> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/crizmo/KWordle/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Adding Languages

> Step-by-step guide for adding new language support to KWordle

KWordle supports multiple languages. This guide shows you how to add a new language to the game.

## Requirements

To add a new language, you need two word lists:

1. **Guessing word list** - A curated collection of common 5-letter words that will be selected as the target word
2. **Accepted word list** - A comprehensive list of all valid 5-letter words that players can guess (usually much longer)

These two lists can be the same, but having a smaller guessing list ensures players get reasonable words to guess.

## Preparing the Word Lists

### Handling Accented Characters

If your language contains accented characters (like "é", "ç", "ñ", etc.), replace them with non-accented variants:

* é → e
* ç → c
* ñ → n
* ü → u
* å → a

This ensures compatibility with standard keyboards and simplifies input handling.

### Word List Format

Arrange both word lists in this JavaScript array format:

```javascript theme={null}
["word1","word2","word3","word4","word5"],
```

**Important**: Include the comma after the closing bracket - this is required for the array syntax.

## Adding the Language

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open words.js">
    Navigate to `kwordle/js/words.js` in your code editor.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add to wordList array">
    Find the `wordList` array declaration. Add your guessing word list just before the `];` closing line:

    ```javascript theme={null}
    const wordList = [
      ["aback","abase","abate",...], // English
      ["abats","abces","abime",...], // French
      // ... other languages ...
      ["word1","word2","word3",...], // Your new language
    ];
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add to accepted array">
    Find the `accepted` array declaration. Add your comprehensive word list just before the `];` closing line:

    ```javascript theme={null}
    const accepted = [
      ["aahed","aalii","aargh",...], // English
      ["abats","abbes","abces",...], // French
      // ... other languages ...
      ["word1","word2","word3",...], // Your new language
    ];
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update languageList in main.js">
    Open `main.js` and find the `languageList` array at line 15. Add your language name to the end:

    ```javascript theme={null}
    const languageList = ["English", "French", "German", "Spanish", 
                          "Portuguese", "Swedish", "Italian", "Latin", 
                          "YourLanguage"];
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add credits">
    In `main.js`, find the `showCredits()` function around line 531. Add credit for your word list source:

    ```javascript theme={null}
    function showCredits() {
      var creditsModal = document.getElementById("credits-modal");
      var creditsContent = document.getElementById("credits-content");
      if (creditsModal && creditsContent) {
        creditsContent.innerHTML = "<h2><font size=\"4\">KWordle</font></h2>" +
          "<p><font size=\"2\">Game by <b><a href=\"https://kurizu.vercel.app/\">kurizu</a></b><br/>" +
          // ... existing credits ...
          "&nbsp;&nbsp;- YourLanguage: <a href=\"source-url\">Author Name</a><br/>" +
          "</font></p>";
        creditsModal.style.display = "block";
      }
    }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test the implementation">
    1. Load the game in a browser or Kindle
    2. Click the language button to cycle through languages
    3. Verify your language appears and works correctly
    4. Test with various words to ensure the word lists are properly loaded
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Special Character Support

If your language requires special characters (like Swedish's Å, Ä, Ö), you'll need to:

1. **Update the keyboard initialization** in `initGame()` (main.js:72-77):

```javascript theme={null}
var letters = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ".split("");
if(gameState.language === 8) { // Assuming index 8 is your language
  letters.push("Å");
  letters.push("Ä");
  letters.push("Ö");
}
```

2. **Update the keyboard layout** in `updateKeyboard()` (main.js:361-374) to add the special keys to appropriate rows.

3. **Update the input validation regex** in `handleKeyInput()` (main.js:138) to accept your special characters:

```javascript theme={null}
else if (/^[A-ZÅÄÖÑÜ]$/.test(key)) {
  // Add letter to the current row
  addLetter(key);
}
```

## Finding Word Lists

Check these resources for word lists in different languages:

* [Hugo0's Wordle repo](https://github.com/Hugo0/wordle) - Multiple language word lists
* [Katherine Oelsner's word-master](https://github.com/octokatherine/word-master) - German words
* [Sean Patlan's wordle-words](https://github.com/seanpatlan/wordle-words) - English words
* GitHub search for "wordle \[language]" for other languages

## Word List Guidelines

* **Guessing list size**: 2,000-3,000 words is ideal
* **Accepted list size**: 5,000-15,000 words recommended
* **Avoid**: Proper nouns, abbreviations, vulgar words
* **Include**: Common everyday words, verb forms, plurals
* **Format**: All lowercase, no spaces or punctuation