What is a MARC language code?

It is a three-letter code from the MARC Code List for Languages, maintained by the Library of Congress, used to record the language of a resource in MARC 21 bibliographic and authority records. The code goes in the 008 fixed field and the 041 variable field.

Are MARC language codes the same as ISO 639?

No. MARC uses its own three-letter list that overlaps with but is not identical to ISO 639-2. For example, German is ger in MARC but can be ger or deu in ISO 639-2, and some MARC codes have no ISO equivalent.

Where do MARC language codes go in a record?

The primary language is recorded in the 008 fixed field at character positions 35 to 37. When a resource has multiple languages, translations, or summaries, the 041 field carries additional language codes in its subfields.

Why does French use fre and not fra?

MARC follows the bibliographic (B) form of the three-letter codes rather than the terminology (T) form, so French is fre, German is ger, and Greek is gre. ISO 639-2 offers both forms, which is why you sometimes see fra or deu elsewhere.

Is the lookup performed online?

No. The code list is bundled into the page, so searches are instant and work offline with no network request.

MARC Language Code Lookup

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The MARC Code List for Languages assigns a three-letter code to every language used to describe a resource in a library catalogue. When a cataloguer records that a book is in eng (English) or fre (French), they are using these codes in the MARC 008 fixed field and the 041 language field. This tool lets you search the list by code or language name so you can encode a record correctly or decode a code you have come across.

How it works

Each language has a three-letter code drawn from the bibliographic form of the standard — eng, spa, ara, chi. MARC deliberately uses the bibliographic (B) form, so French is fre rather than the terminology form fra. Type a code or part of a language name and the tool filters a bundled dataset, returning the code and its language. The primary language goes in the 008 field at positions 35 to 37; additional languages, such as the original language of a translation, go in the 041 field.

Tips and notes

Search is case-insensitive and matches both the code and the language name, so typing por finds Portuguese and typing chinese finds chi.
Use the 041 field with the right indicators and subfields when a work mixes languages — for example a translation, a bilingual edition, or sung text with a printed translation.
MARC codes are not interchangeable with ISO 639-1 two-letter codes; convert deliberately when moving metadata between systems.
The dataset is bundled offline, so nothing is transmitted to a server when you search.