> Reverse Contact API documentation. This is the Markdown copy of https://docs.reversecontact.com/reference/languages
> Every page is listed at https://docs.reversecontact.com/llms.txt, every endpoint with its credit cost and status at https://docs.reversecontact.com/catalog.json

# Language values

> The 34 language names the languages filter of People search matches across spellings, and how any other value is matched.

- Last verified: 2026-11-10

The `languages` and `excludeLanguages` filters of [People search](https://docs.reversecontact.com/endpoints/search-people) and [People search count](https://docs.reversecontact.com/endpoints/search-people-count) take language names in English. Profiles store their languages in their own spelling (`Français`, `Inglese`, `Deutsch`), and the 34 names below also match those spellings.

You can pass a single string or an array of strings, and an array is OR-matched.

```json
{
  "languages": ["German", "Dutch"],
  "excludeLanguages": "French"
}
```

## Languages matched across spellings (34)

- Arabic
- Bengali
- Catalan
- Chinese
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- Finnish
- French
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Mandarin
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Romanian
- Russian
- Spanish
- Swedish
- Tagalog
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Vietnamese

## How values are matched

- The list is not closed: any other value is accepted and matches its exact spelling only.
- Matching compares whole names: `"French"` does not match `"French Creole"`.
- There is no proficiency level: any level matches.
- About one profile in six lists its languages, so a `languages` filter leaves out every profile that lists none.
- `excludeLanguages` keeps profiles that list no language, and only refines a search: sent alone, it is rejected. See [Languages](https://docs.reversecontact.com/endpoints/search-people#languages) on the People search page.
- To find the spellings profiles use for a language outside the list, call [Search autocomplete](https://docs.reversecontact.com/endpoints/search-people-auto-completion-fields) with the `languages` field.

## FAQ

### Which languages can I filter on in People search?

The `languages` filter of People search accepts any language name. 34 English names, from Arabic to Vietnamese, also match the spellings profiles use for the same language, such as `Français` for French. Any other value matches its exact spelling only.

### Should I send "French" or "Français" in the languages filter?

Send `French`. In the `languages` filter of People search, an English name of the Reverse Contact language list also matches the other spellings of that language found on profiles, while a spelling such as `Français` matches itself only.

### Can I filter people by language proficiency?

No. The `languages` and `excludeLanguages` filters of People search have no proficiency level: a language matches at any level.

### Why does the languages filter return fewer people than expected?

About one profile in six lists its languages. A `languages` filter of People search leaves out every profile that lists none, while `excludeLanguages` keeps them.