--- title: "IPGeolocation.io Multilingual Place Names: API and Databases" slug: "/help/ip-geolocation-response-languages" description: "Yes, on paid plans. IPGeolocation.io returns country, state, and city names in 13 languages with the lang parameter, and its location databases carry 12." --- # Can IPGeolocation.io Return Place Names in Other Languages? By [Abdullah Afzal](https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdullah-a-08ba162b7?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app) Database Engineer @IPGeolocation.io Posted on November 2, 2026 | 5 min read ![Can IPGeolocation.io Return Place Names in Other Languages?](https://blogs.ipgeolocation.io/blogs-site/content/images/2026/10/visual-0-feature-globe-horizon.webp) Yes. IPGeolocation.io returns place names in other languages when you add the `lang` parameter to a lookup on a [paid API plan](https://ipgeolocation.io/pricing.html): continent, country, capital, state, district, and city names in 13 languages, from German and Japanese to Standard Arabic. IPGeolocation.io's location databases carry the same names in 12 languages, every one but Arabic. English is the default, so a request without `lang` stays in English. A request with it costs the same credits and keeps the same response shape: only the names change, while codes, coordinates, and time zone names stay as they are. These are the languages and the code to send for each: | Language | `Lang` Value | Database CSV Column | | --- | --- | --- | | English | `en` | `place_english` | | German | `de` | `place_german` | | Russian | `ru` | `place_russian` | | Japanese | `ja` | `place_japanese` | | French | `fr` | `place_french` | | Chinese (Simplified) | `cn` | `place_chinese` | | Spanish | `es` | `place_spanish` | | Czech | `cs` | `place_czech` | | Italian | `it` | `place_italian` | | Korean | `ko` | `place_korean` | | Persian | `fa` | `place_persian` | | Portuguese | `pt` | `place_portuguese` | | Standard Arabic | `ar` | API only | We build these names with a translation pipeline that turns each English place name into the other languages, and a dedicated reviewer on our team checks every newly added translation. By our count, as of October 2026, the API has names for about 415,000 places, and nearly every one of them has a name in each of the 13 languages. * * * ## How to ask for place names in another language Add `lang` to the lookup with a code from the table. This request looks up the address of Charles University's web server in Prague, asks for Japanese, and keeps only the `location` object: bash ```bash # Paid plan key in IPGEO_API_KEY; a Free key gets HTTP 401 for any lang other than en curl -sS "https://api.ipgeolocation.io/v3/ipgeo?apiKey=${IPGEO_API_KEY}&ip=195.113.89.54&lang=ja&fields=location" ``` The response, trimmed to the place names and the codes beside them: json ```json { "ip": "195.113.89.54", "location": { "continent_code": "EU", "continent_name": "ヨーロッパ", "country_code2": "CZ", "country_name": "チェコ", "country_name_official": "チェコ", "country_capital": "プラハ", "state_prov": "プラハ", "state_code": "CZ-PR", "district": "プラハ1区", "city": "プラハ", "zipcode": "110 00", "geoname_id": "10299907" } } ``` Every name is in Japanese, while `continent_code`, `country_code2`, `state_code`, the postal code, and `geoname_id` are exactly what an English request returns. A bulk lookup applies one `lang` value to every address in the request. The [Time Zone API](https://ipgeolocation.io/documentation/timezone-api.html) takes it when you look up a time zone by IP address: the location fields change, and the written-out date in `date_time_txt` stays in English. The code isn't case-sensitive, so `DE` works like `de`. Every IPGeolocation.io SDK accepts the same 13 values, and the [IP Geolocation API documentation](https://ipgeolocation.io/documentation/ip-location-api.html) has the full parameter reference. * * * ## Which fields change, and which stay the same In an IPGeolocation.io response, the place-name fields change with `lang`: `continent_name`, `country_name`, `country_name_official`, `country_capital`, `state_prov`, `district`, and `city`, plus the optional `locality` field when the response includes it. Codes, the `geoname_id`, coordinates, the currency name, time zone names, ASN and company names, and every JSON key stay exactly as an English request returns them. Here is the same Prague address in four languages: | Field | English | Czech | German | Japanese | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `continent_name` | Europe | Evropa | Europa | ヨーロッパ | | `country_name` | Czech Republic | Česká republika | Tschechische Republik | チェコ | | `country_capital` | Prague | Praha | Prag | プラハ | | `state_prov` | Prague | Praha | Prag | プラハ | | `district` | Praha 1 | Praha 1 | Prag 1 | プラハ1区 | | `city` | Prague | Praha | Prag | プラハ | ![Three IPGeolocation.io lookups of one address in English, German, and Japanese: place names change, codes stay the same](https://blogs.ipgeolocation.io/blogs-site/content/images/2026/10/visual-1-same-address-three-languages.webp) Not every name differs between languages. A place with no German name of its own keeps the one it has: Google's public DNS service at 8.8.8.8 comes back with the city "Mountain View" under `lang=de`, while its state turns into "Kalifornien". If you save lookup results, key them on the codes and the `geoname_id`, not on the names. They're the same in every language, while a city saved from one German request and one English request lands in your data twice, as "Prag" and as "Prague". Store the name next to its key, in the language you display. * * * ## Errors you might see * **HTTP 401 with a Free plan key.** IPGeolocation.io's Free plan answers in English only, so any `lang` value other than `en` returns 401 Unauthorized. [What the Free plan includes](https://ipgeolocation.io/help/whats-in-the-free-plan) lists the other paid-only options. * **HTTP 400 for a code that isn't on the list.** A language we don't support, or a typo, returns an error that names the code, such as `This 'tr' lang is not valid. Please use 'en' as the default language`. * **An empty name.** A missing translation is rare, but when a place has no name in the language you asked for, that field comes back empty rather than in English. Treat an empty name as missing and fall back to English: from a second lookup with `lang=en`, which uses another credit, or from the database's `place_english` column, which is never empty. The 401 and the 400 use no credits, because only successful (HTTP 200) responses are charged. * * * ## Place names in the IPGeolocation.io databases IPGeolocation.io's IP to Country, IP to City, and IP to Location databases ship multilingual place names in 12 languages, the API's list without Standard Arabic. Every one of these databases carries all 12, so there's no parameter to set: you choose the language when you read the data. * **CSV archives:** every archive includes `db-place.csv.gz`, with one row per place and one column per language, such as `place_english` and `place_japanese`. In the IP to City and IP to Location archives, the file of IP ranges, `db-ip-location.csv.gz`, points to it through `state_place_id`, `district_place_id`, and `city_place_id`; in all three archives, `db-country.csv.gz` does the same for continent, country, and capital names. * **MMDB files:** each name is an object keyed by language code, so one lookup returns all 12 forms at once and your code picks the one it needs. In the rare case a translation is missing, the value is an empty string, never null, so the English fallback in the errors section applies to the files too. [How the CSV and MMDB archives are organized](https://ipgeolocation.io/help/ip-geolocation-database-formats) covers the rest of each archive, and the [IP to Location database field reference](https://ipgeolocation.io/documentation/ip-geolocation-advance-database.html) lists every name field. ## FAQ ### Is multi-language geolocation free on IPGeolocation.io? **Answer:** No. IPGeolocation.io returns place names in languages other than English on paid API plans only, and every paid plan includes them, starting with Starter at $19 a month for 150,000 credits. The Free plan, with 1,000 credits a day, answers any `lang` other than `en` with HTTP 401 and charges no credits for it. [API pricing](https://ipgeolocation.io/pricing.html) compares the plans. ### Does a lookup in another language use more credits? **Answer:** No. An IPGeolocation.io lookup with `lang` costs the same as one without: 1 credit for the standard response. Only security data (2 more credits) and abuse contact data (1 more) add to the cost, as [how IPGeolocation.io credits are charged](https://ipgeolocation.io/help/how-ipgeolocation-io-credits-work) explains. ### Can IPGeolocation.io tell which language my visitor speaks? **Answer:** Not directly. The `lang` parameter sets the language of the response, not the visitor's. IPGeolocation.io's `country_metadata.languages` field lists the languages spoken in the visitor's country, `["cs", "sk"]` for the Czech Republic, which doesn't say which one, if either, this visitor reads. The geo-redirect guide explains [why a visitor's country doesn't tell you their language](https://ipgeolocation.io/guides/how-to-geo-redirect-visitors-to-localized-pages). ### What if I need a language IPGeolocation.io doesn't support? **Answer:** Ask us. 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