How-to guides · Updated
How to subtitle a video in another language
Short answer
To subtitle a video in another language, transcribe the speech, translate the text, have a fluent speaker review it and add the result as a subtitle file or burned-in text. Machine translation is fast but can mistranslate idioms and names. SkilledCut skills burn captions in the clip's own language.
What are the steps?
- Transcribe the speech and fix errors.
- Translate to the target language.
- Have a fluent speaker review.
- Time and format the subtitles.
- Upload or burn in.
What are the cautions?
Machine translation misses idioms. Do not publish medical, legal or financial text without expert review. For captions in the video's own language, Explainer burns them in.
Which format should you use?
A subtitle file for platforms that support it, or burned-in text for short social clips.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI translate subtitles?
Yes, machine translation can draft subtitles quickly, but have a fluent speaker review idioms, names and technical terms before publishing.
What is SRT?
A common subtitle file format.
Do skills translate?
No, they caption the clip's own speech.
How do I check quality?
Ask a native speaker.
Should subtitles be shorter than speech?
Often yes for reading speed.
Skills mentioned on this page
Explainer
Turns a talking clip into a clear lesson with gold word-by-word captions and points on screen.
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