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Translate YouTube transcript to French

To translate a YouTube transcript to French, paste the video link, choose French as the target language, pick a text file, SRT or VTT, and select Translate subtitles. The captions are fetched, auto-generated ones included, and only their text is translated; every timestamp stays where it was. French is included in the free plan.

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How to translate a YouTube transcript to French in 3 steps

  1. Paste the YouTube link, paste a transcript, or choose an .srt or .vtt file.
  2. Check that French is selected, then pick Text, SRT or VTT as the output.
  3. Select Translate subtitles, check any flagged cues, shorten the cues that run long, since French needs more words than English, then download the file.

Example output

Real output of this tool, generated on from a video in the public library: MrBeast Joins The Sharks And Likes What He Sees | Shark Tank US | Shark Tank Global (Shark Tank Global). It is shown unedited; a run on the same video can word things differently.

Input

1
00:00:02,260 --> 00:00:24,720
Next up is a company using AI to re-imagine the ultimate classic toy. Hey Sharks, I'm Andrew. And I'm Kevin. We're both dads from rural Pennsylvania and we're here seeking $200,000 for a 10% stake in our company.

2
00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:40,720
Sharks, play isn't what it used to be. Kids glued to their phones, their tablets, video games. We love technology, but not like this. Well, we want to see kids get up, get outside, get in the backyard and just invent crazy games. That's why we created Ball 2.

Output

1
00:00:02,260 --> 00:00:24,720
Voici une entreprise qui utilise l'IA pour réinventer le jouet classique par excellence. Salut les Sharks, je m'appelle Andrew. Et moi Kevin. Nous sommes tous les deux des papas de zones rurales en Pennsylvanie et nous cherchons 200 000 $ pour une participation de 10 % dans notre entreprise.

2
00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:40,720
Sharks, le jeu n'est plus ce qu'il était. Les enfants sont collés à leurs téléphones, tablettes, jeux vidéo. Nous aimons la technologie, mais pas comme ça. Eh bien, nous voulons voir les enfants se lever, sortir, aller dans le jardin et inventer des jeux fous. C'est pourquoi nous avons créé Ball 2.

Text file, SRT or VTT in French

Download subtitles.fr.txt (one caption per line, no timestamps), subtitles.fr.srt (for a video editor or YouTube Studio) or subtitles.fr.vtt (for HTML5 players). The text is in French; every start and end time is the original one.

From a YouTube link each cue is a paragraph of several caption lines, so most cues are too long to show on screen. For French subtitles that fit the screen, translate the .srt or .vtt file made for the video instead: it keeps its own cues.

Notes on French translations

French usually needs more words than English for the same sentence. Cues that end up longer than 42 characters per line or faster than 17 characters per second are flagged. Open the file in the SRT checker to see which cues and why, then shorten their text.

Free and Pro

  • Without an account: AI tools need a free account.
  • Free account: 5 AI runs per day, videos up to 60 minutes. French is one of the 5 free languages. Up to 300 cues or 20,000 characters per run.
  • Pro: 30 AI runs per hour, videos up to 120 minutes. Up to 5,000 cues, 50 languages, 5 at once as a ZIP, and a glossary of terms to keep.

Limits you should know

  • AI tools need a free account. A free account gets 5 runs for videos up to 60 minutes. Pro allows 30 runs per hour for videos up to 120 minutes. A run that fails or finds nothing reliable is not counted.
  • Results are private to you. They are not added to the public transcript library and not listed in the sitemap.
  • Machine translation: ask a native French speaker to check it before you publish subtitles.
  • A video without captions cannot be translated from its link. Get its text with AI transcription first, then paste it here.

FAQ

Can I translate to Canadian French?

There is no separate option. The target is "French" with no regional variant, so the result is general French rather than Québec French. If your audience is in Canada, have a Canadian viewer read the file before you publish it.

Can I translate a French video's transcript to English?

Yes. The captions can be in any language; you only choose the target. English is part of Pro; the free plan translates into Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese.

Can I translate an English YouTube transcript to French?

Yes. The captions can be in English or another language, auto-generated ones included; you only choose the target, French.

Can I upload the French SRT to YouTube?

Yes, and the times match the video. For subtitles viewers read on screen, translate the .srt file you made for the video rather than the link: from a link each cue is a paragraph of several caption lines and is usually flagged as too long.

Is translating to French free?

Yes, with a free account: French is one of the free languages (Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Japanese).

By Kenji Saito · Updated