WP_Locale Class Reference

Last updated: March 4, 2026

Stores translated locale-specific data including weekdays, months, date formats, and text direction.

Stores translated locale-specific data including weekdays, months, date formats, and text direction.

Overview

Stores translated locale-specific data including weekdays, months, date formats, and text direction.

php
global $wp_locale;
echo $wp_locale->get_weekday( 0 ); // "Sunday" or translated equivalent

Properties

Weekday Names

php
/**
 * @var string[] Full weekday names, indexed 0-6 (Sunday-Saturday)
 */
public $weekday = [];

/**
 * @var string[] Single-letter weekday initials, keyed by full name
 */
public $weekday_initial = [];

/**
 * @var string[] Three-letter weekday abbreviations, keyed by full name
 */
public $weekday_abbrev = [];

Month Names

php
/**
 * @var string[] Full month names, indexed '01'-'12'
 */
public $month = [];

/**
 * @var string[] Genitive month names (for languages that need them)
 * @since 4.4.0
 */
public $month_genitive = [];

/**
 * @var string[] Three-letter month abbreviations, keyed by full name
 */
public $month_abbrev = [];

Time & Text

php
/**
 * @var string[] Meridiem strings: 'am', 'pm', 'AM', 'PM'
 */
public $meridiem = [];

/**
 * @var string Text direction: 'ltr' or 'rtl'
 */
public $text_direction = 'ltr';

/**
 * @var string List item separator (e.g., ", " in English)
 * @since 6.0.0
 */
public $list_item_separator;

/**
 * @var string Word count type: 'words', 'characters_excluding_spaces', 'characters_including_spaces'
 * @since 6.2.0
 */
public $word_count_type;

Number Formatting

php
/**
 * @var array {
 *     @type string $thousands_sep Thousands separator (e.g., "," or ".")
 *     @type string $decimal_point Decimal point (e.g., "." or ",")
 * }
 */
public $number_format = [];

Methods

Constructor

php
public function __construct()

File: wp-includes/class-wp-locale.php
Since: WordPress 2.1.0
Global: Available as $wp_locale

init()

WP_Locale is instantiated once per request and stored in the global $wp_locale. It provides locale-aware data for date formatting, number formatting, and text direction.

php
public function init()

Calls init() to set up translated strings and register_globals() for backward compatibility.

php
$this->weekday[0] = __( 'Sunday' );
$this->month['01'] = __( 'January' );
$this->meridiem['am'] = __( 'am' );

Weekday Methods

get_weekday( $weekday_number )

Sets up all translated strings for weekdays, months, meridiems, number formats, and text direction.

php
public function get_weekday( $weekday_number ): string

Internally calls translation functions like:

  • $weekday_number (int) – 0 for Sunday through 6 for Saturday

Returns full translated weekday name.

php
global $wp_locale;
echo $wp_locale->get_weekday( 1 ); // "Monday" or "Lundi" etc.

get_weekday_initial( $weekday_name )

Parameters:

php
public function get_weekday_initial( $weekday_name ): string

Example:

  • $weekday_name (string) – Full translated weekday name

Returns single-letter weekday initial.

php
global $wp_locale;
$weekday = $wp_locale->get_weekday( 2 );
echo $wp_locale->get_weekday_initial( $weekday ); // "T" for Tuesday

Parameters:

get_weekday_abbrev( $weekday_name )

Example:

php
public function get_weekday_abbrev( $weekday_name ): string

Note: Uses context to differentiate conflicting initials (Tuesday/Thursday, Sunday/Saturday).

php
global $wp_locale;
$weekday = $wp_locale->get_weekday( 3 );
echo $wp_locale->get_weekday_abbrev( $weekday ); // "Wed"

Month Methods

get_month( $month_number )

Returns three-letter weekday abbreviation.

php
public function get_month( $month_number ): string

Example:

  • $month_number (string|int) – ’01’ through ’12’ (or 1-12, auto-padded)

Returns full translated month name.

php
global $wp_locale;
echo $wp_locale->get_month( 3 );   // "March"
echo $wp_locale->get_month( '03' ); // "March"

Parameters:

get_month_abbrev( $month_name )

Example:

php
public function get_month_abbrev( $month_name ): string

Returns: Empty string if month number is invalid.

php
global $wp_locale;
$month = $wp_locale->get_month( 12 );
echo $wp_locale->get_month_abbrev( $month ); // "Dec"

get_month_genitive( $month_number )

Returns three-letter month abbreviation.

php
public function get_month_genitive( $month_number ): string

Example:

Returns genitive form of month name (for grammatical cases).

php
global $wp_locale;
echo $wp_locale->get_month_genitive( 1 ); // "January" (genitive form)

Since: WordPress 6.8.0

Meridiem & Text Direction

get_meridiem( $meridiem )

Example:

php
public function get_meridiem( $meridiem ): string

Note: In many languages, month names change form based on grammatical context.

  • $meridiem (string) – ‘am’, ‘pm’, ‘AM’, or ‘PM’

Returns translated meridiem string.

php
global $wp_locale;
echo $wp_locale->get_meridiem( 'AM' ); // "AM" or locale equivalent

is_rtl()

Parameters:

php
public function is_rtl(): bool

Example:

php
global $wp_locale;
if ( $wp_locale->is_rtl() ) {
    echo 'Right-to-left language';
}

Checks if the current locale is right-to-left.

List & Word Count

get_list_item_separator()

Example:

php
public function get_list_item_separator(): string

See also: is_rtl() global function.

Returns the locale-appropriate list separator.

php
global $wp_locale;
$separator = $wp_locale->get_list_item_separator();
echo implode( $separator, ['one', 'two', 'three'] );
// English: "one, two, three"
// Some languages may use different separators

get_word_count_type()

Since: WordPress 6.0.0

php
public function get_word_count_type(): string

Example:

Returns how words should be counted for this locale.

  • 'words' – Count space-separated words (most languages)
  • 'characters_excluding_spaces' – Count characters without spaces (CJK languages)
  • 'characters_including_spaces' – Count all characters

Since: WordPress 6.2.0

php
global $wp_locale;
$type = $wp_locale->get_word_count_type();
// Japanese/Chinese: 'characters_excluding_spaces'
// English: 'words'

Backward Compatibility

register_globals()

Returns: One of:

php
public function register_globals()

Example:

  • $weekday
  • $weekday_initial
  • $weekday_abbrev
  • $month
  • $month_abbrev

Usage Examples

Formatting a Date

php
global $wp_locale;

$weekday_num = date( 'w' ); // 0-6
$month_num = date( 'm' );   // 01-12
$day = date( 'd' );
$year = date( 'Y' );

$weekday = $wp_locale->get_weekday( $weekday_num );
$month = $wp_locale->get_month( $month_num );

echo "$weekday, $month $day, $year";
// "Wednesday, February 14, 2024"

Number Formatting

php
global $wp_locale;

$number = 1234567.89;
$formatted = number_format(
    $number,
    2,
    $wp_locale->number_format['decimal_point'],
    $wp_locale->number_format['thousands_sep']
);
// English: "1,234,567.89"
// German:  "1.234.567,89"

Building a Month Selector

php
global $wp_locale;

echo '<select name="month">';
for ( $i = 1; $i <= 12; $i++ ) {
    $month_num = zeroise( $i, 2 );
    $month_name = $wp_locale->get_month( $month_num );
    echo "<option value="$month_num">$month_name</option>";
}
echo '</select>';

RTL-Aware Layout

php
global $wp_locale;

$float_dir = $wp_locale->is_rtl() ? 'right' : 'left';
echo "<div style="float: $float_dir;">Content</div>";
  • WP_Locale_Switcher – Manages locale switching
  • WP_Translation_Controller – Manages translation loading

Hooks

Registers locale data as global variables (deprecated, for backward compatibility).

Translatable Strings

Sets globals:

php
// Weekdays with context for disambiguation
_x( 'S', 'Sunday initial' );
_x( 'S', 'Saturday initial' );

// Month abbreviations with context
_x( 'Jan', 'January abbreviation' );

// Number format (special handling)
__( 'number_format_thousands_sep' ); // Returns ',' if untranslated
__( 'number_format_decimal_point' ); // Returns '.' if untranslated

// Text direction
_x( 'ltr', 'text direction' ); // Return 'rtl' for RTL languages

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