eliminates the guesswork. Apple Support documents these keyboard settings in detail.
- Reject bad suggestions on the fly. When autocorrect offers a wrong-language suggestion, press Esc to dismiss it and keep your original typing. If autocorrect already replaced your word, press Cmd+Z immediately to undo the correction. These two shortcuts will save you countless retypes.
- Clean up Text Replacements. Old or incorrect text replacements can trigger unwanted corrections. Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements and review the list. Delete any entries that don’t belong, especially ones that might have been added while the wrong language was active.
- Turn off autocorrect entirely (optional). If you’d rather have no autocorrect than wrong autocorrect, disable it: go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input, click Edit…, and turn off “Correct spelling automatically.” You’ll still get the red underlines for misspelled words, but macOS won’t change your text without permission. For more macOS customization tips, see our guide on how to change folder colors and add emoji on macOS.
- Check per-app spelling settings. Some applications override the system-wide settings with their own. If autocorrect misbehaves in only one app, open that app and look under Edit > Spelling and Grammar in the menu bar. Make sure the language and autocorrect options there match what you want. Macworld has covered these per-app quirks in their macOS troubleshooting guides.
If It Still Doesn’t Work
If foreign suggestions persist after these changes, try removing all input sources and re-adding just the one you need — this clears any corrupted language data. Restarting your Mac after changing the spelling language can also help the new setting take full effect. If you frequently switch between languages, consider using a third-party keyboard tool with better multilingual support. And if you’re new to macOS navigation, our guide on how to quickly open the installed apps list will help you find System Settings faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does macOS autocorrect Russian words into English?
The “Automatic by Language” spelling setting tries to detect your language as you type, but it frequently guesses wrong — especially with short words or mixed-language text. Setting the spelling language explicitly to Russian tells macOS which dictionary to use, eliminating the bad guesses.
Will turning off autocorrect affect all my apps?
The system-wide “Correct spelling automatically” toggle affects most Apple apps, but some third-party apps have their own spelling settings under Edit > Spelling and Grammar. Check individual apps if you notice inconsistent behavior.
Conclusion
Foreign autocorrect suggestions are frustrating, but they’re caused by macOS guessing your language instead of knowing it. Set your input sources, pin the spelling dictionary to the right language, and clean up stray text replacements — and autocorrect will finally work with you instead of against you.
