How to Get a YouTube Transcript in Another Language
Found the perfect video, but it’s in a language you don’t speak — or you need its transcript in another language for your audience? You have three options: use a caption track that already exists in that language, use YouTube’s auto-translate, or translate the transcript yourself. Here’s how each works and when to use it.
Option 1: Use an existing caption track in your language
Many popular videos — especially from large channels, educators and brands — include captions in several languages. These are usually the best quality because a translator or the creator prepared them.
- Paste the video link into our YouTube Video Transcript Generator.
- Open the language menu above the transcript. It lists every caption track the video has.
- Choose your language. Tracks marked “(auto)” are automatic; the rest were uploaded.
- Copy the text or download it as TXT or SRT.
If the language menu doesn’t appear, the video only has one caption track.
Option 2: Use YouTube’s auto-translate (for watching)
When a video has captions, YouTube can machine-translate them on the fly:
- Turn on captions with the CC button.
- Click the settings (gear) icon → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate.
- Choose your language.
This is great for following along while you watch, though it can be awkward if you need the full text as a file. Quality depends on the language pair and on how accurate the original captions are.
Option 3: Translate the transcript yourself
If you need a clean, complete translated transcript — for notes, an article or subtitles — download the original and translate it:
- Get the transcript in the original language (choose an uploaded track if one exists).
- For reading or notes: download TXT with timestamps off. For subtitles: download SRT.
- Translate with a tool such as Google Translate, DeepL or an AI assistant. For SRT files, ask the tool to translate only the text lines and keep numbers and timecodes unchanged.
- Have a fluent speaker review anything you plan to publish.
Tip: Translate in sections of a few hundred lines rather than the whole transcript at once. Most tools stay more accurate and consistent with shorter chunks.
Which option should you choose?
| Goal | Best option |
|---|---|
| Watch and understand | Existing track, or YouTube auto-translate |
| Study notes in your language | Existing track, or translate the TXT |
| Subtitles for your own video | Translate the SRT, review it, upload in YouTube Studio |
| Publishing a translated article | Professional or carefully reviewed translation (with permission if it’s not your video) |
Language learning with transcripts
Transcripts are a powerful language-learning tool. Watch with the original-language transcript open, pause on unfamiliar words, and look them up. Then switch to a translated track to check your understanding. Re-read the transcript a day later without the video to reinforce vocabulary. More ideas in how students use transcripts.
Creators: add translated captions to reach more viewers
If a meaningful share of your audience speaks another language, translated captions can make your videos easier to find and follow for them. Download your captions as SRT (see how to download SRT), translate and review them, then upload them in YouTube Studio → Subtitles → Add language.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a transcript in a language the video doesn’t have?
Not directly as a caption track. Download the transcript in its original language and translate it, or use YouTube’s auto-translate while watching.
Does your tool support non-English transcripts?
Yes. Any caption language available on the video, including Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish and many others, can be shown and downloaded.
Is machine translation good enough for subtitles?
It is a solid first draft. For anything you publish, have a fluent speaker review it, especially for idioms, names and technical terms.