As of 2006, the MBTI^® instrument has been officially translated into 21 languages. Such translations are constructed with extraordinary care.

First, items that may not make sense in translation or with the culture (e.g. foundation-spire, soft-hard), or that come from American slang (a good mixer) are replaced by culturally appropriate concepts.

Second, items that do not prove reliable in translation are identified through statistical analysis of initial results, usually involving several hundred or a thousand cases. These unreliable items are revised and retested.

Finally, the item weights, to take into account social desirability, are determined according to statistical analysis within each culture. The translations are developed with the same intense care that Isabel Myers used in devising the original instrument.

If you are interested in translating the MBTI instrument into a language that is not already represented, please contact