This is a documentation subpage for Template:Interlanguage link. It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

This template is used on approximately 258,000 pages. To avoid major disruption and server load, any changes should be tested in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. The tested changes can be added to this page in a single edit. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This template is used by one or more bots. If you intend to change this template in any significant way, move it, or nominate it for deletion, please inform the bot operators. Thank you. The relevant bots are: cewbot

This template should not be used in citation templates such as Citation Style 1 and Citation Style 2, because it includes markup that will pollute the COinS metadata they produce; see Wikipedia:COinS.

Due to a server limit of 500 "expensive parser function" calls (e.g. #ifexist:, PAGESIZE:, and PAGESINCATEGORY:), this template will only work properly if the page using it has not already exceeded the limit. When the limit is exceeded, the page using this template or module is categorised in Category:Pages with too many expensive parser function calls. (further information)

This template may be used to add links to foreign-language Wikipedias for articles where English Wikipedia does not yet have one. The intent is to provide readers with options to research further into topics not yet covered by English Wikipedia. The intent is not to catalogue every foreign-language article; while there is no general consensus when this template should be used, or what languages should be linked when an article missing in English is present in several other language Wikipedias, more than 2 or 3 links are rarely needed.

This template adds additional links to one or more foreign-language Wikipedias to the end of a red link in order to both provide readers additional information provided by those languages and give editors additional resources when starting a new article on the topic. If and when an article on the red-linked topic is created, this template will only show the normal blue link to the page (i.e. the foreign-language links will be removed); the template can then be replaced by the standard wikilink, either manually or by a bot account.

Alternatively, the template provides a link to Wikidata.^[a]

This template should not be used when an article on a topic already exists, except when the link is a redirect pointing to an article that potentially could be changed into its own article. See § Limitations and known issues for other restrictions and caveats.

Note: all examples on this page will use {{ill}}, the main template shortcut for this template

{{ill}} takes at a minimum two parameters (the "Basic syntax") for linking to a single foreign language, but it can be expanded to include multiple languages (see List of Wikipedias § Wikipedia editions for the full list of codes). Formatting of the link (e.g. bold, italics, quotes) and display options (e.g. piping links) are described in the § Parameters and § Examples sections below.

Basic syntax (one language, same title)

{{ill|English article title|language code}}

When only a single foreign language link is required and the title at the target language is the same as in English, all that is required in the template is the name of the article and the language code. For example, the German rapper Estikay does not have an article on the English Wikipedia but there is one on the German Wikipedia; to indicate that we would use {{ill|Estikay|de}} → Estikay [de].

Basic syntax (one language, different title)

{{ill|English article title|language code|title in foreign language}}

When only a single foreign language link is required, but the title at the target language is not the same as in English, the title of the foreign language article needs to be included. This often occurs an article title contains a word that would normally be translated, for example {{ill|Hooglede town hall|nl|Gemeentehuis van Hooglede}} → Hooglede town hall [nl].

Two (or more) languages, same title

{{ill|English article title|language 1 code||language 2 code||language 3 code||...}}

If there are two or more languages using the same title as the proposed English redlink, the foreign language names are not required. {{ill|Margarita Cueto|ca||es||pt}} → Margarita Cueto [ca; es; pt]

Note: Redirects appear as blue links while foreign-language links are still shown. For example, casa is a redirect and thus {{ill|casa|es||it||ro}} → casa.

Two (or more) languages, different title

{{ill|English article title|language 1 code|Title in language 1|language 2 code|Title in language 2|...}}

If there are two or more languages, but with a different title as the proposed English redlink, the foreign language names are required {{ill|Ropsha Palace|de|Ropscha-Palast|fr|Palais de Ropcha|ru|Ропшинский дворец}} → Ropsha Palace [de; fr; ru]

Please see Help:Interlanguage links#Inline links for several ways you can add interlanguage links, of which this template is only one method, albeit the recommended one.

For use at the top of a section in the role where a {{Further}} link might normally be used, the template {{Further ill}} is available with similar functionality to this template for linking foreign Wikipedia articles.

Parameters for this template come in four groups:

• A: one parameter (always required) to specify the page title of the (as yet) non-existent article in English; this normally appears as a red link
• B: parameters specifying the foreign Wikipedia page(s), either by Wikipedia language code and pagename (these come in pairs), or by a wikidata id (a single id may link many foreign Wikipedia pages)
• C: optional link text, for altering what text is used for the link
• D: optional stylistic parameters, for modifying how the link (or links) appear on the page

group A – a page title of a proposed new article for English Wikipedia; should comply with WP:Article title policy.

• |1= – the proposed page title. This must be a red link or a redirect with possibilities. (If it isn't, do not use this template.) Required.

group B – specification of corresponding foreign Wikipedia page(s); up to 16 pairs of lang-code + page-title, or else a single wikidata id. Either qid *or* positional param |2= must be specified.

• Paired positional params |2= and |3=, through |32= and |33=; the second item of each pair may be empty if the foreign pagename is the same as the param 1:
  • 2 and 3 – the language code and page to link to article(s) on foreign Wikipedia(s). Required unless |qid= is used.
  • 4 and 5 – a second lang-code and page to link to on a foreign wikipedia. Optional. If 5 is missing, it takes the value of param 1.
  • 6 and 7 – a third lang-code/page pair, to link a foreign Wikipedia article. Optional. If 7 is missing, it takes the value of param 1.

    and so on, up through:

  • 32 and 33 – last lang-code + page pair, to link one foreign Wikipedia article. Optional. If 33 is missing, it takes the value of param 1
• or Wikidata id – use of this parameter overrides any positional parameters:
  • |qid= – the Wikidata item identifier corresponding to existing article(s) on other Wikipedias. The qid param replaces all of the paired parameters listed above in this group. See Wikipedia:Finding a Wikidata ID for help in locating a qid from an existing Wikipedia article that is linked from Wikidata. Alternatively, you can search for a qid directly at Wikidata by using the search box at the top of any Wikidata page and searching for a likely label, like this Basil of Luni search. The qid should appear in the search results.

group C – altering link text changing the text of the link (named param, optional):

• |lt=... – turns the red English link into a piped link using the given text; ('lt' stands for "link text". There is no long form, i.e. you cannot use |link text=).

group D – stylistic parameters for formatting the output (all named params, and all optional):

• |italics=yes – italicizes the display text (but not the language links) (Alias: italic)
• |quote=yes – embed the linked param 1 article name in double quotes (language links remain outside) (Alias: quotes)
• |nobold=yes – force language links to be normal weight, even if the template is embedded in a line of bolded text
• |valign=... – values: sub (below the baseline), sup (above the baseline), or ib (none). (Alias: v)
• |preserve=yes – force language links to display even if param 1 points to an existing article (Alias: display)
• |short=yes – when |qid= is in use, shorten the link from '[wikidata]' to just '[wd]'. (Alias: s)

To create a piped link (text displayed that is different from the title of the page to which the text links), use the |lt= parameter (for link text). This is mainly useful if disambiguation is necessary, but can be used for any reason where a piped link would make sense.

• {{ill|David Cannon McConnel|lt=David|qid=Q21536696}} (used in the phrase "David and Mary McConnel" in Bulimba House)
• {{ill|Capture of Berlin (1813)|lt=1813 Capture of Berlin|ru|Атака Берлина отрядами Чернышёва и Теттенборна (1813)}} → 1813 Capture of Berlin [ru]
• {{ill|Takashi Onishi (scientist)|lt=Takashi Onishi|ja|大西隆}} → Takashi Onishi [ja] (Takashi Onishi is a football player)
• {{ill|Yuri Smirnov (physicist)|lt=Yuri Smirnov|ru|Смирнов, Юрий Николаевич (физик)}} → Yuri Smirnov [ru] (Yuri Smirnov is a disambiguation page)
• {{ill|Grünbein (Argentine town)|es|Grünbein|lt=Grünbein}} → Grünbein [es]

In the last example above, a disambiguator is added because GrünbeinGrünbein is a redirect, and while (like casa) this will still show the language codes as Grünbein [es], the redirect points to Durs Grünbein which is entirely unrelated to the Argentine town. Circular redirects are another redirect case where it may make more sense to artificially create a redlink until such time as the redirect can be converted into an article, though this is not required; see § Circular redirects below for more information and an example.

This template can either supply one or more links to foreign-language articles or a single Wikidata link (using the |qid= parameter detailed above).

When and where to supply a Wikidata link?

Add a Wikidata link to a concept where no quality article could be found in any language, but normally only through InfoBoxes or similar templates. Wikidata links are also useful for red link lists in user or project space, and for identification purposes and to establish the initial connection to an already established piece of infrastructure elsewhere.

When and where not to supply a Wikidata link?

When several foreign-language articles about a subject exists, the general reader is much better served by you hand-picking a few quality articles, than by a Wikidata link. Remember, this template is not intended to supplant the existing interlanguage link functionality (WP:ILLSIDEBAR): most readers are much more at ease with the idea to visit a foreign-language article and then using the language sidebar or drop-down to find every language covering a subject, than to navigate the Wikidata user interface.

You can remove the template when a red link turns blue, and it is no longer needed. However, there is no need to remember to do so, because Cewbot does this automatically for you, replacing the template with a plain wikilink.

A possible downside of removing the template is loss of linkage to foreign articles in case the English Wikipedia article is later deleted. In that case, the blue wikilink will become a red link, where an {{ill}} template would re-emerge with visually apparent blue link(s) to foreign article(s).

Please be aware Cewbot removes this template when it detects the target article has been created on English Wikipedia, converting {{ill}} links to regular (blue) links.^[b]

If the topic you are trying to provide interlanguage links for already exists on English Wikipedia as a redirect, and this redirect points back to the article you are trying to edit, this template might astonish readers; they expect a blue link to lead to an English-language article, but all they get is the same page reloaded. Attempts have been made for the {{Interlanguage link}} template to automatically detect this, but currently none are functional. Help:Interlanguage links § Inline links has other linking options, but if this template is to be used, the best option is to artificially create a red link using a reasonable disambiguator.

For example, Helen ReefHelen Reef points to Hatohobei, so instead of using Helen Reef [be; fr; nl] on the Hatohobei page it may be better to use Helen Reef [be; fr; nl], where the editor has made up a new red link target: Helen Reef (atoll) - this phrasing should tell other editors what subject the link is intended to cover if and when created. Please use these two versions of the Hatohobei article to compare: version with a circular redirect (N avoid) and version with an artificial red link (Y better). Do note that if an article about the atoll is written, either the artificial red link will need to be created as a redirect or the Hatohobei article will need to be edited to convert the {{ill}} call into a regular wikilink.

In other words, there is no perfect solution; if the circular redirect is avoided, manual editing will be necessary if and when that redirect is expanded into a proper article, regardless of whether this template or another method is used.

Interlanguage links that are circular redirects are not converted by Cewbot into regular links.

Avoid filling an article with dozens or hundreds of instances of this template. See § Alternatives for alternative ways to display interlanguage links that avoids articles that mostly consist of {{ill}} links.

The Manual of Style in Spanish Wikipedia, and perhaps others, deprecates interlanguage links in live articles, and therefore the local version of this template (es:Plantilla:ill) is disabled for main (article) space. It still works for discussion pages, for example.

In the main namespace, when using this template with the {{lang}} template, use |cat=no or |nocat=yes to remove the hidden category that {{lang}} creates.

N {{ill|Machsor Lipsiae|de|lt={{lang|he-LA|Machsor Lipsiae}}}}

Y {{ill|Machsor Lipsiae|de|lt={{lang|he-LA|Machsor Lipsiae|cat=no}}}}

Y {{ill|Machsor Lipsiae|de|lt={{lang|he-LA|Machsor Lipsiae|nocat=yes}}}}

This template should not be used in citation templates such as Citation Style 1 and Citation Style 2, because it includes markup that will pollute the COinS metadata they produce; see Wikipedia:COinS.

On Wikipedia, links to non-existent pages normally show as red links. However, this functionality only works within the Wikipedia site you're viewing. There is no way for this template, or any code on Wikipedia, to check whether an article on another language's Wikipedia exists. Links to all foreign-language articles, including non-existent foreign-language articles, show as blue links when constructed. For example, both [[:fr:Maman ne le sait pas|Maman ne le sait pas]] → Maman ne le sait pas (exists) and [[:fr:no such article|no such article]] → no such article (does not exist) display in the same blue color.

In other words, editors should take care to ensure the language codes they use actually correspond to an existing article; {{ill|no such article|fr}} → no such article [fr] does no one any good.

• Category:Interlanguage link template existing link (3,937)
• Category:Interlanguage link template forcing interwiki links (1,569)
• Category:Interlanguage link template to be checked (0)
• Category:Pages calling interlanguage link with many languages (1,219)
• Category:Pages using interlanguage link with no language parameter (0)
• Category:Pages using interlanguage link with unknown parameters (6)

After a merge discussion, five other templates were merged into this template, and thus this template contains all of their features.

• {{Interlanguage link}}
• {{Interlanguage link forced}}
• {{Interlanguage link multi}}
• {{Interlanguage link Wikidata}}
• {{Link-interwiki}}
• {{Red Wikidata link}}

• Help:Interlanguage links § Inline links for general inline linking to other language Wikipedias
• {{Wikidata fallback link}} which provides some functionality similar to |qid= in this template
• {{Further ill}}, a mashup of {{Further}} and {{ill}} for section header links
• {{Interwiki link}}, for use in discussions and documentation
• User:Cobaltcigs/IllWill – a tool that assists in finding interlanguage links