Translate SRT subtitles into Kurdish, Sorani or Kurmanji
Upload SRT or VTT files and get every line translated into Kurdish on the original timings. This page starts with Sorani, written right to left in the Kurdish Arabic-based alphabet; Kurmanji, in the Latin Hawar alphabet, is a separate choice in the same list. The first part is free without an account, and the whole job is $5.
- Kurdish (Sorani): Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet, right to left, with right-to-left marks on every line
- Kurdish (Kurmanji): Latin-based Hawar alphabet with ç, ê, î, ş and û
- One Kurdish variety per job; both are in the target list
- Numbering and time codes copied from your file
- Up to 30 files and 10,000 lines for $5
Every line, on its timing.
The numbers and time codes of your file are kept exactly; only the words change. Right-to-left languages get the marks players need to show punctuation in the right place.
Demo scene written for this page; the Persian lines are real output from the tool.
Two Kurdish targets, two alphabets
Kurdish is not written one way. Sorani, spoken mainly in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and in western Iran, uses an Arabic-based alphabet that writes vowels with letters such as ە, ێ and ۆ and adds consonants such as ڕ and ڵ. Kurmanji, spoken across most of the northern Kurdish areas, including Syria, and by many Kurds in Europe, is written in the Latin Hawar alphabet. A subtitle in the wrong one is unreadable for its audience, so the list has both, and the model is told which alphabet to use.
This page selects Sorani. For Kurmanji, open the target list and choose Kurdish (Kurmanji) before you upload.
What changes with Sorani on screen
Sorani runs right to left, so each line receives an invisible right-to-left mark at both ends. That keeps a question mark or full stop where a reader looks for it, even in players that otherwise lay lines out left to right. Kurmanji is written left to right and gets no marks. Either way the file is UTF-8 with a byte order mark, so Sorani letters and accented Latin letters both display on older televisions.
Common reasons for Kurdish subtitles
- Kurdish families in Germany, Sweden or the UK sharing films with relatives
- Teachers of Kurdish using films with bilingual subtitles
- Aid groups and clinics subtitling information videos
- Festival submissions that need Kurdish subtitles alongside English
Before you rely on it
Kurdish has far less material for AI translation than the major European languages, and Sorani and Kurmanji each have regional varieties the tool does not distinguish between. Expect understandable translation with some phrasing a native speaker would improve. Read the free first part, edit lines on screen where needed, and have a fluent reader review the file before a festival or broadcast. Zazaki and Gorani are not in the list.
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Subtitle Translator page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
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Questions and answers
Can ChatGPT translate an SRT file into Kurdish?
For a short file, often, if you say clearly whether you want Sorani or Kurmanji. A whole film is harder: long files tend to come back incomplete, with merged or renumbered lines that no longer match the video.
Which Kurdish should I choose?
Sorani for viewers from Iraqi Kurdistan or Iran who read the Arabic-based alphabet, Kurmanji for readers of the Latin alphabet. If you are unsure, ask someone in the audience which script they use on their phone.
Can I make both versions of the same film?
Yes. Run the file once with Kurdish (Sorani) and once with Kurdish (Kurmanji).
Can the original line stay on screen?
Yes. Bilingual output puts the original line above the Kurdish, with the same timing.
What does it cost?
You see the first part for free. After that, one payment of $5 covers every file in the job, up to 10,000 lines. If the files together have no more than 150 lines, everything is free, downloads included.
Is the download SRT or VTT?
Either; you pick the format when you download. One file comes back as, for example, film.ckb.srt or film.kmr.srt, and several come back as a ZIP.