AI_TRANSLATE

Overview

AI_TRANSLATE is an AI translation function provided by Singdata Lakehouse. It translates input text from one language to another specified language. Source language is detected automatically — no manual specification needed. Supports mutual translation between Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, and many other languages. One line of SQL handles translation.

Syntax

AI_TRANSLATE(model, content, to_lang)

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`model`	STRING	Yes	Model identifier; supports two sources (see below)
`content`	STRING	Yes	Input text to translate; supports CHAR/VARCHAR/STRING types
`to_lang`	STRING	Yes	Target language code following ISO-639 standard (e.g. `'zh'`, `'en'`, `'ja'`)

model Parameter

Source 1: API Gateway Endpoint (Recommended)

Reference a model by the Endpoint name configured in the platform AI Gateway:

'endpoint:qwen3-max-preview'

Source 2: API Connection Object

Specify an external model via a pre-created API Connection object:

CREATE API CONNECTION conn_bailian ...; SELECT AI_TRANSLATE('conn_bailian:qwen3.5-plus', content, 'en') FROM t;

For available Endpoints, contact your platform administrator or check Lakehouse Studio → AI → Model Management.

Return Value

STRING type containing the input text translated into the target language.

Error Behavior

By default, if AI_TRANSLATE cannot process the input, the function returns NULL.

Input condition	Return value
`content` is NULL	NULL
`content` is empty string `''`	Empty string `''`
`content` is already in the target language	Returns original text unchanged
`to_lang` is an invalid language code	Error: `Invalid ISO-639 language code: <code>`
Endpoint format invalid	Error: `Invalid model coordinates: '<value>'`
Endpoint does not exist	Error: `No available endpoints found`
Missing required parameter	Error: `AI function must have at least two arguments`

Usage Notes

Source language is auto-detected — No need to specify the source language; the model identifies it automatically. Passing an empty string '' as the source language code also triggers auto-detection (the current syntax does not support a from_lang parameter).
Use standard language codes — to_lang must be a valid ISO-639 language code (e.g. 'zh', 'en', 'ja'); full language names are not supported.
Filter before translating — For large tables, use WHERE content IS NOT NULL AND LENGTH(content) > 0 to filter first, avoiding unnecessary model calls.
Technical terminology — Technical text translates well (e.g. "batch processing" → "批处理"); highly specialized domain terms may benefit from human review.
Idioms and cultural expressions — The model performs idiomatic translation (e.g. "blessing in disguise") rather than word-for-word translation.
Combine with other AI functions — You can summarize with AI_SUMMARIZE before translating, or translate before analyzing sentiment with AI_SENTIMENT.
Batch processing — AI functions call the model row by row for large datasets; use LIMIT to process in batches or control concurrency.

Supported Language Codes (Common)

Language	Code	Language	Code
Chinese	`'zh'`	English	`'en'`
Japanese	`'ja'`	Korean	`'ko'`
French	`'fr'`	German	`'de'`
Spanish	`'es'`	Portuguese	`'pt'`
Russian	`'ru'`	Arabic	`'ar'`
Italian	`'it'`	Thai	`'th'`

For the full language code list, see the ISO-639 standard.

Examples

Translate to English

SELECT AI_TRANSLATE( 'endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', '你好世界', 'en' ) AS translated; -- Returns: Hello world

Translate to Chinese

SELECT AI_TRANSLATE( 'endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', 'Hello world', 'zh' ) AS translated; -- Returns: 你好，世界

Translate to Japanese

SELECT AI_TRANSLATE( 'endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', 'Hello world', 'ja' ) AS translated; -- Returns: こんにちは世界

Chinese Idiom Translation Example

SELECT AI_TRANSLATE( 'endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', '塞翁失马，焉知非福。', 'en' ) AS translated; -- Returns: When the old man lost his horse, who could have known it wasn't a blessing in disguise?

Batch Translation of Table Data

SELECT id, review_content, AI_TRANSLATE('endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', review_content, 'zh') AS zh_review FROM global_reviews WHERE review_content IS NOT NULL;

Translate the Same Content into Multiple Languages

SELECT doc_id, AI_TRANSLATE('endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', content, 'en') AS en_content, AI_TRANSLATE('endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', content, 'ja') AS ja_content FROM product_docs WHERE lang = 'zh';

Summarize Then Translate

SELECT id, AI_TRANSLATE( 'endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', AI_SUMMARIZE('endpoint:qwen3-max-preview', content, 30), 'en' ) AS en_summary FROM chinese_articles;

Using an API Connection

SELECT AI_TRANSLATE( 'conn_bailian:qwen3.5-plus', 'Singdata Lakehouse is a multi-cloud integrated data platform for enterprises.', 'zh' ) AS translated;

Limitations

Item	Description
`model` parameter	Must use `'endpoint:name'` or `'connection:model'` format; cannot be omitted
`to_lang`	Must be a valid ISO-639 language code; full language names are not supported
Source language	Cannot be specified manually; always auto-detected
Input length	Limited by the underlying model's context window
Model dependency	Requires a configured Endpoint in the AI Gateway, or a pre-created API Connection
Result determinism	LLM output is non-deterministic; the same input may produce slightly different results across executions