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---
title: "Internationalization (i18n) - Glossary | MDN"
chunk: 1/3
source: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Internationalization"
category: "reference"
tags: "web, html, css, javascript, documentation"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T05:35:29.182948+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---
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1. [Glossary](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary)
2. [Internationalization (i18n)](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Internationalization)
# Internationalization (i18n)
**Internationalization** , often shortened to "i18n", is the practice of designing a system in such a way that it can easily be adapted for different target audiences, that may vary in region, language, or culture.
The complementary process of adapting a system for a specific target audience is called [Localization](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Localization).
Among other things, internationalization covers adapting to differences in:
* writing systems
* units of measure (currency, °C/°F, km/miles, etc.)
* time and date formats
* keyboard layouts
The work of the [Unicode Consortium](https://home.unicode.org/) is a fundamental part of internationalization. Unicode supports not only variations among the world's writing systems but also cultural variations such as currencies and time/date formats.
## In this article
* [See also](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Internationalization#see_also)
## [See also](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Internationalization#see_also)
* Related glossary terms:
* [Localization](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Localization)
* [W3C Internationalization Activity](https://www.w3.org/International/)
* [Unicode Consortium](https://home.unicode.org/)
* [JavaScript Internationalization API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Intl)
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