Problem opening excel

Question

Why is my excel spread sheet open with what appears to be Chinese writing?

Answer 1

Hello, thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

To better understand the issue, we would like to know the following information:

1. Is the entire spreadsheet showing Chinese characters, or only certain cells (for example, headers, formulas, or specific columns/rows)?
2. Does this issue occur with all Excel files, or only with this specific file? Create a new spreadsheet and see if you are experiencing the same issue there.

Can you share a screenshot of what you see? Make sure you hide any personal information before uploading the screenshot.

Answer 2

Excel is likely using an East Asian language (such as Chinese) as its display or editing language, so the ribbon, dialogs, or default sheet names appear in that language.

To switch back to English on Windows:

1. Open Windows Settings → Time & language → Language & region.
2. Under Windows display language, select English.
3. Also check Country or region and set it to a region that uses English.
4. Sign out and sign back in if prompted.

If only Excel/Office is affected (menus and buttons in Chinese but Windows is English), adjust Office language:

1. Open any Office app (Excel, Word, etc.).
2. Go to File → Options → Language.
3. Under Office display language and Office authoring languages, move English to the top and remove the unwanted language if you do not need it.
4. Restart Excel.

If only the first worksheet name in new workbooks looks like Chinese when creating a file via right‑click → New → Excel Worksheet, replace the Excel template used by Windows:

1. Create a new blank workbook in Excel, ensure the first sheet name is in English (for example, rename it to Sheet1 if needed), then save it as Excel12.xlsx.
2. In File Explorer, go to the appropriate SHELLNEW folder (depending on your Office/Windows version):
   • C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\SHELLNEW (Microsoft 365 32‑bit on 64‑bit Windows)
   • C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\Windows\SHELLNEW (64‑bit Microsoft 365 on 64‑bit Windows)
   • C:\Windows\SHELLNEW (Office MSI)
3. Replace the existing Excel12.xlsx in that folder with the one just created (administrator rights may be required).
4. New workbooks created via right‑click → New → Excel Worksheet will now use the English sheet name.

Note: Adding new sheets inside Excel with the + button or creating a blank workbook from Excel’s File → New uses the Office display language, so once the display language is set to English, new sheet names and dialogs will appear in English.

---

References:

• The first worksheet name in a new Excel workbook displays in a language other than the Office display language
• change language