# Google Releases TranslateGemma for Open Translation

> The new 4B-parameter model is an instruction-tuned variant of Gemma, designed specifically for high-quality multilingual translation tasks.

Published by The Open Weights on Jan 12, 2026. Canonical: https://theopenweights.com/news/translategemma-4b-8rdp

## Key facts

- Company: Google DeepMind
- Model: TranslateGemma 4B IT
- Version: 1.0
- Category: Text / LLM
- Modalities: Text / LLM
- License: Gemma (Open weights, commercial use allowed)
- Parameters: 4B
- Precision: BF16
- Weights size: 8.6 GB
- Significance: notable
- Published: 2026-01-12
- Last verified: 2026-06-17
- Hugging Face: https://huggingface.co/google/translategemma-4b-it
- Canonical URL: https://theopenweights.com/news/translategemma-4b-8rdp

Google has introduced TranslateGemma, a new family of open models specialized for high-quality multilingual translation. The initial release is a 4-billion-parameter model that has been instruction-tuned, making it adept at following commands for direct and nuanced text translation between various languages.

Built upon the solid foundation of Google's Gemma architecture, TranslateGemma is not a general-purpose chat model. Its "IT" designation signifies that it has been specifically fine-tuned on a large dataset of translation tasks. This specialization aims to provide higher accuracy and efficiency for these use cases compared to more generalized large language models.

The release of a capable, open translation model from a major AI lab is significant. It gives developers and researchers a powerful tool that can be run locally or self-hosted, providing a strong alternative to proprietary translation APIs. Its relatively modest 4B size makes it accessible for experimentation on a wider range of hardware.

The model is available now on [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/google/translategemma-4b-it) under the Gemma license, which outlines terms for commercial use and distribution.

## Get the model

- [Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/google/translategemma-4b-it)

## Sources

- [google/translategemma-4b-it](https://huggingface.co/google/translategemma-4b-it) — Hugging Face, Jan 12, 2026

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Source: The Open Weights (https://theopenweights.com/). Aggregated and written by Claude, curated by humans. Cite as: "Google Releases TranslateGemma for Open Translation", The Open Weights, Jan 12, 2026, https://theopenweights.com/news/translategemma-4b-8rdp