Translate English subtitles to Chinese
Last updated September 2026
Chinese subtitles reach mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the global Chinese diaspora. This page explains how to turn an English .srt or .vtt file into Chinese without uploading it anywhere: the translation runs on your own computer using the translation model built into desktop Google Chrome (138+) or Microsoft Edge. Chinese is written in characters with no spaces between words; subtitle length is measured in characters, and many releases use full-width punctuation. Below are the steps plus Chinese-specific things to check before you publish.
How to do it
- Open the translator in desktop Chrome 138+ or Microsoft Edge — the link on this page presets English → Chinese.
- Drop your English .srt or .vtt file onto the page (or click to choose it). Nothing is uploaded; the file is read locally.
- Confirm the languages show English → Chinese and press Translate. The first time, the browser downloads the English–Chinese model once, which can take a minute.
- Watch cues translate in place. Timestamps, cue numbers and tags such as <i> stay exactly as they were.
- Download the Chinese file (same format as the input) and load it in your player or upload it to your video platform.
Tips
- The browser's model outputs Simplified Chinese in most cases. If your audience is in Taiwan or Hong Kong, convert to Traditional characters afterwards (and review regional vocabulary).
- Chinese is dense — expect translated cues to be much shorter than the English, which reads comfortably.
- Full-width punctuation (，。？) is normal in Chinese subtitles; don't “fix” it to half-width.
FAQ
Will I get Simplified or Traditional Chinese?
Generally Simplified, since that's what the built-in model targets for “zh”. There's no separate Traditional option in the browser API today, so use a converter such as OpenCC if you need Traditional.
Is translating English subtitles to Chinese really free?
Yes. There's no account, no per-file limit and no paid tier — the translation is done by your browser's built-in on-device model, so there's no server cost to pass on.
Does it work on my phone?
Not at the moment. The built-in Translator API is only available in desktop Google Chrome 138+ and Microsoft Edge. Mobile browsers, Firefox and Safari don't offer it yet.