What is Mandarin speech to text and how does it work?

Speech to text (also called automatic speech recognition, or ASR) converts spoken Mandarin audio into written text. Deepgram processes the audio signal, detects speech in real time, and returns structured transcript data through an API. Developers use it for applications like voice agents, call analytics, captioning, and searchable media.

Does Deepgram support Mandarin speech to text?

Yes. Deepgram supports automatic speech recognition (ASR) for Mandarin audio. You can transcribe real-time or prerecorded audio by setting `language=zh-CN` in your API request.

Which Deepgram models support Mandarin speech to text?

Deepgram supports Mandarin in the Nova model family. Model availability may vary by language, so check the Models & Languages page for the latest support details.

Can Deepgram transcribe Mandarin in real time?

Yes. Deepgram provides low-latency streaming transcription for Mandarin, suitable for live voice agents, call analytics, captioning, and other real-time applications.

Does Deepgram support automatic language detection for Mandarin?

Deepgram offers automatic language detection for many languages. You can enable it with `detect_language=true`. See the Language Detection documentation for the full list of supported languages.

Can Deepgram handle audio with multiple languages or code-switching?

Yes. Deepgram supports multilingual transcription and code-switching when using Nova's multilingual models. Set `language=multi` to enable it. See the Models & Languages page for supported languages.

What features are supported for Mandarin transcripts?

Deepgram supports timestamps, punctuation, diarization, numeral formatting, filler-word detection, redaction, and more — all through the API.

How accurate is Deepgram for Mandarin speech to text?

Accuracy depends on model choice, audio quality, and domain. Nova models deliver state-of-the-art accuracy, and you can improve results further using Keyterm Prompting or Custom Models.

How do I get started with Deepgram's Mandarin Speech-to-Text API?

Sign up for a free Deepgram account to access your API key. You can test Mandarin transcription instantly in the Playground , or call the API directly by sending audio to `/v1/listen` with `language=zh-CN`. Starter apps and code examples are available on GitHub.

Mandarin Chinese Speech to Text API | Fast & Accurate Transcription

Mandarin Speech to Text

Convert Mandarin speech to text with high accuracy, low latency, and enterprise-grade scalability. Deepgram delivers real-time and batch transcription through a developer-first speech-to-text API.

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Fast and accurate Mandarin speech recognition for real-world audio

Get real-time Mandarin speech-to-text in under 300 ms while maintaining high accuracy in noisy, accented, or overlapping conversations.

Mandarin Language Overview

Speakers: 920-929 million native speakers, up to 1.184 billion total speakers worldwide

Regions: Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and diaspora communities in the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and Canada

Dialects: Beijing dialect (Standard Mandarin basis), Northern varieties, Southwestern Mandarin, Jiang-Huai Mandarin

Writing system: Chinese characters with Pinyin romanization

Language family: Sino-Tibetan language family, Mandarin subgroup of Sinitic languages

Mandarin is widely used across mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and major global markets, making it a key language for call center analytics, customer support AI, media captioning, e-commerce platforms, healthcare telemedicine, educational voice applications, and multilingual voice agents serving the world's largest language community.