Dual Arabic and English subtitles for a video file
Upload an Arabic video and get subtitles where every cue shows the Arabic line on top and the English translation under it, as SRT and VTT. Each Arabic line carries a right-to-left mark so punctuation lands on the correct side in VLC, Plex and TVs. Up to 15 minutes is free in full; a longer video is $5 for up to 6 hours.
- Arabic above English in each subtitle, in one file
- A right-to-left direction mark on every Arabic line
- Dialect written as spoken, in Arabic script without vowel marks
- An Arabic-only SRT comes in the same download
- Video or audio up to 2 GB; Google Drive, Dropbox or direct links accepted
How to make dual Arabic and English subtitles
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1
Upload the Arabic video
Add one file up to 2 GB, or paste a public Google Drive, Dropbox or direct link. Arabic, English and Bilingual are already selected.
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2
Check the first part
The free part shows the first subtitles on screen, Arabic above English, so you can judge the dialect and the translation.
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3
Download the SRT
Pay $5 for the whole video and download the dual SRT or VTT, plus the Arabic-only SRT. In VLC, open it with Subtitle > Add subtitle file.
Who watches with two languages
Dual subtitles suit Arabic learners who want to read the original line and check its meaning at a glance, families where parents read Arabic and children read English, and lecturers or mosques posting talks for a mixed audience. One file holds both languages, so the viewer does not have to juggle two subtitle tracks.
The punctuation problem in Arabic subtitles
Players decide text direction line by line, often from the first character. An Arabic line that ends in a question mark or starts with a number can show its punctuation on the wrong side. The tool puts an invisible right-to-left mark at the start of each Arabic line, which tells VLC, Plex and most TVs where the sentence begins. The English line under it is left alone.
The files are saved as UTF-8 with a byte order mark, so players that guess the encoding are less likely to turn the Arabic into strings of odd symbols.
Fusha, dialect and English inside Arabic
A talk in Modern Standard Arabic, a family video in Egyptian dialect and a Gulf business presentation all come out in Arabic script as spoken; dialect words are not swapped for formal ones. English or French words said inside the Arabic stay in Latin letters on the Arabic line. The cues are written straight from the audio, sentence-sized and on screen for no more than seven seconds, then translated one by one with their timing kept.
Limits to keep in mind
- Timings are close to the speech, not frame-exact; adjust in a subtitle editor if a scene needs it
- Two-language cues are taller, and some TVs shrink or cut long subtitles
- Quran verses quoted in a talk are written in Arabic as recited; their English line is an AI rendering, not a published translation
- Noise and overlapping speech cause mistakes, so check names and numbers
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Video to Translated Subtitles page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
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Questions and answers
Why is the punctuation on the wrong side of my Arabic subtitles?
The player guesses the direction of each line from its first character. A right-to-left mark at the start of the line fixes it, and this tool adds one to every Arabic line.
Can ChatGPT make Arabic and English dual subtitles?
For a few minutes of video it can produce useful lines. For a long video it tends to hit the audio length limit, run out of reply space and lose the timings, so you rarely get a complete SRT.
Can I get an English-only file too?
Choose Translated instead of Bilingual: that job gives an English SRT and VTT plus an Arabic SRT. A Bilingual job gives the dual file plus the Arabic-only SRT.
What does it cost?
$5, paid once, for a video of up to 6 hours. A video of up to 15 minutes is free in full. Unlimited is $19 a week, up to 12 hours per video.
Does it work in Plex?
Yes. Plex reads SRT files. Put the file next to the video with the same name, adding a language code such as .ar.srt if you want Plex to label the track.