French subtitles
Translate video to French with the subtitles built in
Upload a video in any language, pick French (Français), and download it with the subtitles burned in. French typically runs longer than English, often by a noticeable margin, so expect more line splits.
What you get back
- Your video as an MP4 with the French subtitles burned into the picture, so they play everywhere without a separate file.
- A French 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 French subtitles get made
Add your video
Upload an MP4, MOV, AVI, or MKV file, or paste a link from a supported source.
Choose French
The speech is transcribed in whatever language it was spoken, then translated into French.
Download the result
You get the video with French subtitles burned in, plus SRT and TXT files for both languages.
What is different about French subtitles
French typically runs longer than English, often by a noticeable margin, so expect more line splits.
- French typography puts a space before a semicolon, colon, exclamation mark, and question mark. It has to be a non-breaking space or the punctuation ends up stranded at the start of the next line.
- Guillemets (« ») are the standard quotation marks rather than the English pair, and each one takes a space on the inside of the quotation.
- Accented capitals such as É, À, and Ç are correct in French even though they get dropped informally. Subtitles keep them.
- European and Canadian French differ in vocabulary. Translation targets standard French, which reads correctly on both sides of the Atlantic.
Formality in French
tu is informal and vous is formal or plural. Published video normally uses vous.
French at a glance
| Native name | Français |
|---|---|
| Word for subtitles | sous-titres |
| Writing system | Latin |
| Text direction | Left to right |
| Language code | fr |
| Where it is spoken | France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, and much of West and Central Africa. |
Start with 50 free credits and see what a French subtitle track looks like on your own video.
Continue with Google50 free credits. No credit card needed.Frequently asked questions
Can I get French subtitles on a video that is not in French?
Yes, that is the normal case. The speech is transcribed in whatever language it was spoken, and the transcript is translated into French. You do not have to tell it what the source language is.
Do I get a French 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 French, so you can reuse the French text elsewhere.
Will Latin 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. Accents and special letters survive the burn-in.
Can I fix the French 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.