Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/Intl/Locale/collation

The Intl.Locale.prototype.collation property is an accessor property that returns the collation type for the Locale, which is used to order strings according to the locale's rules.

Description

Collation is the process of ordering strings of characters. It is used whenever strings must be sorted and placed into a certain order, from search query results to ordering records in a database. While the idea of placing strings in order might seem trivial, the idea of order can vary from region to region and language to language. The collation property helps to make it easier for JavaScript programmers to access the collation type used by a particular locale.

Below is a table with the available collation types, taken from the Unicode collation specification.

Valid collation types

Collation Type	Description
big5han	Pinyin ordering for Latin, big5 charset ordering for CJK characters (used in Chinese)
compat	A previous version of the ordering, for compatibility
dict	Dictionary style ordering (such as in Sinhala)
The `direct` collation type has been deprected. Do not use. direct	Binary code point order (used in Hindi)
ducet	The default Unicode collation element table order
emoji	Recommended ordering for emoji characters
eor	European ordering rules
gb2312	Pinyin ordering for Latin, gb2312han charset ordering for CJK characters (used in Chinese)
phonebk	Phonebook style ordering (such as in German)
phonetic	Phonetic ordering (sorting based on pronunciation)
pinyin	Pinyin ordering for Latin and for CJK characters (used in Chinese)
reformed	Reformed ordering (such as in Swedish)
search	Special collation type for string search
searchjl	Special collation type for Korean initial consonant search
standard	Default ordering for each language
stroke	Pinyin ordering for Latin, stroke order for CJK characters (used in Chinese)
trad	Traditional style ordering (such as in Spanish)
unihan	Pinyin ordering for Latin, Unihan radical-stroke ordering for CJK characters (used in Chinese)
zhuyin	Pinyin ordering for Latin, zhuyin order for Bopomofo and CJK characters (used in Chinese)

Examples

Like other locale subtags, the collation type can be added to the Intl.Locale object via the locale string, or a configuration object argument to the constructor.

Adding a collation type via the locale string

In the Unicode locale string spec, collation types are locale key "extension subtags". These subtags add additional data about the locale, and are added to locale identifiers by using the -u extension. Thus, the collation type can be added to the inital locale identifier string that is passed into the Locale constructor. To add the collation type, first add the -u extension to the string. Next, add the -co extension to indicate that you are adding a collation type. Finally, add the collation to the string.

let stringColl = new Intl.Locale("en-Latn-US-u-co-emoji");
console.log(stringColl.collation); // Prints "emoji"

Adding a collation type via the configuration object argument

The Intl.Locale constructor has an optional configuration object argument, which can contain any of several extension types, including collation types. Set the collation property of the configuration object to your desired collation type, and then pass it into the constructor.

let configColl = new Intl.Locale("en-Latn-US", {collation: "emoji"});
console.log(configColl.collation); // Prints "emoji"

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript Internationalization API (ECMA-402)

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet	Node.js
`collation`	Chrome Full support 74	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 75	IE No support No	Opera Full support 62	Safari Full support 14	WebView Android Full support 74	Chrome Android Full support 74	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android Full support 53	Safari iOS Full support 14	Samsung Internet Android Full support 11.0	nodejs Full support 12.0.0 Notes' Full support 12.0.0 Notes' Notes' Before version 13.0.0, only the locale data for `en-US` is available by default. See the `Locale()` constructor for more details.

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.