The web video has no subtitle track, or not the language I want. What now?
These are two different problems: with no track there is nothing to translate yet, and with a track in the wrong language you only need translation. WatchTranslate handles both on the site's own player: it translates the track when one exists and listens to the audio when none does.
Watch on your phone
Scan to get the app
Three steps on any supported video site
Add the extension
One Chrome or Edge extension on your computer. No API key and no other accounts to set up.
Play the video on its own site
Open it where it was published, not a downloaded copy. You don't need to sign in to the video site for audio recognition.
Choose the source, then start
In the WatchTranslate panel pick Subtitle source and Target language, then press Start translation. Changing the language alone doesn't start anything.
One tool for both situations
The cheaper path when a track exists
An existing track is translated as text: 0.2 credits a minute, with the original timing and line breaks kept.
Subtitles from speech when none exists
Audio recognition writes down what is said and translates it: 1 credit a minute, and failed windows are not charged.
Subtitles in 74 languages
Pick English or any of the other target languages; the original line can stay underneath.
Where people run into missing subtitles
Foreign YouTube channels
Talks, vlogs and interviews where captions are missing or only in the original language.
Chinese videos on Bilibili
Narrated uploads where the only text is Chinese burned into the picture.
News clips on X
Short clips posted by outlets, almost always with sound only.
Conference talks
Recorded keynotes and panels published with one language of subtitles or none.
Courses and lectures
University lectures posted publicly, long and rarely captioned in your language.
Short videos
Quick clips where the point is in what someone says, not in the picture.
Is the site's own translation enough?
Where a site offers subtitles in your language, use them. The two rows in the middle are why this page exists.
| The video | Site's own player | With WatchTranslate |
|---|---|---|
| Subtitles in your language | Turn them on | Not needed |
| Subtitles in another language | Some sites machine-translate them, one language at a time | Translated, with the original line below |
| No subtitle track at all | Nothing to show or translate | Listens to the audio and writes subtitles |
| You want a subtitle file | Usually not offered | Export SRT or VTT of what was generated |
Sites differ; the table describes YouTube, X and Bilibili in a computer browser.
What we tried
On a computer with the live extension, signed out of each site, clicking WT on the player and choosing audio recognition.
- Works
Spanish TEDx talk on YouTube · English in about 7 s
No English track; English came from the Spanish audio, with Spanish below.
- Works
Chinese science short on Bilibili · English in about 4 s
No subtitles at all; the Mandarin narration became English sentence by sentence.
Tested 9 Nov 2026 · extension 0.5.737 · Chrome · signed out of each site
Watch on your phone
Scan to get the app
Then open the video on its own site and pick the source that matches your case.
In detail
Which situation are you in?
| What you see | What it means | Subtitle source |
|---|---|---|
| Subtitles menu lists other languages | A track exists, just not yours | The video's own subtitles, translated |
| No subtitles menu, or it is greyed out | There is no track | Audio recognition |
| Subtitles are machine-made and wrong | The track misheard the speech | Audio recognition, to listen again |
| Text burned into the picture | It is part of the image, not a track | Audio recognition for the speech |
Why the fix depends on the track
A subtitle track is text with timestamps that the player can show or hide. When a video has one, even in a language you can't read, translation is all that's left: the words and timing are already there. When a video has none, the words exist only as sound, so they have to be recognised before anything can be translated. Mixing the two up wastes time: waiting for a translation option that will never appear, or paying for audio recognition on a video whose track would have done.
A track in another language: translate it
Set Subtitle source to the video's own subtitles. Only the text is processed, which is faster and costs 0.2 credits a minute. Timing and line breaks follow the original track, so the result looks as tidy as the original.
No track: recognise the speech first
Set Subtitle source to audio recognition. The audio of the part you are watching is processed about 30 seconds at a time, not the whole file, and turned into the original line plus a translation. It costs 1 credit a minute; failed windows are free.
Which sites this covers
YouTube, X and Bilibili, including the anime and film episodes you can play there, and the other sites on the supported sites list. Live streams use Live translation (beta), which you apply for at watchtranslate.com/live. On a phone, use the WatchTranslate app; for files on your computer, use the local player.
What happens after you press Start
Is the video uploaded?
Not as a whole file. With a track, only the subtitle text is processed. Without one, audio from the stretch you are watching and the next is read, about 30 seconds at a time.
Why does the translation read naturally?
A large language model translates each line with the sentences around it in view, so pronouns, names and running jokes are carried through rather than translated one line at a time.
Why are original and translation in step?
Each translated line is made from one original line on the same timeline. That is what lets the two sit together on screen, or be shown alone.
What YouTube says about missing captions
From the YouTube Help Center, checked signed out of YouTube on .
Automatic captions come from speech recognition and may not be produced for every video, for example when the language isn't supported, the sound is poor or several people speak at once.
support.google.com/youtube/answer/6373554
Get the right subtitles first time
Check the subtitles menu first
If any track is listed, translate it: it is quicker and keeps the creator's timing.
Use audio for clear speech
Talks, interviews and narrated videos give the cleanest results from audio.
Keep both lines when it matters
Bilingual display lets you check names and numbers against the original.
Prepare long videos in advance
For a lecture or a long episode, prepare the whole video before you watch.
About web videos without subtitles
Do I need to set anything up?
Only the Chrome or Edge extension and a WatchTranslate account. No API key, no other accounts.
Is the video uploaded?
Not as a whole file. With a track only the text is processed; without one, audio is read in stretches of about 30 seconds.
How is this different from a site's built-in translation?
Built-in translation needs subtitles that already exist and usually shows one language. WatchTranslate also works with no track and can show the original and translation together.
Which languages can I translate into?
74, including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Hindi and Indonesian.
What if the video language is detected wrongly?
Set Source language yourself in the panel instead of auto-detect, then start again.
Can I save the subtitles?
Yes. Export SRT or VTT from the Export tab: original, translation or both. Only generated parts are included.
Does it work on live streams?
Live streams use Live translation (beta) in the extension; apply at watchtranslate.com/live first.
What does it cost?
New accounts get 20 free minutes. Then about 0.2 credits a minute to translate a track and 1 credit a minute from audio; failed windows are free.
Can I use it on a phone?
Install the WatchTranslate app and open the video inside it. The browser extension is for computers.
One tool to understand foreign-language videos on many sites
Translates as you watch, wherever you are in the video
Jump anywhere and it translates there — no need to translate the whole video first.
Translate videos on YouTube, X, Bilibili and more
Translate existing subtitles directly, or generate bilingual subtitles when there are none.
Better translation quality than traditional machine or real-time translation
AI language models use context and connect the surrounding dialogue to understand meaning.
Export subtitles as SRT / VTT files
Download generated subtitles as original, translated, or bilingual text and load them in common players.
Already translated by someone? Watch it free
Sign up free to reuse generated subtitles for the same video, subtitle source and languages, even after your credits run out.
Bilingual subtitles on your phone
Play video files on your phone, or open a video site in the app's built-in browser and tap Translate. A native player handles more video formats than the web player.
Keep reading
Related questions
- YouTube video has no subtitlesThe no-track case on YouTube
- YouTube auto-translate has no EnglishThe wrong-language case
- Translate Bilibili videos to EnglishChinese narration in English
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