Translate subtitles in three steps
- Choose an SRT or VTT file, or drop it on the box above. StemVocal reads its cues and guesses the language.
- Check the languages: English into one of 15 others, or any of them into English.
- Choose Translate free, then download the translated file as SRT or VTT.
The translated file is named after yours with the language added, such as episode-1.es.srt, so it sits next to the
original in a video editor or an upload form.
What stays the same
Only the words change. Everything a video player or editor reads stays exactly as it was:
- cue numbers and every start and end time, down to the millisecond;
- position settings, VTT headers, notes and styles;
- italic cues, position tags such as
{\an8}, and VTT voice tags; - dialogue cues, which keep one dashed line per speaker.
Subtitles often split one sentence over two or three cues. The translator reads those cues together as one sentence, then spreads the translation back over the same cues in proportion to their original lengths. Long lines are split into two balanced lines, as in the original.
Languages
Translation runs from English into Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Turkish, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese, or from any of those into English. These are the languages StemVocal tested for speech recognition and translation, so other pairs are not offered.
Free and paid
Two free StemVocal jobs a day cover subtitle files up to 3 hours, enough for most films, with no account. They are shared with transcription and the music tools and reset at midnight UTC. After that, a file uses one credit whatever its length, or it is included in Unlimited.
Review before you publish
This is machine translation. It is fast and usually understandable, but it can miss names, jokes, slang and context that a person would catch. Read it through with the video before you publish it, ideally with a fluent speaker.
Need subtitles first?
If you have a video but no subtitle file, the subtitle generator transcribes it and exports SRT or VTT. A paid transcript can also be translated straight from the editor. For a written transcript instead, open video to text.
Good to know
Is the subtitle translator free?
Yes. You get 2 free StemVocal jobs each UTC day without an account, shared with the other StemVocal tools, and one free job translates a whole subtitle file of up to 3 hours. After that, each file uses one credit, whatever its length.
Which languages can it translate?
English into Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Turkish, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean or Chinese, or any of those into English.
Will the translated subtitles still match my video?
Yes. Every cue keeps its number, start time and end time, so the file lines up with the video exactly like the original. Only the words change.
What happens to italics, positions and speaker dashes?
They are kept. Italic cues stay italic, position tags and VTT voice tags stay at the start of their cue, and a cue with two speakers keeps one dashed line for each.
Can I get the translation as VTT from an SRT file?
Yes. Choose Subtitles (.srt) or Web captions (.vtt) before you download. The cues and times are the same in both.
How good is the translation?
It is machine translation. It reads a sentence split across several cues as one sentence, which helps, but names, jokes and idioms can still come out wrong. Have a fluent speaker review it before you publish.