Multilingual Support

Multi-language support for Ambient sessions and clinical documentation

Quick summary

Multilingual support lets patients and providers speak in their preferred language during clinical conversations, while Suki automatically generates the final clinical note in English.

Last updated:August 2026

Multilingual support is supported by: Ambient APIs, Mobile SDK, Web SDK (v2.1.1+)

Multilingual support lets patients and providers speak in their preferred language during clinical conversations, while Suki automatically generates the final clinical note in English. This removes the need for manual translation and makes healthcare more accessible to diverse patient populations.

When you enable multilingual support for an ambient session, you get the following benefits:

• Patient comfort: Patients can communicate in their native language, leading to more accurate information sharing.
• Better care quality: When patients speak in their preferred language, they provide more detailed and accurate information.
• No translation needed: Clinicians don’t need to translate conversations manually, Suki handles it automatically.
• EHR compatibility: All notes are generated in English, ensuring compatibility with standard EHR systems.
• Wider accessibility: Support for 80+ languages makes healthcare more inclusive.

How multilingual improves clinical documentation

Multilingual support improves note quality by capturing the conversation as the patient actually speaks it, then producing documentation in English that your EHR can use.

What you configure	How the note gets better
Multilingual enabled on the ambient session	Patients can speak in their preferred language without losing clinical detail
Automatic language detection and transcription	More of the visit content is captured accurately
English clinical note generation	Notes stay EHR-ready without a separate translation step

When patients speak freely in their preferred language, the source conversation is usually richer and more accurate. Suki turns that into an English clinical note, so documentation quality improves without adding translation work for the clinician.

How multilingual transcription works

When you enable multilingual support for an ambient session, Suki automatically:

1. Detects the language spoken during the conversation.
2. Transcribes the audio in the detected language.
3. Translates and processes the conversation content.
4. Generates the clinical note in English.

The transcript API returns a lang_id field that identifies which language was detected for each segment of the conversation. This helps you understand what language was spoken during different parts of the session.

Build multilingual support into your product

If you are deciding to build multilingual support into your product, you need to understand how and when to use it. Suki captures encounters in more than 80+ supported languages and generates the final clinical note in English.

Do not add a note-language selector while building the multilingual support UI in your product.

How you configure multilingual support depends on the product/integration you use:

• Ambient APIs: Multilingual is enabled by default. Do not send a multilingual field when you create a session.
• Web SDK (v2.1.1+): Multilingual is enabled by default. Do not add a multilingual option to ambientOptions.
• Mobile SDK: Multilingual is disabled by default. Set kIsMultilingual to true when you create a session if non-English speech is expected. You cannot change this after the session starts.

You can optionally show the patient’s preferred language before the visit, or the detected language after the visit. Those are optional UI choices in your product.

Multilingual support applies to the conversation that happens between the patient and the provider. The final clinical note generated by Suki remains in English.

Configure multilingual support

Product	Default	What to configure
Ambient APIs	Enabled	Nothing. Do not send the deprecated multilingual field.
Web SDK (v2.1.1+)	Enabled	Nothing. Do not add a multilingual option to ambientOptions.
Mobile SDK	Disabled	Set kIsMultilingual to true when you create the session if non-English speech is expected.

For Ambient APIs, contact Suki support if your organization needs to disable multilingual processing.

Recommended UI patterns

Your UI does not need a separate multilingual setup step or control.

These patterns apply when you build your own ambient experience with the Ambient APIs or the Headless modalities. The headed Web SDK already provides Ambient UI, so you do not recreate these patterns there.

Before the visit

You can optionally display the patient’s preferred language as part of your existing patient or visit information. For example:

Spanish preferred

This gives the clinician useful context before starting the visit.

During the visit

For Ambient APIs and the Headless Web SDK, no additional multilingual control is required. If you also use the Mobile SDK, set kIsMultilingual when you create the session if non-English speech is expected.

After the visit

The Ambient note is generated in English. Keep the note English in the note editor and EHR write-back. If your product includes a transcript or visit-details view, you can optionally show the language detected for the conversation.

After the session reaches completed, use Get session transcript to retrieve the transcript and its lang_id.

Do I Need a Language Picker

No. The Ambient clinical note is English. Do not add a “Language of note” picker on Ambient session create.

Ambient APIs and the Web SDK support multilingual conversations by default. The Mobile SDK uses kIsMultilingual when the session is created.

Can I Show the Patient's Preferred Language

Yes. This is optional and belongs in your existing patient or visit UI.

Showing a preferred language helps the clinician prepare for the visit. The Ambient clinical note stays English.

Can I Show the Detected Language

Yes. This is optional.

After the session is completed, use Get session transcript and lang_id to show the detected language in a transcript or visit-details view.

Can I Change Multilingual Settings During a Session

No. For the Mobile SDK, set kIsMultilingual when you create the session. It cannot be changed after the session starts.

Is This the Same as Dictation Language

No. Dictation uses audio_language as a speech-to-text setting. Ambient multilingual support is a separate capability.

Dictation values are English and Multilingual, and the default is English. Refer to Dictation basic usage guide for more information.

Preferred language, detected language, and the English note

When you build multilingual support into your app, keep the following concepts separate. They look related, but serve different purposes.

Concept	What it is	What you do in your app
Patient’s preferred language	The language the patient prefers, from your EHR or demographics	Optional. Show it in your chart (for example “Spanish preferred”) so the clinician can prepare for the visit.
Detected conversation language (lang_id)	The language Suki detected on the visit audio	Optional. After completed, call Get session transcript and show lang_id on a transcript or visit-details screen.
Clinical note language	The language of the finished Ambient note	Always English. Show the note in English and write it back to the EHR in English.

What to wire in your product

1. Enable multilingual the way your product requires (default on Ambient APIs and Web SDK; kIsMultilingual on Mobile SDK).
2. After completed, load the English note with your usual content APIs and show it in the note editor.
3. Optionally show preferred language before Start, and optionally show lang_id after the visit.

Preferred language and lang_id help the clinician understand the visit. The Ambient clinical note stays English.

Do not add a multilingual toggle to Ambient APIs or the Web SDK. Multilingual support is already enabled by default. For the Mobile SDK, set kIsMultilingual when you create the session if non-English speech is expected.

How to enable multilingual support

Multilingual support lets patients and providers speak in their preferred language. Suki still generates the clinical note in English. How you turn it on depends on the product you use.

Click the tabs below to see the implementation details for your integration path.

Ambient APIs

Multilingual support is enabled by default for ambient sessions. You do not need to pass a multilingual field when you create a session. The old multilingual parameter is deprecated.

1. Create the Ambient Session

   Call the Create ambient session API without a multilingual field. Suki enables multilingual processing for the session automatically.

   Python

   import requests
   
   response = requests.post(
       "https://sdp.suki.ai/api/v1/ambient/session/create",
       json={
           # Optional: "ambient_session_id", "encounter_id", "emr_encounter_id"
       },
       headers={
           "sdp_suki_token": "<sdp_suki_token>",
           "sdp_provider_id": "<sdp_provider_id>",
       },
   )
   
   if response.status_code == 200:
       session = response.json()
       ambient_session_id = session["ambient_session_id"]
       print(f"Session created: {ambient_session_id}")
   else:
       print(f"Failed to create session: {response.status_code}")
       print(response.json())
   

   Refer to Create ambient session for the full request and response.

2. Stream Audio and End the Session

   Stream the encounter audio, then end the session so Suki can generate the English clinical note. Multilingual processing applies for the full session and cannot be changed mid-session.

3. Read Language Detection from the Transcript

   After processing completes, call the transcript API if you need language detection. Each transcript segment can include a lang_id for the language Suki detected.

   Refer to Get ambient session Transcript and the Language code reference for more details.

4. Disable Only If Required

   If your organization must turn multilingual support off, contact the Suki support team. Do not rely on the deprecated multilingual request field.

   Refer to Deprecations for the deprecation notice.

Web SDK

The Web SDK enables multilingual support automatically for ambient sessions. You do not configure a multilingual flag in ambientOptions. Requires Web SDK v2.1.1+.

1. Initialize and Mount the Web SDK

   Initialize authentication and mount the ambient experience as usual. Multilingual processing is already on for the session.

   Refer to Ambient implementation for mount options and Multilingual sessions for Web SDK behavior.

2. Capture the Visit in Any Supported Language

   Providers and patients can speak in their preferred language during the ambient session. You do not need to select a language in the SDK.

3. Receive the English Clinical Note

   After submit, the Web SDK returns the generated note in English. Handle onNoteSubmit (React) or note-submission:success (JavaScript and React) as usual.

   Refer to Note management for more details.

Mobile SDK

On Mobile SDK, multilingual support is off by default. Set SukiAmbientConstant.kIsMultilingual to true when you create the session if the conversation may include languages other than English. Once set, you cannot change it for that session.

1. Create the Session with Multilingual Enabled

   Pass kIsMultilingual: true in the session info dictionary when you call createSession. Store the returned sessionId for recording and session-level content retrieval.

   Swift

   let sessionInfo: [String: AnyHashable] = [
       SukiAmbientConstant.kSessionId: encounterId, // Ambient API encounter_id for re-ambient
       SukiAmbientConstant.kIsMultilingual: true
   ]
   
   SukiAmbientCoreManager.shared.createSession(
       with: sessionInfo,
       onCompletion: { result in
           switch result {
           case .success(let sessionResponse):
               let sessionId = sessionResponse.sessionId
               // Store sessionId for recording and content retrieval
               print("Session created successfully: \(sessionId)")
           case .failure(let error):
               print("Error creating session: \(error)")
           }
       }
   )
   

   Refer to Create session for session info parameters.

2. Set Clinical Context and Record

   Call setSessionContext(with:) as needed, then start recording. Capture the visit in the patient’s preferred language. End the session when capture is complete so note generation can run.

3. Retrieve the English Clinical Note

   After processing completes, retrieve content with content(for:). The generated clinical note is in English even when the conversation was in another language.

   Refer to Session status and content retrieval for more details.

For Ambient APIs and Web SDK, multilingual support is on by default. For Mobile SDK, set kIsMultilingual to true when you create the session. In all products, the setting applies to the entire session and cannot be changed mid-session.

Supported languages for multilingual support

Suki supports over 80 languages for multilingual ambient sessions. Refer to the table below to see the languages currently supported:

Spanish	Norwegian	Macedonian	Kazakh	Yoruba
Italian	Finnish	Hungarian	Icelandic	Telugu
English	Vietnamese	Tamil	Marathi	Khmer
Portuguese	Thai	Hindi	Maori	Malayalam
German	Slovak	Estonian	Swahili	Lao
Japanese	Greek	Urdu	Armenian	Punjabi
Polish	Czech	Latvian	Belarusian	Gujarati
Russian	Croatian	Slovenian	Nepali	Somali
Dutch	Danish	Azerbaijani	Occitan	Bengali
Indonesian	Tagalog	Hebrew	Lingala	Georgian
Catalan	Korean	Lithuanian	Maltese	Assamese
French	Romanian	Persian	Tajik	Mongolian
Turkish	Bulgarian	Welsh	Luxembourgish	Myanmar
Swedish	Galician	Serbian	Hausa	Shona
Ukrainian	Bosnian	Afrikaans	Uzbek	Amharic
Malay	Arabic	Kannada	Pashto	Sindhi
Chinese (Cantonese)	Chinese (Mandarin)

Language code reference

Pick a Letter below to show languages starting with that letter, then use the table to map each lang_id to its corresponding language. This helps you interpret the language codes returned by the Transcript API.

We regularly update this list as we add support for new languages. If a language is not included in this table, it is not yet supported.

A

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
afrikaans	af
amharic	am
arabic	ar
armenian	hy
assamese	as
azerbaijani	az

B

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
belarusian	be
bengali	bn
bosnian	bs
bulgarian	bg

C

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
catalan	ca
chinese	zh
chinese_cantonese	yue
chinese_mandarin	cmn
croatian	hr
czech	cs

D

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
danish	da
dutch	nl

E

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
english	en
estonian	et

F

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
finnish	fi
french	fr

G

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
galician	gl
georgian	ka
german	de
greek	el
gujarati	gu

H

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
hausa	ha
hebrew	he
hindi	hi
hungarian	hu

I

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
icelandic	is
indonesian	id
italian	it

J

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
japanese	ja

K

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
kannada	kn
kazakh	kk
khmer	km
korean	ko

L

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
lao	lo
latvian	lv
lingala	ln
lithuanian	lt
luxembourgish	lb

M

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
macedonian	mk
malay	ms
malayalam	ml
maltese	mt
maori	mi
marathi	mr
mongolian	mn
myanmar	my

N

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
nepali	ne
norwegian	no

O

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
occitan	oc

P

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
pashto	ps
persian	fa
polish	pl
portuguese	pt
punjabi	pa

R

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
romanian	ro
russian	ru

S

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
serbian	sr
shona	sn
sindhi	sd
slovak	sk
slovenian	sl
somali	so
spanish	es
swahili	sw
swedish	sv

T

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
tagalog	tl
tajik	tg
tamil	ta
telugu	te
thai	th
turkish	tr

U

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
ukrainian	uk
urdu	ur
uzbek	uz

V

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
vietnamese	vi

W

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
welsh	cy

Y

Language	Language ID (lang_id)
yoruba	yo

Best practices

• Ambient APIs and Web SDK: multilingual is on by default. Do not build a partner toggle on create. Contact Suki support if your organization must turn it off.
• Mobile SDK only: Enable multilingual when non-English speech is possible. Set kIsMultilingual to true at session create. You cannot change it mid-session.
• Keep the note English: Tell clinicians in plain language that the note they review stays English. Optional: show lang_id after the visit.
• Test with your languages: Verify multilingual support with the languages your patients commonly use.

Related APIs

Use these APIs to work with multilingual support:

Get Session Transcript

Retrieve transcripts with language detection information (lang_id)

Create Session

Create ambient sessions. Multilingual support is enabled by default