Chinese subtitles
Translate video to Chinese with the subtitles built in
Upload a video in any language, pick Chinese (中文), and download it with the subtitles burned in. Chinese packs more meaning into fewer characters, so a translated line is usually visibly shorter than the English it replaced.
What you get back
- Your video as an MP4 with the Chinese subtitles burned into the picture, so they play everywhere without a separate file.
- A Chinese SRT file you can upload wherever soft subtitles are supported.
- An SRT in the original spoken language, so you have both sides of the translation.
- Plain TXT transcripts of both, for show notes, blog posts, or search.
How Chinese subtitles get made
Add your video
Upload an MP4, MOV, AVI, or MKV file, or paste a link from a supported source.
Choose Chinese
The speech is transcribed in whatever language it was spoken, then translated into Chinese.
Download the result
You get the video with Chinese subtitles burned in, plus SRT and TXT files for both languages.
What is different about Chinese subtitles
Chinese packs more meaning into fewer characters, so a translated line is usually visibly shorter than the English it replaced.
- Chinese is written without spaces between words, so a line could break almost anywhere. Subtitle convention favours a short line split by meaning rather than by a space that is not there.
- Punctuation is full width. A comma or a period occupies the same box as a character, which changes how much text actually fits on a line.
- Some characters are not allowed to open or close a line. Closing brackets and sentence-final punctuation have to stay with the text they belong to.
- Simplified characters are the default. Audiences in Taiwan and Hong Kong read traditional characters, so check the SRT if that is who you are publishing for.
Formality in Chinese
Chinese has a plain 你 and a polite 您. Public-facing video normally takes the plain form, which is what the translation produces.
Chinese at a glance
| Native name | 中文 |
|---|---|
| Word for subtitles | 字幕 |
| Writing system | Han characters |
| Text direction | Left to right |
| Language code | zh |
| Where it is spoken | Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Chinese-speaking communities worldwide. |
Start with 50 free credits and see what a Chinese subtitle track looks like on your own video.
Continue with Google50 free credits. No credit card needed.Frequently asked questions
Can I get Chinese subtitles on a video that is not in Chinese?
Yes, that is the normal case. The speech is transcribed in whatever language it was spoken, and the transcript is translated into Chinese. You do not have to tell it what the source language is.
Do I get a Chinese subtitle file as well as the video?
Yes. Every job returns the video with subtitles burned in, plus SRT and TXT files for both the original language and Chinese, so you can reuse the Chinese text elsewhere.
Will Han characters characters render correctly in the video?
Yes. Subtitles are burned into the picture after the text has been shaped and laid out, so what you see in the editor is what ends up in the MP4. Han characters renders correctly in the finished file.
Can I fix the Chinese wording before I download?
Yes, on the Pro and Studio plans. You can edit the text and timings in the subtitle editor, trim the clip, and reburn before downloading.