Translate English subtitles to French
Last updated September 2026
French subtitles serve France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec and large parts of West and North Africa. This page explains how to turn an English .srt or .vtt file into French without uploading it anywhere: the translation runs on your own computer using the translation model built into desktop Google Chrome (138+) or Microsoft Edge. French uses the Latin alphabet with accents and the cedilla (é, è, ê, à, ç), and puts a space before “?”, “!”, “:” and “;” in standard typography. Below are the steps plus French-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 → French.
- 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 → French and press Translate. The first time, the browser downloads the English–French 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 French file (same format as the input) and load it in your player or upload it to your video platform.
Tips
- French usually runs longer than English. Keep an eye on cues that were already at the two-line limit.
- Decide on “tu” vs “vous” for your content. The model picks per sentence, so a single character can flip between the two — fix it for consistency.
- French typography expects a (non-breaking) space before ? and !. Some players wrap on that space; it's cosmetic but worth knowing.
FAQ
Does it choose tu or vous?
The model decides from each sentence's context, and subtitle lines are short, so it can be inconsistent. For a polished result, search the output for “tu” and “vous” and make one character consistent.
Is translating English subtitles to French 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.