Translate English subtitles into Chinese: How to generate Chinese and English subtitles

Key points of this article

Before translating subtitles, confirm that the file format is SRT or ASS, and retain the original timeline. Do not manually change the time code.
If you want Chinese subtitles, select translation only. If you want Chinese and English subtitles, select bilingual. The two outputs can be selected according to the needs of the player.
Don’t press the translation directly into the screen. First check the number of lines and length of each subtitle. Split extremely long sentences into two lines.
The punctuation of Chinese subtitles is often different from that of English. After translation, the full-width punctuation should be unified according to viewing habits, and redundant periods at the end of sentences should be deleted.
Machine-translated names, proper nouns and numbers are prone to errors, so check them one by one before publishing.

Many people download subtitle files for English movies, courses, or interviews but cannot understand them. There are usually two desired results: one is to display only Chinese subtitles, and the other is to display both Chinese and English lines at the same time. The output methods of the two requirements are different, and the details of processing are also different.

This article is written for readers who have SRT or ASS subtitle files and want to translate English into Chinese. You will learn the steps to use OmniDoc to translate subtitle files, how to choose "translation only" or "bilingual comparison", and how to check Chinese punctuation and subtitle line length after translation.

The following method is also applicable to other subtitle translation tools. The core is to keep the timeline, select the correct output method, and check the results one by one.

Translate English subtitles into Chinese, which output should I choose? One sentence conclusion

If you want Chinese subtitles, choose translation only. If you need Chinese and English subtitles, choose bilingual. Before translating, make sure the file format is SRT or ASS.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
Only watch Chinese, load a subtitle in the player	Translation output only	The file content is only in Chinese and does not occupy the second line during playback
Study English while reading	Bilingual comparison output	Each subtitle appears in both Chinese and English for easy comparison.
Subtitles are used for course or material retention	Bilingual comparison output, save as text	Both the original text and the translation are retained for easy reference later.
The file is ASS and styled	Confirm the format first, then translate and check whether the style is retained	Style settings will affect the display effect, you need to try it in the player
The original subtitles contain typos or confusing sentence fragments	First manually correct the English, then translate	Errors in the original text will be directly transferred to the translation

Before you start: Confirm these points first

1. Subtitle file format. OmniDoc supports SRT and ASS subtitle files. SRT is common and has a simple structure: three parts: serial number, timeline, and text. If you have subtitles embedded in a video file, you need to export them to independent subtitle files before you can translate them.

2. The timeline cannot be changed. Whether subtitles can be aligned with the picture depends entirely on the timeline. During the translation process, the serial number and time code should be retained, and only the text portion should be replaced. If the time code is accidentally deleted during manual editing, the subtitles will be misaligned during playback.

3. Is bilingual required? This determines the output method. Each bilingual subtitle will appear in both English and Chinese, taking up more lines on the screen, and a single line of text needs to be shorter. Thinking it through in advance will save you rework.

4. Purpose of Documents. Whether it is for personal viewing, classroom use, or distribution, the level of scrutiny varies. Check terms and names more carefully before posting.

5. Limitations of machine translation. Machine translation will have problems such as name spelling, slang and pun interpretation errors. Please check against the original text for important content.

Steps to translate English subtitle files in OmniDoc

Prepare subtitle file: Confirm that the file suffix is .srt or .ass, and open it with a text editor to take a look to make sure the content is in English and is encoded normally.
Open OmniDoc: Upload the subtitle file on the omnidoc.top web page; you can also use the desktop client (download address: download.omnidoc.top).
Select language direction: The source language is set to English and the target language is set to Chinese.
Select the output method: If you want Chinese subtitles, select translation only; if you want Chinese and English subtitles, select bilingual.
Start translation and wait for completion: If the subtitle file is short, it will be completed quickly. For long files, you need to wait patiently and do not close the page during this period.
Download results: Download the translated subtitle file. It is recommended to add a language suffix to the file name, such as "movie name.zh.srt" for easy identification.
Preview with player: Load new subtitles in the video player, and check a few paragraphs from the beginning, middle and end.
Correct and then save: If you find a problem, use a text editor to directly modify the text part, keep the time code unchanged, and then save it as UTF-8 encoding.

Check each item after completion

Check items	How to see	What to do if there is a problem
Is the timeline complete?	Check whether the time code of each subtitle is still there and whether the serial number is continuous	If it is missing, go back to the original file and translate it again. Do not manually fill in the time code.
Are the subtitles aligned with the screen?	Try it in the player and compare the lines and the time they appear.	Check whether the serial number and time code have been changed by mistake
Is bilingualism complete?	Randomly check a few items in the bilingual version to see if each item has both English and Chinese.	If an item is missing, reselect the bilingual comparison output and translate it again.
Is the single length appropriate?	Check whether each line exceeds two lines and whether a single line is too long.	Split into two subtitles and keep the time code order
Names of people, places, proper nouns	Check key names, brands and terms against the original text	Modify in a unified manner and confirm each point when replacing the full text.
Punctuation and sentence breaking	Check whether periods, commas, and quotation marks are consistent	Unify punctuation according to the method in the next section

📊 Core comparison

Output mode	screen effect	Suitable scene	Things to note
Translation only	Only one line in Chinese	People who watch daily and are already familiar with English	Unable to compare with the original text, it is difficult to judge when encountering deviations in understanding
bilingual comparison	Both Chinese and English lines appear simultaneously	Learn English, prepare information, and check terminology	It takes up a lot of screen space, single lines need to be shorter, and long sentences need to be split
Bilingual save as text	Not superimposed on the screen, saved separately	Save and organize notes	You need to choose which file to load in the player

Is there any punctuation in the English subtitle translation?

Whether the punctuation changes after translation depends on the style of the translation. English subtitles commonly use half-width punctuation and end-of-sentence periods, while Chinese subtitles more commonly use full-width punctuation. Many Chinese subtitles omit periods at the end of sentences, leaving only commas, question marks, and exclamation points.

The processing method is very simple: after the translation is completed, use a text editor to search for half-width commas, question marks, and quotation marks, and replace them in a unified style. Be careful not to replace colons and dashes in the time code, nor do you replace serial numbers.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. When English subtitles are translated into Chinese, will the timeline change?

The timeline should remain unchanged under normal flow. If you change the timecode manually, or use certain conversion methods that cause the format to be irregular, misalignment will occur. After downloading, use the player to watch a few paragraphs first, and you will be able to find the problem.

2. What should I do if the line of bilingual subtitles is too long and cannot fit on the screen?

Split the long sentence into two subtitles, retain the original time code for each subtitle, and make appropriate allocations in time. You can also adjust the font size or subtitle position in the player, but splitting is more fundamental.

3. What problems will occur if the subtitle file is opened in Word and then saved?

Word may change the encoding or insertion format, causing the subtitles to be unrecognizable. It is recommended to modify it with a plain text editor, save it in UTF-8 encoding, and keep the file suffix .srt.

4. How to choose a free subtitle translation tool?

Look at these points: whether to limit the file size, whether to add watermarks to the translation, whether to retain the timeline, and whether to support bilingual output. You should also pay attention to privacy, especially for unpublished film, television or course content, and try to understand how the files are stored first.

5. How to judge the quality of translated subtitles?

Randomly check a few paragraphs: see if the meaning of the sentence is smooth, whether the names of the people are consistent, and whether the tone matches the lines. Machine translation may be inaccurate on slang and puns. When encountering such sentences, it is recommended to refer to the original text or ask a native speaker to help confirm.

📝 Summary

The key to translating English subtitles into Chinese is to first confirm the SRT or ASS format, keep the timeline, and then select translation only or bilingual comparison according to the purpose. After the translation is completed, check the time code, line length, name and punctuation one by one. Any problems can be corrected directly in the text editor.

Open OmniDoc, upload the document and start translation