Japanese subtitles
Translate video to Japanese with the subtitles built in
Upload a video in any language, pick Japanese (日本語), and download it with the subtitles burned in. Japanese subtitles are usually shorter than the English they replace, because kanji carry a lot per character.
What you get back
- Your video as an MP4 with the Japanese subtitles burned into the picture, so they play everywhere without a separate file.
- A Japanese 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 Japanese subtitles get made
Add your video
Upload an MP4, MOV, AVI, or MKV file, or paste a link from a supported source.
Choose Japanese
The speech is transcribed in whatever language it was spoken, then translated into Japanese.
Download the result
You get the video with Japanese subtitles burned in, plus SRT and TXT files for both languages.
What is different about Japanese subtitles
Japanese subtitles are usually shorter than the English they replace, because kanji carry a lot per character.
- Japanese mixes three scripts in one sentence: kanji for meaning, hiragana for grammar, and katakana for loanwords. All three have to render from the same font.
- There are no spaces between words, so lines are split by meaning. Japanese also has line-break rules that forbid a line from starting with certain punctuation or the long-vowel mark.
- Punctuation is full width and takes a whole character box, which affects how much text fits on a line.
- Politeness level is a genuine choice rather than a stylistic one, and the wrong level reads as either rude or oddly stiff.
Formality in Japanese
The polite です and ます forms are the default and the safe choice for a public audience.
Japanese at a glance
| Native name | 日本語 |
|---|---|
| Word for subtitles | 字幕 |
| Writing system | Kanji, hiragana, and katakana |
| Text direction | Left to right |
| Language code | ja |
| Where it is spoken | Japan. |
Start with 50 free credits and see what a Japanese subtitle track looks like on your own video.
Continue with Google50 free credits. No credit card needed.Frequently asked questions
Can I get Japanese subtitles on a video that is not in Japanese?
Yes, that is the normal case. The speech is transcribed in whatever language it was spoken, and the transcript is translated into Japanese. You do not have to tell it what the source language is.
Do I get a Japanese 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 Japanese, so you can reuse the Japanese text elsewhere.
Will Kanji, hiragana, and katakana 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. Kanji, hiragana, and katakana renders correctly in the finished file.
Can I fix the Japanese 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.