OCR Language Support

Cloud Vision API's text recognition feature is able to detect a wide variety of languages and can detect multiple languages within a single image.

Providing a language hint to the service is not required, but can be done if the service is having trouble detecting the language used in your image.

With the release of Handwriting OCR GA images with handwriting no longer require a handwriting languageHints flag when using DOCUMENT_TEXT_DETECTION .

Optional language hints are specified within a request's ImageContext as a list of languageHints for a TEXT_DETECTION and DOCUMENT_TEXT_DETECTION request.

Each language code parameter typically consists of a BCP-47 identifier. This parameter can be of the form language - region , where language refers to the primary language and the optional region refers to a region (usually a country identifier) of a particular dialect. For example, Chinese can be represented as Simplified Chinese as written in the People's Republic of China ( zh-Hans ) or Traditional Chinese as written in Taiwan ( zh-Hant ).

There are three levels of language support in the text recognition feature:

1. Supported languages are those we prioritize and regularly evaluate performance against.
2. Experimental languages are those under active development but not regularly evaluated against.
3. Mapped languages are those supported by mapping them to another language code or to a general character recognizer. For example, " en-GB " is supported, but it is not treated any differently than " en " for the purposes of recognizing text. We make a best-effort to return the correct mapped language code in the Entity locale field, but mapped languages are more likely than fully supported or experimentally supported languages to be misidentified as a similar language.

The list of languages (with associated languageHint codes) supported by TEXT_DETECTION and DOCUMENT_TEXT_DETECTION is shown below.

If the language hint is left blank, we will attempt to auto-detect the most appropriate language. The TEXT_DETECTION endpoint will auto-detect only a subset of supported languages, while the DOCUMENT_TEXT_DETECTION endpoint will auto-detect the full set of supported languages.

Supported languages

The following languages are prioritized and regularly evaluated.

To filter by features, type or directly select the desired language from the dropdown menu:

Language	Language (English name)	languageHints code	Script	Notes
Afrikaans	Afrikaans	af	Latn
shqip	Albanian	sq	Latn
العربية	Arabic	ar	Arab	Modern Standard
Հայ	Armenian	hy	Armn
беларуская	Belarusian	be	Cyrl
বাংলা	Bengali	bn	Beng
български	Bulgarian	bg	Cyrl
Català	Catalan	ca	Latn
普通话	Chinese	zh	Hans/Hant
Hrvatski	Croatian	hr	Latn
Čeština	Czech	cs	Latn
Dansk	Danish	da	Latn
Nederlands	Dutch	nl	Latn
English	English	en	Latn	American
Eesti keel	Estonian	et	Latn
Filipino	Filipino	fil	Latn
Suomi	Finnish	fi	Latn
Français	French	fr	Latn	European
Deutsch	German	de	Latn
Ελληνικά	Greek	el	Grek
ગુજરાતી	Gujarati	gu	Gujr
עברית	Hebrew	iw	Hebr
हिन्दी	Hindi	hi	Deva
Magyar	Hungarian	hu	Latn
Íslenska	Icelandic	is	Latn
Bahasa Indonesia	Indonesian	id	Latn
Italiano	Italian	it	Latn
日本語	Japanese	ja	Jpan
ಕನ್ನಡ	Kannada	kn	Knda
ភាសាខ្មែរ	Khmer	km	Khmr
한국어	Korean	ko	Kore
ລາວ	Lao	lo	Laoo
Latviešu	Latvian	lv	Latn
Lietuvių	Lithuanian	lt	Latn
Македонски	Macedonian	mk	Cyrl
Bahasa Melayu	Malay	ms	Latn
മലയാളം	Malayalam	ml	Mlym
मराठी	Marathi	mr	Deva
नेपाली	Nepali	ne	Deva
Norsk	Norwegian	no	Latn	Bokmål
فارسی	Persian	fa	Arab
Polski	Polish	pl	Latn
Português	Portuguese	pt	Latn	Brazilian
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ	Punjabi	pa	Guru	Gurmukhi
Română	Romanian	ro	Latn
Русский	Russian	ru	Cyrl
Русский (старая орфография)	Russian	ru-PETR1708	Cyrl	Old Orthography
Српски	Serbian	sr	Cyrl
Српски (латиница)	Serbian	sr-Latn	Latn
Slovenčina	Slovak	sk	Latn
Slovenščina	Slovenian	sl	Latn
Español	Spanish	es	Latn	European
Svenska	Swedish	sv	Latn
Tagalog	Tagalog	tl	Latn
தமிழ்	Tamil	ta	Taml
తెలుగు	Telugu	te	Telu
ไทย	Thai	th	Thai
Türkçe	Turkish	tr	Latn
Українська	Ukrainian	uk	Cyrl
Tiếng Việt	Vietnamese	vi	Latn
Yiddish	Yiddish	yi	Hebr

Experimental languages

The following languages are under active development and not yet regularly evaluated against.

Language	Language (English name)	languageHints code	Script	Notes
አማርኛ	Amharic	am	Ethi
Αρχαία ελληνικά	Ancient Greek	grc	Grek
অসমীয়া	Assamese	as	Beng
Azərbaycan	Azerbaijani	az	Latn
Azərbaycan (qədim yazı)	Azerbaijani	az-Cyrl	Cyrl	Old Orthography
Euskara	Basque	eu	Latn
Bosanski	Bosnian	bs	Latn
မြန်မာ	Burmese	my	Mymr
Cebuano	Cebuano	ceb	Latn
ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ	Cherokee	chr	Cher
dhivehi, dhivehi-bas	Dhivehi	dv	Thaa
རྫོང་ཁ	Dzonkha	dz	Tibt
Esperanto	Esperanto	eo	Latn
Galego	Galician	gl	Latn
ქართული	Georgian	ka	Geor
Kreyòl Ayisyen	Haitian Creole	ht	Latn
Gaeilge	Irish	ga	Latn
Jawa	Javanese	jv	Latn
Қазақ	Kazakh	kk	Cyrl
Kirghiz	Kirghiz	ky	Cyrl
Latine	Latin	la	Latn
Malti	Maltese	mt	Latn
Монгол	Mongolian	mn	Cyrl
ଓଡ଼ିଆ	Oriya	or	Orya
پښتو	Pashto	ps	Arab
संस्कृतम्	Sanskrit	sa	Deva
සිංහල	Sinhala	si	Sinh
Swahili	Swahili	sw	Latn
leššānā Suryāyā	Syriac	syr	Syriac
བོད་སྐད་	Tibetan	bo	Tibt
ትግርኛ	Tigirinya	ti	Ethi
اردو	Urdu	ur	Arab
oʻzbekcha	Uzbek	uz	Latn	Latin
oʻzbekcha	Uzbek	uz-Cyrl	Cyrl	Old Orthography
Cymraeg	Welsh	cy	Latn
IsiZulu	Zulu	zu	Latn

Mapped languages

The following languages are mapped to another language code or mapped to a general character recognizer.

Language	Language (English name)	languageHints code	Script	Notes
بهسا اچيه	Acehnese	ace	Latn	Latin model
Lwo	Acholi	ach	Latn	Latin model
Dangme	Adangme	ada	Latn	Latin model
Akan	Akan	ak	Latn	Latin model
Anicinâbemowin	Algonquinian	alg	Latn	Latin model
Mapudungu	Araucanian/Mapuche	arn	Latn	Latin model
Asturianu	Asturian	ast	Latn	Latin model
Dene	Athabaskan	ath	Latn	Latin model
Aymar aru	Aymara	ay	Latn	Latin model
Bhāṣa Bali	Balinese	ban	Latn	Latin model
Bamanankan	Bambara	bm	Latn	Latin model
Narrow Bantu	Bantu	bnt	Latn	Latin model
башҡорт теле	Bashkir	ba	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
Toba–Batak	Batak	btk	Latn	Latin model
Chibemba	Bemba	bem	Latn	Latin model
Bikol Naga	Bikol	bik	Latn	Latin model
Bichelamar	Bislama	bi	Latn	Latin model
Brezhoneg	Breton	br	Latn	Latin model
нохчийн мотт / noxçiyn mott	Chechen	ce	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
汉语	Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified,)	zh-Hans	Hans	Chinese model
漢語	Chinese (Mandarin, Traditional)	zh-Hant	Hant	Chinese model
普通話	Chinese (Mandarin, Hong Kong)	zh-Hant-HK	Hant	Chinese model
Chahta'	Choctaw	cho	Latn	Latin model
Чӑвашла	Chuvash	cv	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi	Cree	cr	Latn	Latin model
Mvskoke	Creek	mus	Latn	Latin model
qırımtatar tili, къырымтатар тили	Crimean Tatar	crh	Latn	Cyrillic model
Dakhótiyapi, Dakȟótiyapi	Dakota	dak	Latn	Latin model
Douala	Duala	dua	Latn	Latin model
Ikɔ Efik	Efik	efi	Latn	Latin model
English (British)	English (British)	en-GB	Latn	Latin model
Èʋegbe	Ewe	ee	Latn	Latin model
føroyskt mál	Faroese	fo	Latn	Latin model
Na Vosa Vakaviti	Fijian	fj	Latn	Latin model
fɔ̀ngbè	Fon	fon	Latn	Latin model
Français canadien	French (Canadian)	fr-CA	Latn	Latin model
Fulani, Fulah, Peul	Fulah	ff	Latn	Latin model
Gã	Ga	gaa	Latn	Latin model
Luganda	Ganda	lg	Latn	Latin model
Basa Gayo	Gayo	gay	Latn	Latin model
Kiribati	Gilbertese	gil	Latn	Latin model
Gothic	Gothic	got	Latn	Latin model
Guaraní	Guarani	gn	Latn	Latin model
Harshen/Halshen Hausa هَرْشَن هَوْسَ	Hausa	ha	Latn	Latin model
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi	Hawaiian	haw	Latn	Latin model
Otjiherero	Herero	hz	Latn	Latin model
Ilonggo	Hiligaynon	hil	Latn	Latin model
Jaku Iban	Iban	iba	Latn	Latin model
Asụsụ Igbo	Igbo	ig	Latn	Latin model
Ilokano	Iloko	ilo	Latn	Latin model
Taqbaylit	Kabyle	kab	Latn	Latin model
Jingpho	Kachin	kac	Latn	Latin model
Kalaallisut	Kalaallisut	kl	Latn	Latin model
Kikamba	Kamba	kam	Latn	Latin model
Kanuri	Kanuri	kr	Latn	Latin model
Qaraqalpaq tili, Қарақалпақ тили, قاراقالپاق تىلى	Kara-Kalpak	kaa	Cyrl/Latn	Cyrillic model
Ka Ktien Khasi	Khasi	kha	Latn	Latin model
Gĩkũyũ	Kikuyu	ki	Latn	Latin model
Kinyarwanda	Kinyarwanda	rw	Latn	Latin model
коми кыв	Komi	kv	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
Kikongo	Kongo	kg	Latn	Latin model
Kosraean	Kosraean	kos	Latn	Latin model
Oshikwanyama	Kuanyama	kj	Latn	Latin model
Ngala	Lingala	ln	Latn	Latin model
Plattdütsch, Plattdeutsch, Nedersaksisch	Low German	nds	Latn	Latin model
siLozi	Lozi	loz	Latn	Latin model
Kiluba	Luba-Katanga	lu	Latn	Latin model
Dholuo	Luo	luo	Latn	Latin model
Madhura, Basa Mathura, بَهاسَ مَدورا	Madurese	mad	Latn	Latin model
Malagasy	Malagasy	mg	Latn	Latin model
Mandinka, لغة مندنكا	Mandingo	man	Latn	Latin model
Gaelg, Gailck	Manx	gv	Latn	Latin model
Te reo Māori	Maori	mi	Latn	Latin model
Ebon	Marshallese	mh	Latn	Latin model
Mɛnde yia	Mende	men	Latn	Latin model
Middle English	Middle English	enm	Latn	Latin model
Mittelhochdeutsch	Middle High German	gmh	Latn	Latin model
Baso Minangkabau, باسو مينڠكاباو	Minangkabau	min	Latn	Latin model
Kanienʼkéha	Mohawk	moh	Latn	Latin model
Nkundu	Mongo	lol	Latn	Latin model
Nāhuatl	Nahuatl	nah	Latn	Latin model
Diné bizaad	Navajo	nv	Latn	Latin model
Ndonga	Ndonga	ng	Latn	Latin model
ko e vagahau Niuē	Niuean	niu	Latn	Latin model
Zimbabwe Ndebele	North Ndebele	nd	Latn	Latin model
Sesotho sa Leboa	Northern Sotho	nso	Latn	Latin model
Chichewa, Chinyanja	Nyanja	ny	Latn	Latin model
Runyankore	Nyankole	nyn	Latn	Latin model
Chitonga	Nyasa Tonga	tog	Latn	Latin model
Appolo	Nzima	nzi	Latn	Latin model
Occitan, lenga d'òc, provençal	Occitan	oc	Latn	Latin model
Anishinaabemowin, ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ	Ojibwa	oj	Latn	Latin model
Ænglisc, Englisc, Anglisc	Old English	ang	Latn	Latin model
Franceis, François, Romanz	Old French	fro	Latn	Latin model
Diutisk, Althochdeutsch	Old High German	goh	Latn	Latin model
Dǫnsk tunga	Old Norse	non	Latn	Latin model
Occitan ancian	Old Provencal	pro	Latn	Latin model
ирон ӕвзаг	Ossetic	os	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
Kapampangan	Pampanga	pam	Latn	Latin model
Salitan Pangasinan	Pangasinan	pag	Latn	Latin model
Papiamentu	Papiamento	pap	Latn	Latin model
Português (Portugal)	Portuguese (European)	pt-PT	Latn	Latin model
Kechua / Runa Simi	Quechua	qu	Latn	Latin model
Rumantsch	Romansh	rm	Latn	Latin model
Romani čhib	Romany	rom	Latn	Latin model
Ikirundi	Rundi	rn	Latn	Latin model
Sakha	Sakha	sah	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
Gagana faʻa Sāmoa	Samoan	sm	Latn	Latin model
yângâ tî sängö	Sango	sg	Latn	Latin model
(Braid) Scots, Lallans, Doric	Scots	sco	Latn	Latin model
Gàidhlig	Scottish Gaelic	gd	Latn	Latin model
chiShona	Shona	sn	Latn	Latin model
Songhay	Songhai	son	Latn	Latin model
Sesotho	Southern Sotho	st	Latn	Latin model
Español (Latinoamérica)	Spanish (Latin American)	es-419	Latn	Latin model
ᮘᮞ ᮞᮥᮔ᮪ᮓ , Basa Sunda	Sundanese	su	Latn	Latin model
siSwati	Swati	ss	Latn	Latin model
Reo Tahiti	Tahitian	ty	Latn	Latin model
тоҷикӣ	Tajik	tg	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
татар теле	Tatar	tt	Cyrl/Latn	Cyrillic model
KʌThemnɛ	Temne	tem	Latn	Latin model
lea faka-Tonga	Tongan	to	Latn	Latin model
Xitsonga	Tsonga	ts	Latn	Latin model
Setswana	Tswana	tn	Latn	Latin model
Türkmençe	Turkmen	tk	Latn	Cyrillic model
удмурт кыл	Udmurt	udm	Cyrl	Cyrillic model
Tshivenḓa	Venda	ve	Latn	Latin model
Vod	Votic	vot	Cyrl/Latn	Cyrillic model
Frysk	Western Frisian	fy	Latn	Latin model
Wolof	Wolof	wo	Latn	Latin model
isiXhosa	Xhosa	xh	Latn	Latin model
Èdè Yorùbá	Yoruba	yo	Latn	Latin model
Diidxazá	Zapotec	zap	Latn	Latin model

Handwriting scripts

The following scripts are supported for handwriting recognition. Check the language tables above for languages that use each script.

Script	Name	Support Level
Beng	Bengali	Experimental
Cyrl	Cyrillic	Experimental
Deva	Devanagari	Experimental
Grek	Greek	Experimental
Hani	Chinese	Experimental
Jpan	Japanese	Supported
Kore	Korean	Supported
Latn	Latin	Supported
vi	Vietnamese	Experimental