English and Arabic subtitles at the same time, top and bottom
Upload an English subtitle file and get every line in Arabic as well: English at the top of the screen, Arabic at the bottom, both on the original timing. Each Arabic line is marked so players show it right to left. The first part is free with no account, a whole film up to 10,000 lines is $5, and joining an English and an Arabic file you already have is free up to 3,000 lines.
- Split layout: English at the top of the screen, Arabic at the bottom
- An invisible right-to-left mark at the start and end of every Arabic line
- UTF-8 with a byte order mark, so TVs and older players recognize Arabic letters
- One Arabic target, written without a regional dialect
- $5 for a whole film; 150 lines or fewer free in full
Two scripts, two directions
English reads left to right and Arabic right to left, and putting both in one subtitle often confuses players: punctuation jumps to the wrong side, and a number or an English name in an Arabic sentence can push words out of order. Keeping the languages apart helps. In the split layout the English is its own subtitle at the top of the screen and the Arabic its own subtitle at the bottom, each with its own direction.
Every translated Arabic line also starts and ends with an invisible right-to-left mark, placed after a leading code such as {\an8} or <i> so the code still works. The English line is not changed.
Format by format
In SRT, the English becomes a second subtitle on the same timing, starting with {\an8}; most desktop players show it at the top, a few ignore the code. VTT uses line:0, the position web players read. ASS gives the English a yellow Top style and the Arabic the white Default style. If your player shows both at the bottom, the stacked layout is the simpler choice.
Who watches with both
- Arabic-speaking parents watching with children raised in English
- English learners in the Gulf, Egypt or North Africa
- Students of Arabic, starting from an Arabic file and adding English
- Community screenings for audiences who read one language or the other
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Dual Language Subtitles page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
Last updated
Questions and answers
Can ChatGPT make English and Arabic subtitles?
For one scene it can write both languages. For a whole film it tends to stop partway or change time codes, and it adds no right-to-left marks, so Arabic punctuation often appears on the wrong side in the player.
Can Arabic be on top instead?
The language of your file comes first. Upload an Arabic file and choose English to get Arabic at the top, or join an Arabic and an English file with the Arabic one first.
Which Arabic does it write?
The model is asked for Arabic with no dialect, so the result is usually Modern Standard Arabic, the form subtitles normally use.
What is the price?
Files of 150 lines or fewer are free in full; for a longer film the first part is free on screen and the whole film, up to 10,000 lines, is $5 paid once. Joining two files is free up to 3,000 lines.
Can I get Persian or Urdu instead?
Yes. Persian, Urdu, Hebrew and other right-to-left languages are in the same list and get the same marks.
Is my file private?
Only you can open the job, the text is not used to train AI models, and jobs created without an account are deleted after 7 days.