Discovering supported languages (Basic)

This document describes how to use the Cloud Translation API (v2) to list supported languages.

Before you begin

Before you can start using the Cloud Translation API, you must have a project that has the Cloud Translation API enabled, and you must have the appropriate credentials. You can also install client libraries for common programming languages to help you make calls to the API. For more information, see the Setup page.

List supported languages

REST

To get a list of all supported languages, make a GET request to the https://translation.googleapis.com/language/translate/v2/languages endpoint. The following shows an example of a GET request using curl and PowerShell. The example uses the access token for a service account set up for the project using the Google Cloud CLI. For instructions on installing the gcloud CLI, setting up a project with a service account, and obtaining an access token, see the Setup page.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER_OR_ID: the numeric or alphanumeric ID of your Google Cloud project

HTTP method and URL: 

GET https://translation.googleapis.com/language/translate/v2/languages

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "languages": [
    {
      "language": "en"
    },
    {
      "language": "fr"
    },
    {
      "language": "zh-CN"
    }
  ]
}

This query returns ISO-639 language codes for supported languages. Some language codes also include a country code, like zh-CN or zh-TW. The list is sorted alphabetically by language code. The above example has been shortened due to space constraints.

Go

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	"cloud.google.com/go/translate"
	"golang.org/x/text/language"
)

func listSupportedLanguages(w io.Writer, targetLanguage string) error {
	// targetLanguage := "th"
	ctx := context.Background()

	lang, err := language.Parse(targetLanguage)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("language.Parse: %w", err)
	}

	client, err := translate.NewClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("translate.NewClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	langs, err := client.SupportedLanguages(ctx, lang)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("SupportedLanguages: %w", err)
	}

	for _, lang := range langs {
		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%q: %s\n", lang.Tag, lang.Name)
	}

	return nil
}

Java

// TODO(developer): Uncomment these lines.
// import com.google.cloud.translate.*;
// Translate translate = TranslateOptions.getDefaultInstance().getService();

List<Language> languages = translate.listSupportedLanguages();

for (Language language : languages) {
  System.out.printf("Name: %s, Code: %s\n", language.getName(), language.getCode());
}

Node.js

// Imports the Google Cloud client library
const {Translate} = require('@google-cloud/translate').v2;

// Creates a client
const translate = new Translate();

async function listLanguages() {
  // Lists available translation language with their names in English (the default).
  const [languages] = await translate.getLanguages();

  console.log('Languages:');
  languages.forEach(language => console.log(language));
}

listLanguages();

Python

def list_languages() -> dict:
    """Lists all available languages."""
    from google.cloud import translate_v2 as translate

    translate_client = translate.Client()

    results = translate_client.get_languages()

    for language in results:
        print("{name} ({language})".format(**language))

    return results

Additional languages

C#: Please follow the C# setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Cloud Translation reference documentation for .NET.

PHP: Please follow the PHP setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Cloud Translation reference documentation for PHP.

Ruby: Please follow the Ruby setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Cloud Translation reference documentation for Ruby.

List supported languages with target language name

REST

Here is another example that returns the list of supported languages. The returned language names are written in a specified target language. The returned list is sorted alphabetically according to the target language.

To list supported languages in a target language, make a POST request and provide JSON that identifies the target language in the request body. The following shows an example of a POST request using curl or PowerShell.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • PROJECT_NUMBER_OR_ID: the numeric or alphanumeric ID of your Google Cloud project

HTTP method and URL: 

POST https://translation.googleapis.com/language/translate/v2/languages

Request JSON body: 

{
    "target": "zh-TW"
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "data": {
    "languages": [
      {
        "language": "zh-CN",
        "name": "中文(簡體)"
      },
      {
        "language": "fr",
        "name": "法文"
      },
      {
        "language": "en",
        "name": "英文"
      }
    ]
  }
}

In this case, the query returns the same language codes as above, along with name strings that give the names of the languages written in the target language, zh-TW. The above example has been shortened due to space constraints.

Go

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	"cloud.google.com/go/translate"
	"golang.org/x/text/language"
)

func listSupportedLanguages(w io.Writer, targetLanguage string) error {
	// targetLanguage := "th"
	ctx := context.Background()

	lang, err := language.Parse(targetLanguage)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("language.Parse: %w", err)
	}

	client, err := translate.NewClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("translate.NewClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	langs, err := client.SupportedLanguages(ctx, lang)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("SupportedLanguages: %w", err)
	}

	for _, lang := range langs {
		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%q: %s\n", lang.Tag, lang.Name)
	}

	return nil
}

Java

// TODO(developer): Uncomment these lines.
// import com.google.cloud.translate.*;
// Translate translate = TranslateOptions.getDefaultInstance().getService();

List<Language> languages =
    translate.listSupportedLanguages(Translate.LanguageListOption.targetLanguage("es"));

for (Language language : languages) {
  System.out.printf("Name: %s, Code: %s\n", language.getName(), language.getCode());
}

Node.js

// Imports the Google Cloud client library
const {Translate} = require('@google-cloud/translate').v2;

// Creates a client
const translate = new Translate();

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following line before running the sample.
 */
// const target = 'The target language for language names, e.g. ru';

async function listLanguagesWithTarget() {
  // Lists available translation language with their names in a target language
  const [languages] = await translate.getLanguages(target);

  console.log('Languages:');
  languages.forEach(language => console.log(language));
}

listLanguagesWithTarget();

Python

def list_languages_with_target(target: str) -> dict:
    """Lists all available languages and localizes them to the target language.

    Target must be an ISO 639-1 language code.
    See https://g.co/cloud/translate/v2/translate-reference#supported_languages
    """
    from google.cloud import translate_v2 as translate

    translate_client = translate.Client()

    results = translate_client.get_languages(target_language=target)

    for language in results:
        print("{name} ({language})".format(**language))

    return results

Additional languages

C#: Please follow the C# setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Cloud Translation reference documentation for .NET.

PHP: Please follow the PHP setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Cloud Translation reference documentation for PHP.

Ruby: Please follow the Ruby setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Cloud Translation reference documentation for Ruby.

Additional resources

  • For help on resolving common issues or errors, see the Troubleshooting page.