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Create bilingual subtitles

Merge the original and the translation into one file, one language above the other.

Original subtitles
Translated subtitles
Line order
Separator between lines
Result 
 
 
   
 
    
 
 
Watching something with subtitles in the original language helps you follow the pronunciation; watching it with the translation helps you understand. Bilingual subtitles do both at once: each cue shows the two versions stacked, and your eye jumps to the translation only when it needs to.
Almost no platform offers them, but building them is simple once you have both files: the cues are paired one by one and their text is joined, keeping the timings of the original.
Pairing goes by position, not by time, which is how translated subtitles derived from the same original behave. If the files have a different number of cues the tool warns you and pairs up to the length of the shorter one.
 
 
 
How to use it
 
     
  1.  01 Load the file with the subtitles in the original language. 
  2.  02 Load the file with the translation. 
  3.  03 Choose which language goes on top and whether you want a separator between the two lines. 
  4.  04 Download the bilingual file and place it next to the video. 
    5.  
 
 
 
Frequently asked questions
 
 
  Where do I get the translated file?   
Many platforms offer subtitles in several languages for the same video: download both. If only one exists you will have to translate it first; what matters is that the translation keeps the same number of cues as the original.
 
  What if the files do not have the same number of cues?   
They are paired by position up to the length of the shorter one and you get a warning. It usually happens when one version merges two short sentences into a cue and the other splits them.
 
  Which timings are kept?   
The ones from the original file. That is the one in sync with the audio you are going to hear.
 
  Does it display properly in any player?   
Yes, because the output is a normal SRT with two lines per cue. If your player truncates to one line, reduce the font size in its settings.
 
 
 
 
 
Related tools
  
 
 
This is what Eco does live.
 
These utilities work on files you already have. Eco transcribes and translates while the audio is still playing: meetings, classes, videos in another language.
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10 free minutes per month · No card required